NO. 2 Louisville Drops No. 7 Saint Louis , 3-1
11/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 16, 2001
HOUSTON, Texas - No. 2 Louisville ousted No. 7 Saint Louis, 3-1 (30-22, 27-30, 30-24, 30-23) in the quarterfinal match of the 2001 Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament on Friday in Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cardinals (21-5) advance to their fourth consecutive C-USA Tournament semifinal game and will play the winner of the Marquette/South Florida matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
"With the first round bye, we were just a little tentative," said Louisville head coach Leonid Yelin. "There was so much at stake, one loss and you are gone. That was hanging heavily over our team. It wasn't exciting for the fans to watch, but we just hung in there."
First team All-Conference Sonja Percen fired a team-high 26 kills and five blocks, while Anastasia Zaitseva notched her 12th double-digit game this season with 21 kills and 14 digs. Lesley Drury led the Cardinals defensively, tying a season-best with seven blocks.
For Saint Louis, senior Colleen Hunter posted another stellar game for the Billikens, blasting a match-high 27 kills and 15 digs. With a total of 1,597 kills, she ends her four-year career ranked third on the Billikens' all-time kill list. Senior Dani Apted also tallied 16 digs, while junior Brooke Minniear finished the game with 10 kills and eight digs.
"Louisville was solid throughout the whole match," said Saint Louis head coach Marilyn Nolen. "We made some adjustments and I thought we gave them problems with our size. Our offense did not run as smoothly as it did yesterday against Charlotte. We needed better defense because Louisville's offense is so strong."
The Billikens finish the 2001 season with a 14-13 overall mark.
2001 Healthy Choice C-USA Volleyball Tournament
(7) Saint Louis 22 30 24
(2) Louisville 30 27 30
Individual Leaders
KILLS: Sonja Percan (LOU) 26
DIGS: Dani Apted (SLU) 16
SERVICE ACES: Shannan Swiney (SLU) 2, Emily Roberson (2)
BLOCKS: Lesley Drury (LOU) 7