University of Louisville
Seton Hall
Volleyball Sinks Pirates 3-1 in BIG EAST First Round
November 19, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 19, 2010
Lola Arslanbekova had 25 kills and two blocks to lead the University of Louisville volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Seton Hall in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament Friday evening at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
The Pirates, who dealt U of L one of its two regular season BIG EAST losses, hit .169 and recorded 12 blocks before falling 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21. The Cardinals hit .223 with 13 blocks and 79 digs. Arslanbekova got help from junior Anastasia Artemeva, who had 12 kills and two blocks. Amanda Simmons had eight blocks and Caitlin Welch had a match-high 23 digs. U of L improves to 19-7 for the season while Seton Hall ends its season at 13-18.
"I think we were a little more athletic at the net and we were playing to our strengths with our hitting and blocking," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "In the tournament, it is almost like it is a different sport, not so much volleyball but a momentum game. So in the BIG EAST, you survive and advance. We did what we had to do and we are now focused on tomorrow's match."
The Cardinals will play the winner of the Marquette/Pitt match at 3:30 on Saturday.
In the first set , U of L popped out to a 13-7 lead early and then withstood a Pirate comeback that brought SHU to within four at 17-13. The Cardinals reopened their lead with a 6-0 run and cruised in for the 25-17 win. Neither team put on an exhibition in the hitting department, with U of L hitting .100 to SHU's -.060. Lola Arslanbekova led the Cards with three kills. Amanda Simmons had six blocks, scoring on defense for the Cardinals.
SHU regrouped after the first set and used a 6-2 run in the second set to go up 20-16. The Cards came within three at 23-20 but three straight hitting miscues put the Pirates at set point and a U of L overpass tipped the set to the Pirates 25-22. U of L hit just .095 to SHU's .189 and recorded just two blocks. Arslanbekova had six kills to lead the Cardinals.
In the third set, U of L used a 5-0 run early to go up 9-6 and force a SHU timeout. The Pirates scrambled back to tie at 15 but the Cardinals had an Amanda Simmons ace and three kills to go up 19-15 and force Seton Hall to burn its final timeout. After U of L built its lead to 23-19, Seton Hall had three straight kills to come within one at 23-22. Yelin called timeout and the Cardinals got to set point on an error by Sarah Osmun, who then got the next kill to push the score to 24-23. A crosscourt kill by Anastasia Artemeva was set point as the Cardinals won 25-23.
"I was struggling with my hitting so I just said I am going to concentrate on my blocking," said senior Amanda Simmons. "We are 100 percent focused on our own game. We need to stay in our game plan and stay in our own heads."
In the fourth set, U of L blew out to a 17-8 lead and forced a SHU timeout. The Pirates came out of the break and went on a 6-1 spurt to come within five at 18-14 and then pressured the Cardinals until Yelin called time out with a 21-18 lead. The two teams battled down the stretch but U of L prevailed 25-21 to advance to the next round.
