April 1, 2008
The University of Louisville volleyball team continued its spring season with a strong showing at Indiana University last weekend. The Cardinals beat Indiana, Southern Illinois and IUPUI in pool play and then went on to beat the opposing pool play winner, Butler, in straight games.
"It was our second of four days allowed to play outside competition," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "This was exactly what we needed in a spring tournament. Competition that is well-coached, challenged us and exposed any weakness we might have. We did not lose a single game so I was very pleased with the way we played."
The Cardinals' most-used starting lineup included Tatyana Kolesnikova and Anastasia Artemeva at outside hitters. Jana Matiasovska and Lecia Brown played middle and Justine Landi played opposite setter Elena Pilnikova. Lindsey Mango anchored the libero spot and Kristie Wetterer was defensive specialist. Senior to be Rui Liu did not participate due to a minor injury.
"Jana was tremendous, she was digging and hitting and blocking," said Yelin. "Anastasia, who sat out last year, is developing into a powerful outside hitter. Justine Landi was instrumental in our scheme and did a little bit of everything for us. She is completely living up to our expectations. I was very pleased."
Yelin was also pleased with the progress of the 2007 preseason Big East Player of the Year,
Tatyana Kolesnikova, who spent much of last season regaining her form after shoulder surgery.
"Tatyana is getting back to the way she was before surgery. She was elevating, hitting the ball so hard, she was making our opponents a little nervous after warmups," laughed Yelin.
