By Mitch Streufert
The No. 2 seed, Cincinnati Bearcats, who had already punched their ticket to the Big East Final watched on as the No. 1 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish battled against the No. 4 seed University of Louisville Cardinals Saturday afternoon. The contest was back and forth for its entirety with the Cards prevailing in five sets (24-26), (25-16), (18-25), (15-13).
Big East Freshman Player of the Year, Lola Arslanbekova, led all Cardinal attackers with 21 kills, and senior hitter Justine Landi had 18 kills of her own as the Cards out hit Notre Dame .260 to .208.
“We knew we could come in here and compete if we passed the ball well,” said U of L assistant coach Stephanie Marsh. “When we pass the ball well it sets up our entire offense, and its something we didn’t do well at all in South Bend earlier this year.”
Notre Dame defeated the Cards earlier in the season on their way to an undefeated conference record. The victory Saturday, at the Kentucky International Convention Center, was revenge for First Team All Big East senior hitter Lecia Brown.
“We as a team really wanted this win,” said Brown. “We wanted to prove to ourselves, and the fans that we were good enough to get to this point.”
The first set was tightly contested with the Irish taking the set (26-24) on a controversial non-call. With the Cards down 25-24 and facing set point, Justin Landi, attacked a ball that appeared to hit a Notre Dame blocker’s hand as it landed out of bounds. The referree ruled it out of bounds on the Cards, and the Irish took the set.
“Even after that tough loss in the first set everybody knew we were going to fight for every point,” Marsh said. “If we fight for every point we are tough to beat.”
The Cards answered back in the second with a (25-16) victory and the Irish took the third set (25-18). In the pivotal fourth set the Cards rushed out to a 9-4 lead forcing Notre Dame’s head coach Debbie Brown to call a timeout. The Irish rallied to make it 13-12 forcing U of L’s head coach Leonid Yelin to call his first timeout of the set. Out of the timeout Lola Arslanbekova crushed any hope of a comeback with three kills forcing a fifth set.
The fifth set was a microcosm of the entire match with eight ties, but it looked bleak for the Cardinals when the Irish pulled off a 3-0 run to make it 10-7. Yelin called a timeout to stop the stampeding Irish, his decision proved effective with the Cards winning the next four points. Arslanbekova had two huge kills to make it 14-12, giving Louisville two match points. Notre Dame fought off the first match point, but with the Cards leading 14-13, Justine Landi pounded a rocket of a spike through the floor propelling the Cardinals into the finals against Cincinnati.
“This match meant more to this team than anyone can understand,” said Brown. “We have worked so hard to get to this point, and knowing all we have to do is win one more match and were Big East Champions is an awesome feeling.”
The Cards will be taking on the Cincinnati Bearcats tomorrow for the Big East Tournament Title and a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament. The match begins Sunday at 3 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
