Nov. 1, 2002

Final Stats

Louisville, Ky. - The Saint Louis University volleyball team snapped Louisville's nine-match winning streak and handed the Cardinals their first Conference USA loss, 3-1. Game scores were 19-30, 34-32, 30-24, 30-24. The loss was the first at home for the Cards, who were 7-0 at Cardinal Arena this season until Friday night.

"This is obviously a big win for us," said head coach Marilyn Nolen. "Louisville is playing as well as anyone in Conference USA and to win in their building takes a special effort. We got great effort from everyone. Colleen Hunter and Ember Knobeloch were outstanding. Lauren Boissevain and Alyson Merchant gave us a big lift off the bench and helped us comeback."

Louisville had a strong showing in the first game when they pulled out to a 14-4 lead and hit .375 with 18 kills on 32 attacks. The Billiken offense did not start well and struggled to a -.030 hitting percentage.

The Billikens responded in game two by scoring the first six points and built the lead to seven points. Louisville rallied to tie the game at 19. After that point, neither team led by more than two points until the game reached 30. The Billikens strung together two straight points to even the match

Colleen Hunter had a strong third game with six kills and helped the Billikens hit .291 and held Louisville to just a .094 mark.

Game four was close stayed in the early going until the Bills went up 22-16. Louisville closed the gap, but the Billikens kept the Cardinals at bay to complete the upset. The Bills hit a sizzling .500 in the final game with 21 kills versus just two errors.

Hunter led the Billikens with 25 kills and seven blocks. Ember Knobeloch added 14 kills, while Lauren Boissevain charted a career-best 30 assists. Bing Sun had 21 kills and nine digs to lead Louisville. Uof L had won 15 straight matches at home before the Bills ended that streak. The Cardinals were without left side hitter Lena Ustymenko, U of L's second leading hitter, who was sidelined by a wrist injury.

The Billikens stretch their win streak to three and improve to 17-8 overall, 7-2 in Conference USA. Louisville dips to 18-4 overall, 7-1 in C-USA. The Billikens play at Cincinnati on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT).