University of Louisville
VILLANOVA
Volleyball Beats Villanova 3-2 in Comeback Win
October 29, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2010
The Louisville volleyball squad got back on the right foot against the Villanova Wildcats in a sold out Cardinal Arena after a mid-week defeat to Tennessee. The Cardinals dropped the first two sets to find themselves one set away from their second consecutive loss. However, U of L bounced back to make an impressive comeback and defeated Villanova (22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-13), snapping the Wildcats' six-game winning streak.
"We were almost intimidated by our own crowd because of the great alumni who were here and we wanted to win so badly we were a little tight," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "We played a much more talented team at Tennessee but there wasn't anyone watching so we were less focused. But we settled down and took care of this straight."
The Cardinals were led in kills by Lola Arslanbekova with 13 followed by Emily Juhl who tallied 10, but were out-killed by the Wildcats 58 to 43.The Cards were aced ten times and committed 10 service errors of their own which added to their struggle.
The match began by the Cards jumping out to a 7-3 lead thanks to three early kills by Lola Arslanbekova. Not intimidated by U of L's early start, Villanova made a four-point swing to tie the match. The Cards battled with the Wildcats and kept a close lead until U of L let its lead slip at 18-17. Louisville continued to trail closely until Emily Juhl smashed home a kill to tie the set at 21-21. However the Cards were unable to prevent the Wildcats from taking four of the next five points and lost the first set 25-22. U of L was led by Arslanbekova in kills with four, but was out-killed as a team 14-11.
The Cards started sloppy in the second set and trailed the Wildcats 6-1. After a Louisville timeout, the Villanova lead continued to grow as the Wildcats took four of six points to build a 10-3 advantage. Unable to find their rhythm, the Cards' deficit grew to 12 at 19-7. Louisville then made a five-point run to peck into the Wildcat lead. However, this success was short-lived as the Cards allowed the Wildcats regain their edge and dropped the second set 25-16.
It was a tightly contested beginning to the third set with the Cards taking slight advantage at 7-6 with Anastasia Artemeva adding two early kills. Eager to stay in the match, Louisville took six of the next nine points to make the score 13-9. The Cards then watched their lead diminish as the Wildcats battled back to tie the set at 13-13. The set continued to be tight as it went down to the wire. The Cards managed to get set points for the first time, but allowed the Wildcats to take two consecutive points to make the score 24-23. In the end, Louisville took the third set after Amanda Simmons blocked the winning point to make the match 2-1.
The fourth set started off in highly competitive fashion as both teams traded points to make the score 8-8. The Cards took their first lead at 11-10 after Anastasia Artemeva's two consecutive kills and an Amanda Simmons block. The Wildcats, however, would not go away and regained a 17-16 lead, forcing the Cards to burn a timeout. The Cardinals didn't back down and took back the lead at 19-18 after a Lola Arslanbekova kill and a Tanya Lukyanenko block. Louisville maintained its lead and took the fourth set 25-22 after Arslanbekova supplied the Cards with their last two points with two powerful kills.
The teams continued to keep the match closely contested in the fifth set with the score knotted at four. The Cards then let four of five points slip away and found themselves in an 8-5 hole. U of L fought its way back to take eight of 10 points to make the score 12-9. After Louisville's run, Villanova made a three-point streak of its own to tie it at 12. The Cards ended the set with an exclamation point to take the fifth set 15-13 after an Arslanbekova kill and a Simmons block.
The Cardinals' record improves to 15-6 and 9-1 in the BIG EAST. Villanova drops to 19-5 and 7-2 in the conference.
Louisville is set to play at Pittsburgh Saturday, November 6 at 2:00 pm.
