Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball downs Purdue, Field Hockey & Soccer fall

.
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Volleyball sweeps Purdue in straight sets

-Field Hockey falls to IU in O.T.

-Soccer downed by UK

Volleyball beats Purdue 25-21, 25-17, 25-23.

Led by Lola Arslanbekova's 20 kills, Louisville Volleyball improved to 7-1 with a straight set sweep of #11 Purdue Friday in Cincinnati in the Fifth-Third Arena. 

The Cards benefited from strong serving by Hannah Kvitle in the first game to go up 9-3 early and had Purdue on the ropes late at 21-15 before seeing a late Purdue surge made it 21-19. The Cards took three of the last five points to win by four. 

Game two saw Louisville jump out again with an early lead at 9-4 and led at 20-13 before Purdue rallied late again in the second game with four straight points. Kills by Lola and Gwen Rucker put the Boilermakers at bay, though and the Cards took the second contest 25-17. 

After the break, Purdue made Louisville work for the third win....leading 14-13 and 19-17. The Cards battled back to tie it at 23-23 and two straight kills from Lola gave Louisville a narrow two point win. 

"I am proud of them as a team. They're playing gutsy and playing with the belief that they can win. That's what you coach them up to do and you want them to play with confidence in each other and the coaching staff. Purdue's a great team, with a phenomenal coaching staff. There are times, though, when Lola just picks us up and carries us on her back." -- Louisville head Volleyball coach Anne Kordes.


Field Hockey falls to IU in overtime. 

The Cards lose a heartbreaker to IU in overtime when Morgan Fleetwood scores early in the overtime period to give IU the 3-2 win. 

The teams were tied 1-1 at the half. IU scoring first but Becca Maddock tying the contest on a penalty corner assist from Victoria Stratton. 

Louisville took a 2-1 lead midway through the second half when Erin Schneidtmiller put a missed shot back into the goal. IU rallied a couple of minutes later to tie it, though...and force the extra session. 

Erin Conrad had seven saves in the loss. The Cards go to 3-2 and will play Ohio U. tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Bloomington. 

Soccer falls to UK before record crowd at Cardinal Park. 

Cardinal and Cat fans line the fences at Cardinal Park
Friday night to watch the rivalry match-up

One of the hardest thing to do as a writer and a fan is to report on losses that the team you root for and cover suffers. The excitement and anticipation of marquee matchups....like the UofL vs. UK women's soccer game last night can get you worked up into a frenzy and heightened state of excitement as the event draws near. The deflation after a close loss is a hard feeling to shake...but you carry on, knowing that your team tried the best that they could and there will be reasons to celebrate down the road. 

Louisville played UK to a scoreless first half but surrendered two late goals to the Cats in front of a soccer record crowd of 3,520 Friday night. 

At the 59:21 mark in the second half, Natalie Horner drove a kick past Chloe Kiefer to give the Cats a 1-0  lead. Louisville missed a golden opportunity to tie the game with 11 1/2 minutes left when the Cards were awarded a penalty kick but Charlyn Corral's kick was deflected by UK goalie Kayla King. 

The Wildcats tacked on an insurance goal less than a minute later when Kelli Hubly scored on a pass near the Cardinal goal. 

UK goalie Kayla Price being treated for
collision with Christine Exeter early in the game
(Photo by Jenny O'Bryan)

The Cards with plenty of offense and attacks tonight but just unable to get the ball in the net. 

A festive crowd on hand for the match. Some of the many notables in attendance were Candyce Bingham, Jeff Walz, Cardinal WBB recruits Brianna Ruiz and Imani Wright with their parents and Becky Burke...recently returned from Poland. Seemed like the entire UofL men's basketball team was there as well. Nothing more fun than watching Gorgui Dieng bend over to talk to a 5 yr. old. I wonder if he suffers from vertigo. 

Got to watch the second half with CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jenny O'Bryan and her friends. Always good to sit with Jenny and discuss sports. 

The contest was delayed for several minutes early in the first half when a collision occurred between Christine Exeter and goalie Kayla Price. Both left the contest, Price suffering a lost tooth. She didn't return. Exeter returned later with her head wrapped in a bandage. 

Louisville falls to 4-1 with the loss. They'll face Toledo Sunday in Cardinal Park. 
.
..
...