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No. 12-ranked Volleyball Beats Miami for Louisville Invitational Crown
Sept. 15, 2012
Lola Arslanbekova had 21 kills and nine digs to lead the No. 12-ranked University of Louisville to a 3-1 win over Miami and take the Louisville Invitational crown Saturday night in the KFC Yum! Center. "This was a huge weekend for us and while all that the fans live and die with the polls but with the NCAA committee it is all about the RPI. We have three wins over schools that should win their respective conferences and that helps us," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. Arslanbekova earned MVP honors with teammates Kaitlynn James and Brooke Mattingly joining her on the all-tournament team. Mattingly had 11 kills, hitting a torrid .714 with James adding 10 kills and four blocks. Welch had a match-high 23 digs. Tanya Lukyanenko had 11 kills on 20 swings and seven blocks. Miami, 9-2, was led by Kelsie Groot's 15 kills and 13 digs but fell 26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17. In the first set, the Cardinals were down 22-15 but powered by four Lola Arslanbekova kills and a block and two Tanya Lukyanenko kills and a block as U of L pulled a 26-24 win off in the first set. U of L hit a toasty .405 with Lola notching 10 kills in that set alone. The Cards pulled out to a 16-11 lead early in the second set but the Hurricanes used a 5-1 run late to pull within four at 21-17. U of L settled down after a timeout to score four of the final six points for the 25-19 win. Tanya Lukyanenko had four kills to pace the Cards. U of L hitting stayed hot at .361 to Miami's .179. A 9-0 run by Miami midway through the third set was the Cards' undoing. U of L scrambled back late with three straight points after the Canes got to set point but a Caitlin Welch service error gave the set to Miami at 25-19. U of L hitting cooled to .200 and were blocked four times. A 6-2 run in the fourth set put the Cards up 13-9 followed by a timeout by Miami at 15-10. By that time, the Cards could smell the finish line and cruised to a 25-17 win.
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