University of Louisville
GEORGETOWN
Volleyball Rolls Over Hoyas; Extends Streak to Seven
October 22, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2010
Sophomore Lola Arslanbekova had 22 kills and a block to lead the University of Louisville volleyball team to a 21-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 comeback win over BIG EAST foe Georgetown. The Cardinals have won seven straight and are now 7-1 in the league.
The Cardinals, 13-5 overall, dropped the first set to a determined and focused Hoya squad before cruising to the 3-1 win. However, the Cardinals hitting a toasty .300 as a team to GU's .104 and outblocking the Hoyas 13-6 turned the tide. Cardinal Gwen Rucker led the way with seven and Amanda Simmons added four. Louisville native Caitlin Welch had a team-high 10 digs with setter Taylor Brauneis posting a match-high 40 assists.
"We are battling a lack of experience," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "A good team plays its own style and doesn't adjust to the opponent's style or level of play. This was a bit of an ugly win but we have the potential for being a really good team."
The Hoyas hit .276 with three aces to take the first set 25-21. After trailing most of the game, GU tied at 17, took the lead for good at 19-18 and used a 7-3 run down the stretch for the win. The Cards came roaring back in the second set, taking an 11-4 lead early and then using .357 hitting to keep the Hoyas at bay. Lola led the charge with seven kills and Gwen Rucker had three blocks on defense.
U of L hitting increased to .500, powered by Arslanbekova's five kills en route to the 25-15 win. U of L had four blocks and the Cardinal defense improved with 11 digs - with Emily Juhl and Welch combining for seven. U of L pulled out to a 15-10 lead and GU used both timeouts and all its subs to try to contain the Cardinal offense to little avail.
Louisville returns to action when it hosts South Florida Sunday at 1 p.m. in a televised match on WHAS-11.
