Go Cards!
No. 9 Louisville Marches Past Maryland 3-0 to Advance to NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Cards to meet No. 8 Florida on Friday in Omaha, Neb.
 
Cards knock off Maryland 3-0 and will face Florida on Friday.

Cards knock off Maryland 3-0 and will face Florida on Friday.

Dec. 3, 2005

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Lena Ustymenko had 20 kills and 11 digs for her 12th double/double of the season to lead the University of Louisville to a three-game sweep of Maryland in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Championship Saturday night at Louisville Gardens.

"We didn't have the lapses we had last night," said Leonid Yelin, U of L coach. "We just had barely one day to prepare so you just have to focus on your own strengths and execute your own game plan."

U of L improves to 31-2 with the 30-23, 30-26, 30-28 win and makes its fourth Sweet Sixteen appearance as they advance to the Omaha Regional where they will face Florida next Friday night. It is the Cards' second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance. Maryland ends its season at 28-5.

"We played with poise and we got closer each time," said Maryland coach Janice Kruger. "I think Louisville's experience level was greater but our fight was there."

U of L hit .300 for the match and outblocked the Terps 13-9.5. Senior Jennifer Hoffman added 12 kills and seven blocks.

U of L used a 12-5 run after being tied at 18 late in the first game to put away the Terps. The Cardinals hit a tepid .216 but had two aces. They were paced by Ustymenko's seven kills and Hoffman's five.

"I think we were focused and more mentally prepared this match," said senior setter Jennifer Craven. "We knew they had come to play. We got all our nervousness out last night, so we stepped up."

The Cardinals had a hot hitting hand, outhitting the Terrapins .417 to .150. The U of L block improved with the Cardinals notching five to Maryland's two. Ustymenko added eight more kills to her total and Rui Liu had four blocks. The Terps' Mary Beth Brown led the way with four kills.

 

 

In the final game, U of L hit .304 and after tying at 22, outscored the Terps eight to six down the stretch.

"I am proud of our seniors," said Kruger. "They carried us all season and took us to the ACC co-championship. We wanted it real bad but Louisville is a tough team and we never dropped our heads."

Maryland was led by Jade Brown's 11 kills. Stephanie Smith had six kills and six blocks for the Terps.

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