VB, WSOC Win; FH Doesn't -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Sweep Blue Jay Invitational

After victories over Creighton and Northern Iowa, one match stood between Louisville and a clean sweep of the weekend. The Cards dropped a set for their fifth straight match, but they recovered to beat the Owls 22-25, 28-26, 25-14, 25-15. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Dan Meske had words for his squad at halftime after the first two sets. 

Louisville got back to their blocking ways in this one, totaling 13 team blocks. It was a group effort, as the Cards had just one solo block, which again came from Nayelis Cabello. Cabello contributed four block assists as well, tying her with Hannah Sherman for second in that category. Cara Cresse and Kalyssa Blackshear led the way with six apiece. Addison Makun chipped in a pair and Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen each had one. 

Petersen finished with a double-double after picking up 11 kills and 11 digs. Cresse led the way in kills as well, slamming home 14 and leading the team in hitting percentage with a .458. Blackshear was close behind with 13 kills and a .333 percentage. Chicoine had nine kills and no errors. Louisville also had a strong day at the service line, finishing with 10 aces, outnumbering their nine errors. 

Louisville improved to 7-1 after the win, and it will be interesting to see where they land in the AVCA rankings today. Though the Cards suffered their first loss of the season, it was in a functional road match against the second-ranked team in the country, and they followed it up with a road win over a ranked team. The Cards will get their next major test back in the friendly confines of the Yum! Center when they face UK at 6PM on Thursday. The match will be on ESPNU. 

Soccer Beats VT 1-0

Louisville left it late in their conference home opener, but they ultimately scored a game-winner to beat Virginia Tech and move to 1-1 in ACC play. The win was a big one. Louisville will play some of the top teams in the conference this season, and a return to NCAA tournament play means beating teams you have the chance to. Virginia Tech entered at 4-3-2 on the season and lost just 2-1 against UNC on Thursday. The Hokies had scored 23 goals and given up 13. A win gives Louisville a precious three points and sees them in the top half of the league (although BC, SMU, and NC State have yet to play two conference matches). 

The Cards were stymied offensively in the first half, earning just one shot off-target. Virginia Tech controlled much of the possession and took four shots, forcing one save from Erynn Floyd. The Hokies also enjoyed two corners compared to just one for the Cards. Louisville turned up the offensive pressure in the second half, though. The two teams each had just one corner kick, but Louisville totaled 10 shots in the period, and they put five of them on target. 

To Virginia Tech's credit, they had a couple of chances as well. The Hokies put two of their three second half shots on frame, but Floyd was up to the task. The two teams looked headed for Louisville's first draw of the season until late in the half when Liza Suydam found herself with space in the offensive third. Carrying the ball up field, she saw an opening and slotted a great through ball for Emersen Jennings to set the forward up with a 1-on-1 opportunity with the VT goalkeeper. Jennings showed once more that she has found more touch and accuracy in her senior season, taking a light touch on the ball before firing it home high into the side netting. Louisville led 1-0 in the 82nd minute and would go on to complete the victory. 

It was a brutal finish for Virginia Tech. The Hokies had conceded three times in the final five minutes of matches entering yesterday, and the late winner for Louisville will add to that frustration. For the Cards, it was a great recovery after the difficult match in Tallahassee on Thursday. A scoreless draw would have netted the Cards a point in the conference standings, but it would have felt empty after showing so much punch in non-conference and being quite frisky on the road against FSU. One goal is not ideal, but it's better than none. 

Louisville's win gave them their highest win total since 2019. The Cards had 13 wins that season, and it was the last time they made the NCAA tournament. While there are still eight games remaining, 13 wins would be quite tough this season. Double digit wins, though, should definitely be on the table. Louisville's next opponent will be a tough Clemson team. The Tigers opened their ACC slate by bringing the two California teams to South Carolina. They stole a point off of Stanford late on Thursday and earned a matching 2-2 draw against Cal on Sunday. Clemson has already picked up five draws this season and sit at 3-1-5. 

No lead will be safe against the Tigers, and Louisville will need to stay focused on Friday to earn a victory. It's an unusual game day for the Cards with the Friday slot instead of Thursday, but it comes ahead of a bye on Sunday. The match will begin at 7PM. 

FH Stumbles in Hangover Loss

Louisville field hockey suffered a shocking loss on Friday, giving up the lead in the waning moments of the match before losing to the #1 team in overtime. Those bad vibes apparently carried through the weekend, as #15 Iowa took the Cards to task on Sunday. 

Louisville gave up four goals in the first quarter on seven shots by Iowa. The Hawkeyes added a fifth goal on three more shots in the second quarter and Louisville was held without a shot in the first half. The Cards managed ten shot attempts in the second half, and actually finished with more shots on target overall (9-8), but Iowa's had been of higher quality, and Louisville could find the back of the cage just once. 

Annabel Sep scored her third goal of the year on a penalty corner shortly into the third quarter. While it jumpstarted the offense and the Cards had more corners and shots immediately after, they couldn't find the back of the net. A 5-1 loss was a painful way to close what could have been a huge weekend. 

The Cards have a long practice week ahead before their next match on Friday. It will be another Big Ten team headed to Trager Stadium, as Ohio State comes to town. A win would keep the Cards above .500 on the season, both overall and against B1G teams. With two matches to go before conference play begins, getting back on track before heading to California next week would be significant. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case