Marquette lost all three sets, 25-8, 25-19 and 25-21.

"We just didn't play well," coach Pati Rolf said. "It's a simple deal."

Louisville, ranked three spots ahead of Marquette in the Big East, crushed the team's blocking and defense with its hard hitters.,”A fifth Big East loss hit the women's volleyball team's morale hard tonight at the Al McGuire Center against Louisville.

Marquette lost all three sets, 25-8, 25-19 and 25-21.

"We just didn't play well," Coach Pati Rolf said. "It's a simple deal."

Louisville, ranked three spots ahead of Marquette in the Big East, crushed the team's blocking and defense with its hard hitters. The Cardinal's 6-foot-6 outside hitter, Jana Matiasovska, from Bratislava, Slovakia, provided 11 of the team's 41 kills, as did six-foot-one outside hitter Justine Landi, who made 10.

Marquette struggled with its outside hitting. Sophomore mainstay Leslie Bielski, who was sick the day before, made two kills, while senior Ashlee Fisher made just five.

"We didn't have the urgency to close out the play," Rolf said. "Our outsides were just hitting balls over, they weren't going for the ball."

During the first set, the Golden Eagles got crushed 25-8. The Cardinals took two 4-0 runs in the first points, followed by an 11-0 run at 5-9. After that, there was no stopping Louisville. A resounding kill by the Cardinal's Lecia Brown, who made six of Lousiville's 18 blocks, closed the game.

The Golden Eagles were able to keep up better with the Cardinals during the second set, however. The team traded points, helped by Jones making a kill when the score was 18-22. Yet the Cardinals raced ahead, ending at 19-25.

The third set matched the second. At 19-24, Bielski made two kills and a serving ace, but this was not enough to stop the Cardinals from winning 21-25.

Freshman Ciara Jones, who just recovered from a foot injury, provided a spark for the team, however. After being substituted in in the second set, Jones made six kills total.

Rolf also added freshman defensive setter Alexandra Coello into the rotation, who helped give the outsides a break, Rolf said.

"Ciara was.our bright, shiny spot of today, so was Alex," Rolf said. "Our veteran leadership just didn't execute the plan that needed to be executed again this team."

Jones said she thought she played well, hitting high over the tall blockers and being aggressive.

"It was my type of game and it was easy to do," Jones said. "We needed to take the first step, and me getting the ball we showed the other team that we can do this."

Setter Caryn Mastandrea said she game did not go as planned, and that the team needed to spread the offense more. Yet Mastandrea still seemed positive for Sunday's match against Cincinnati, ranked fourth in the Big East. Marquette sits at No. 12.

"The team will just as good," Mastandrea said. "We just need to forget about this game and get going again."

“