Blackbirds Take No. 6 Louisville to Four Games, Fall 3-1

(boxscore)

10/08/05 - -Long Island University dropped a four-game thriller against No. 6 Louisville today at the Schwartz Center (31-29, 28-30, 30-19, 30-18). The loss ended the Blackbirds four match win streak and undefeated record at home (7-1).

LIU (10-11) was led by sophomore Martina Wagner (Friedrichshafen, Germany) with 19 kills. Senior Lizelle Jackson posted 17 kills and 12 digs. The Palmdale, Calif. native has 332 kills and 315 digs on the season, moving her into the top 10 in LIU’s all-time charts in those respective categories in just two seasons of competition.

Senior Ivana Vasiljevic (Brcko, Bosnia & Hertzegovina) collected a match-high 34 assists and two service aces. Junior Alexis Reed (Burtonsville, Md.) notched double-digit digs (13) for the third time in the past four games.

Louisville (16-0) captured game one despite pressure from a pesky Blackbirds squad. LIU held onto a 29-27 advantage in the first contest following a kill from Wagner. Two consecutive Blackbird errors and kills from senior Lena Ustymenko and Ana Yartseva gave the Cardinals the 31-29 triumph.

LIU bounced back in the second stanza in a contest that featured nine ties and four lead changes. The largest lead was 20-16 after a kill by Jackson that hit in the far left corner. Tied at 28-28, Jackson ended the marathon point with a kill. An attacking error by the Cardinals gave the Blackbirds the 30-28 win.

The Cardinals easily pushed ahead in the last two games to seal the victory, their 16th straight. Louisville was paced Lena Ustymenko with 19 kills, 13 digs and hit .265. Classmate Jennifer Hoffman tallied 15 kills and eight blocks.

The Blackbirds open NEC play on Saturday, October 16, hosting Robert Morris. Game time is at 1:00 p.m.