Volleyball To Host Alumni Match
August 19, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 19, 2010
The University of Louisville volleyball team will take its 2010 squad out for a spin as it hosts the Cardinal Alumni in a match 2 p.m. Saturday at Cardinal Arena.
Some of the brightest former stars in the Cardinal volleyball universe will be on hand to put the fledgling Cardinals through their paces before the match is played in earnest as the regular season begins at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 against North Dakota State in Cardinals Arena.
Playing for the Alumni will be Lena Ustymenko, Jennifer Hoffman, Stephanie Marsh Cantway, Beth Kuhnell, Dee Singleton, Kara Hamilton, Rui Liu Davidson, Tatyana Kolesnikova, Kristie Wetterer and Kelly McClain Garvey, among others.
Admission is free.
After losing three seniors, the Cardinals reloaded with four new players for the 2010 season as well as their top returnees. Back to lead the team is Lola Arslanbekova, who returns for her sophomore season after a rookie season that saw her win BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, First Team All-BIG EAST, and BIG EAST Most Outstanding Player. She had a team high 533 kills and 1268 swings, scoring 587 points for the Cardinals. That is 23.5 sets' worth of points by herself.
Senior Lindsey Mango returns to supply the team with plenty of defense. Averaging about 421 digs per season, she is on pace to become the all-time digs leader for U of L. She has 1,262 career digs after three years as a starter and her total ranks her third all-time for the Cardinals. The other senior, Amanda Simmons, was a spark off the bench last season and added experience after transferring from Hawaii. She has worked extremely hard in the off-season to become a factor for the 2010 season.
Gwen Rucker, who has played both volleyball and basketball the last two seasons, has decided focus on volleyball for her junior year and looks to pick up some of slack from the loss of Lecia Brown. Gosia Lech is back to assist the team after averaging 4.60 assists per set last season as a setter.
Outside hitter, Anastasia Artemeva looks to battle back after being plagued with injuries the last two seasons to help crash the nets while defensive specialist Maci Wachtel is back as well.
Sophomore Kasey Heckelman was another spark off the bench last season. She aims to have an even greater impact on the team this season. Brooke Mattingly will start her U of L career after red-shirting last season. The tall middle blocker will add depth to the already deep blocking position for the Cardinals.
The city of Louisville has supplied two newcomers to the Cardinal squad. Emily Juhl was a stand out at Sacred Heart and will bring athleticism to the hitter position. Caitlin Welsh played for Mercy and is a great defensive player. Taylor Brauneis joins the Cardinal team as an outstanding setter and will make an immediate impact. Junior college All-American transfer, Tanya Lukyanenko will start her career as a sophomore and will strive to be a factor right away.
