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Sept. 18, 2009

The Cardinals travel to West Lafayette, Ind. for the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. The Cardinals will play No. 14 Illinois Friday night at 5 p.m. and then face host Purdue on Saturday at 7:30. U of L is now 7-3 with the five-set win over archrival Kentucky on Wednesday in Cardinal Arena.

The No. 14 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1) bring a four-match win streak into the Active Ankle Challenge. Eleven letterwinners, including seven starters, return from the 2008 team which posted a 26-8 mark, including a third-place Big Ten finish and NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance, while four newcomers join the mix. Head coach Kevin Hambly is in his first season in the position after spending five years as an assistant for the Illini. are The Boilermaker squad features nine returning players, including three starters, and eight newcomers, collectively ranked as the eighth best recruiting class in the nation. Head coach Dave Shondell is in his seventh season with the team. The Boilermakers posted a 26-9 mark, a fourth-place Big Ten finish and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a year ago.

Series Record

Purdue has taken all six previous meetings with the Cardinals in the series which began on Oct. 11, 1977. The Boilermakers swept UofL in three matches during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. Purdue then added two more victories in 2008, one at the Dayton Flyer Classic on Sept. 20, and the other in the NCAA Tournament First Round in West Lafayette. U of L is 3-5 against the Illini with the last meeting coming in 2004 when the Cardinals beat the Illini 3-1 on Dec. 3 in the first round of the NCAAs held in Columbia, Mo. That win helped avenge the loss from the year prior when U of I beat the Cardinals 3-1 in Champaign in the first round of the NCAAs. U of L's former head coach Don Hardin was coaching both of those previous meetings.

Earlier this Week:

Freshman Lola Arslanbekova had 21 kills and a block to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-2 upset win over No. 16 Kentucky before a raucous and record crowd at Cardinal Arena in college volleyball action Wednesday night.

U of L (7-3), handed their intrastate rival Kentucky its first loss of the season, dropping the Cats to 10-1 with the 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 16-14 win. U of L hit .324 for the game and outblocked the Cats 21 to six. Sophomore Anastasia Artemeva had 12 kills and a season-high five solo blocks with senior Justine Landi tallying 18 kill and seven blocks. U of L senior setter Kimi Hohl had a season-high 50 assists and 12 digs. The rivalry resumed this year after taking a three year hiatus after the 2005 match which U of L won 3-0. The layoff meant that no Cardinal or Wildcat currently on the roster had faced their traditional rival. Well, except for U of L sophomore Gwen Rucker, who faced UK last year, but in women's basketball.