By Catherine Laroche
The University of Louisville volleyball team is on cloud nine right now. They recently broke in their new practice facility, the Yum! Center, freshman Lindsey Mango was named Big East Volleyball Player of the Week, sophomore Lecia Brown leads the nation in blocks and they’re 6-0 in the Big East.
Things could still get better for the Cardinals as they go up against the University of Tennessee and the University of Cincinnati this week at Cardinal Arena.
The Vols (7-6, 2-4 in Southeastern Conference play) have struggled recently to win games. They routinely battle their opponents all the way to the last possible serve, but have been coming up short-handed.
“Just two years ago, they were in the Final Four,” U of L head coach Leonid Yelin said. “They’re a great school, great program and they play in a great conference. It’s going to be a good match.”
Despite their recent struggles, the Vols are not a team to overlook. Freshman Nikki Fowler posted her most impressive offensive performance of her young career, recording her third double-double with a career-high 22 kills and 11 digs, while taking a personal high 49 swings against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Vols, as a team, had season-highs in a number of statistical categories when battling the Razorbacks, including 70 kills, 65 assists and 92 digs.
“They’re a real good team all around,” sophomore Samantha Dabbs said. “Their coach [Rob Patrick] is an amazing coach and I really do respect him a lot. He knows exactly what to do with a team and what players to put on the court to beat a team. We know they’re good. We know that we just have to see what they have and make them play our game. We have to step up our game and make no mental mistakes.”
The Cardinals continue to succeed in the Big East with a 6-0 record, making them the only undefeated team left in the conference.
“The beginning of the season is different from the middle of the season,” Yelin said. “Now, I’m pretty pleased with the way we look. I’m impressed with all of the team. It’s a team effort. We wouldn’t beat this kind of top-ranked team (St. Johns) with just two or three players. It takes a team effort.”
Individually, the Cardinals continue to pile up the accolades. Mango claimed Big East Volleyball Player of the Week honors after grabbing 17 digs and two assists in the Cards’ victory over St. John’s on Oct. 6. and 15 digs, five assists and four service aces against UConn.
Brown leads the nation in blocks at 2.04. She tied a school record with 12 block assists against No. 11 Duke University.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Yelin said. “She’s the kind of player that every coach could only wish for.”
Brown doesn’t claim all the credit in being the nation’s leading blocker.
“It feels good, but I can’t say ‘I’ lead the nation because most of my blocks are literally assists, so I’m with someone all the time who’s talking to me and telling me to ‘look out for this,'” Brown said. “So it’s definitely a team thing that makes me No. 1.”
The Cardinals will battle Tennessee at Cardinal Arena tonight at 7 p.m. and Cincinnati on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Cardinal Arena.
