University of Louisville
Villanova
Volleyball Victorious Over Villanova
September 27, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2009
Anastasia Artemeva had 10 kills and three blocks to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-1 win at Villanova in BIG EAST volleyball action Sunday evening in Philadelphia.
"If you take away that first set, that is how I thought this match would go," said U of L coach Leonid Yelin. "All road wins in the leagues are good for business and Villanova is a well-coached team that plays with emotion."
U of L (7-5) notched its first BIG EAST win with the 15-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16 victory. Villanova is now 11-3 and 0-2 in the league. U of L hit .195 for the match but outblocked VU 13.5 to 3.
Villanova used an 11-2 run late in the first set for the 25-15 win. Strong Wildcat serving with six aces kept the Cardinals on their heels. U of L hit .000 but did have four blocks. VU was led by Maggie Mergen's four kills. U of L's Lecia Brown had six kills and nine blocks with Lola Arslanbekova adding 11 kills and two blocks. Cardinal setter Kimi Hohl lead with a match-high 28 assists.
The Cardinals rebounded by taking a 15-7 lead early in the second set and then finished off the Wildcats with a 9-2 run for the 25-15 win. U of L's hitting improved to .212 while VU dropped into negative percentage at -.062. Amanda Simmons had three kills to pace the Cards.
In the third set, neither team could gain footing early on. With a slim 17-16 lead, U of L carved out a 5-2 run to gain some breathing room at 23-17. A kill by Lecia Brown took the Cards to set point but VU scored twice to bring the Wildcats to within two at 24-22 and forced Yelin to call timeout. Brown scored again to put the set in the win column. U of L hit .211 led by Anastasia Artemeva's five kills.
In the fourth set, U of L had an 8-1 run to go up 19-11 and then cruised to a 25-16 win. The Cards hit .379 and had three team blocks in that set.
U of L returns to Cardinal Arena Wednesday for a matchup with regional rival Tennessee Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.
