The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Louisville
No. 19 Louisville Outlasts UAB 3-1
11/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Louisville (20-4, 12-1 Conference USA) extended its winning streak to 11 matches as the 19th-ranked Cardinals defeated UAB 3-1 in Conference USA volleyball action Saturday evening at Bartow Arena.
Sophomore outside hitter Breanne Swenson led UAB (14-17, 6-7 C-USA) with 17.5 points on 16 kills and also posted her 14th double-double of the season with 12 digs. Sophomore outside/right side hitter Lindsay Carnohan had 17 points on 14 kills, two service aces and two total blocks and senior outside hitter Martina Shields recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs to go along with 16.5 points and three total blocks for the Blazers. Freshman setter Bilun Gunal added a match-high 55 assists to go along with a .400 hitting percentage, seven digs and two service aces for UAB.
"I thought tonight we came out and really had a good, solid performance," said UAB head coach Melinda Claiborne. "They executed our gameplan very well. I think that, at times, we lost our concentration and that cost us points, especially in games two and four. Overall, I am very pleased with our performances. Our outsides are carrying a big load, but our middles are starting to really pick it up. Bilun Gunal had a great match tonight. Defensively, I think our intensity level has definitely picked up a big notch since the beginning of the conference season."
UAB had the emotional edge in the first game after a ceremony honoring seniors Karen Boyd, Lindsay Joyce and Shields. The Blazers took a 14-13 lead on a kill by Boyd, but Louisville came back and regained an 18-17 advantage. After calling timeout, UAB built its lead to 24-21 and pulled ahead for a 30-27 win. The Blazers out-hit the Cardinals .409-.282 in the game.
The Cardinals answered in game two with a .500 hitting percentage. Louisville got out to a 17-7 lead and never looked back en route to a 30-16 decision.
Game three saw a back-and-forth battle, but Louisville used a .421 hitting percentage, while holding UAB to a .286 percentage, to win 30-28.
Louisville used a 15-4 run in game four to get out to a sizeable advantage and would go on to win the game 30-21.
Louisville was led by senior outside hitter Sonja Percan who led the match with 26 points on 22 kills, three service aces and two total blocks to go along with a .400 hitting percentage. Sophomore setters Jennifer Craven and Zoya Filippova added 37 and 20 assists respectively for the Cardinals.
UAB next travels to the C-USA Tournament, which will be held Friday-Monday in New Orleans. The tournament bracket, seeding and game times will be announced Sunday.
