University of Louisville
Butler
Volleyball Beats Butler in Arizona Wildcat Classic
September 04, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2010
Lola Arslanbekova had 19 kills and earned all-tournament honors to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-1 win over Butler in the final match of the Arizona Wildcat Classic Saturday afternoon in Tucson, Ariz.
"This week, our middle blockers really stepped up," said U of L head coach. It was very simple we did what we had to do. It wasn't pretty. We spent all our gas last night. I think we are physically and mentally still recovering. The effort was there but it was hard to focus from the mental fatigue."
The Cardinals hit .216 but outblocked the Bulldogs 10-6. BU notched six aces but were outdug 73-55. Emily Juhl had 15 kills and Amanda Simmons had eight kills and a match-high seven blocks for the Cardinals. Libero Caitlin Welch had a match high 18 digs. U of L moves to 4-2 for the season with the 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 win. Butler falls to 2-5.
In the first set marked by long rallies, U of L hit .188 to Butler's .073 but the Cards had 30 digs in one set, indicative of the scrambling nature of the play. Amanda Simmons had three blocks and Lola Arslanbekova had five kills to lead the Cardinals.
In the second set, U of L ran out to an 18-9 lead but Butler battled back to within two at 19-17. The Cardinals got timely kills from Emily Juhl to get to game point at 24-19. A kill by Lola Arslanbekova tipped the set to Louisville. Neither team hit well, with the Cardinals owning the slight edge .125 to Butler's .125. U of had 13 digs to BU's six.
After the break, Butler doggedly kept the lead despite several Cardinal rallies and a U of L miscue gave BU set point. The Cardinals fended off the win until a service error by Arslanbekova gave the set to the Bulldogs 25-23.
In the fourth set, the Bulldogs would not go away, although U of L never lost the lead, winning 25-21.
