Louisville to Honor NCAA Runners-Up at Alumnae Match -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Hosts Alumnae All-Star Match Today

Louisville volleyball has been announcing the all-stars that are returning for this afternoon's alumnae match throughout the week, and many of the names are those that were rumored last week. In addition to today's match, UofL will be hosting a season-opening "Block Party" at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena, including a ring ceremony for the 2024 runner-up finishers, a team Q&A, an autograph session, and an opportunity for fans to take photos with the runner-up trophy on the court. 

The latest announcement for today's match were the coaching staff for the all-star team. One of those coaches will just be heading across the floor, as Sarah Drury Petkovic moves over from the current staff to take part in leading the group. The other is another one of the all-stars herself, though she is unable to play. Anna DeBeer will join Petkovic at the helm of a stellar alumnae team. 

Though they won't have DeBeer, the all-stars will still have a strong hitting contingent, as Aiko Jones, Claire Chaussee, and Charitie Luper join the team. Louisville's blocking and defense will be put to the test with those three on the attack. On the flip side, Louisville's offense will have to contend with a strong alumnae defense as well. The all-star team will roll with Elena Scott at libero and Emily Scott (no relation) at middle blocker. Emily, if you'll remember, was also a national champion for UofL in the high jump. She finished her volleyball career with 207 kills and 133 blocks, despite playing in just 138 total sets. Also joining the alumnae are Elle Glock at setter and Jamie Vasilou, who primarily served as a serving specialist in her time with the Cards.

Today's match won't be available for streaming, so you'll have to get into the arena to be a part of this one. First serve is scheduled for 2PM and the doors will open at 1PM. I suspect the line is already forming (which may or may not be a joke depending on what time you are reading this). It should be an exciting match and will be Louisville's final competitive tune-up before opening the season on Friday, August 29th against Auburn. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have three on board today as Jared takes in the final weekend of the fair. Paulie, Daryl, and I will still have plenty to discuss with the soccer season fully underway and the other two fall sports in their exhibition schedules. You can check out the show after it posts around 1PM, and be sure to subscribe so that it comes to your feed automatically. 

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Jeff and Jared Visit Pro VolleyCards in Indy -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Visiting the Pro VolleyCards in Indy

Fishers Event Center

Jeff and I ventured outside of Louisville following the Cards’ loss to Notre Dame on Sunday in women’s basketball. Our destination was the Fishers Event Center in Indiana to catch some professional volleyball as fans. Cardinal Couple has been denied media credentials multiple times this season for the Ignite since we are not local media and do not actively cover their team. Four former Cardinals were on the combined rosters for the match. Wilma Rivera and Tori Dilfer Stringer dressed for the Columbus Fury while Elena Scott and Anna DeBeer were on the other side with the Indy Ignite.

The host Ignite took the 3-0 sweep in front of approximately 5,000 fans. Members of the crowd included the DeBeer family, the Scott family, and the Rush (Ceci is a Louisville volleyball alum) family. The current Purdue head coach was sitting court side along the baseline to watch a couple former Boilermakers play.

Tori Dilfer Stringer

We had a chance to talk to Stringer, DeBeer, and Scott after the match. Rivera had some family in town visiting from presumably Puerto Rico and did not get to swing over to chit chat. Stringer showed some sign of frustration as she felt her team had an off night. DeBeer was not dressed in uniform, but was still on the bench with the rest of the team. Scott had an unfamiliar look as she did not wear the libero jersey for the first time since high school. Kylie Murr, who is in her second pro season, is the current libero on the team and has given Scott some competition.

While we did not conduct an official interview with the players, nor did we do any video, our former Cards were happy to talk with us and answer a few questions.

All of them seemed to be excited for both Dani Busboom Kelly on taking the Nebraska job and for Dan Meske being promoted to the Louisville job. Anna mentioned how she predicted this was going to happen this season while many of us thought this personnel change was still a few years away. We did learn that both the Louisville and Nebraska players were informed at the exact same time and found out less than an hour before the official announcement. This was to help limit the chances of information being leaked in advance.

Anna DeBeer

Tori, who has a few professional years under her belt now, has been adjusting to her new team and new roster. She and Wilma Rivera have split time at setter and both of them are playing more of a veteran and leadership role. She did mention the fun she had with helping run some of the volleyball podcasts and videos for Floyd Street Media and is hopeful to do so again next fall.

Anna is not quite healthy yet but assured us that things are trending in the right direction for her. A timeline of returning wasn’t given but she indicated that she plans to actively participate in the matches by the end of the season. We did not ask the extent of her injuries but Jeff and I both were under the impression that it was a bit worse than we thought back during the Final Four. Either way, she has a bright career ahead of her.

Elena Scott

Anna and Elena are currently roommates in an apartment not far from the arena. That’s not too bad seeing as both practice and workout together on the same team and have each other to lean on. Both players are Louisville natives and are playing outside of their hometown for the first time ever, albeit being just a couple hours away.

It was certainly good to catch up with some of our former Cards and to hear that each one is doing well. We hope to head back north for another match later this season.

Back in Louisville, Dan Meske was officially introduced as the next Louisville volleyball head coach. Jeff and I both hit this promotion over the last few days, but you can find his introductory presser below.

Dan Meske Introductory Press Conference

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

The Cruel World of Sports -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Volleyball the Latest Victim of the Cruelty of Sports

Picture this: You spend your entire childhood playing volleyball with dreams of playing for your local school and winning a championship with them when you get older. You receive a scholarship playing for your dream school. You become an All-American. Your final year, the Final Four is hosted in your hometown. As if it was a fairytale, your team goes on a magical run to advance to the national championship. But... you get injured in the days before the championship and cannot play. Your team loses.

Pretty easy thing to imagine in your head, right? We witnessed this situation this past weekend. Anna DeBeer is a Louisville native who grew up dreaming of playing for Louisville. In her five years, DeBeer was named an All-American three times, helped lead the Cards to two Final Four appearances, and appeared to be on pace to help give Louisville its first volleyball championship. However, an ankle sprain in the semifinal helped her collegiate career come to an abrupt ending and Louisville was missing its heart and soul in the final match and fell.

Sports are cruel. They can dangle the thing you want the most right in front of you and yank it away at the last second. Sports can be Lucy, from the comic strip Peanuts..holding the football for you to kick..and jerking it away at the funal second...as you miss the ball and land on your back. 

The volleyball world watched in disbelief as DeBeer was helped off the court against Pittsburgh in the fourth set. Then, Louisville fans everywhere watched in disappointment as Penn State was able to take control of the second half to win the title in the ards next outing. Louisville was as close as you could be to winning the championship and even began building momentum at halftime after winning an extended and grueling second set. But, without their leader, Louisville came up just short.

"What if?" Now all of Louisville has to look back and think "What if". What if DeBeer didn't get hurt? Does Louisville win? Personally, I believe Louisville wins. The Cards played a competitive match even without their star player. Just think how they could have fared had she been healthy enough to play.

But...

But, while sports can show its cruelty at times, sports offers so much more than that. Sports offers excitement, joy, love, passion, and hope. Sports can bring so much positivity into someone's life.

Looking back at the last few Louisville volleyball seasons, we have seen massive growth in popularity. For the last couple years, the waiting list for season tickets has grown into the hundreds.

Louisville set its own program record for number of fans at a regular season match. They then turned around and helped shatter the attendance records for the national semifinals and final- a sold out KFC Yum! Center.

In a time where both Louisville womens and mens basketball teams were falling short of expectations (one much more so than the other), fans turned to Louisville volleyball for hope and joy. Fans were hopeful for great seasons and big tournament runs. The wins against top tier opponents brought joy and excitement to Louisville fans everywhere. Louisville fans united to cheer on the Cards and celebrate in the many joyous occasions, but to also offer each other support and a leg to stand on through the losses and heartbreak.

The Cards got into some epic matches against the best programs in the country. Many of these matches were aired on major national tv networks, drawing in hundreds of thousands of viewers and even surpassed one million viewers on multiple occasions. 

Young girls everywhere looked up to this new generation of role models. DeBeer and Elena Scott being Louisville natives were certainly fan favorites but posters boasting the names of all players on the UofL squad could be seen in the crowd. Fans would line up and wait for over an hour to get autographs and pictures with players. Many of these young girls found inspiration and courage to continue to pursuing their passion and dreams to play the sport they love.

We saw a women's sport grow in popularity more this season and continued to make strides in attendance numbers and tv viewership. We saw the first woman head coach to win a volleyball title happen this year.

It's not just volleyball where we see these things happen. It's across all sports. But Louisville volleyball helped make an impact in the world of volleyball. It's a beautiful thing to see the good that sports can bring.

Cardinal Couple had another great season in 2024...covering the joy and excitement of Louisville volleyball and all Cardinals womens athletics.. While our part may be small in the overall spectrum, we are glad to be a part of the great things that sports can bring. And, we are grateful toyou, the reader, for being there to follow us, to make suggestions, give compliments and being the target we hope to hit successfully as we thro our journalistic darts at the big circle of Carinals women sports each day. 

Thank you, We hope Santa brings you lots of goodies tomorrow and that you also remember "the readon for the season". 

Happy Tuesday, Happy Christmas Eve, and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards vs Pitt in Final Four -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards to Face Pitt in Final Four

Louisville Volleyball continues their 2024 NCAA Tournament run tonight with a spot to the championship game on the line. The Cards welcome a familiar foe in Pittsburgh to the KFC Yum! Center for a 6:30pm start time. ESPN will be carrying the match.

UofL has improved to 29-5 following winning the first four matches of the tournament. The Cards finished second in the ACC this season and earned the final one seed. Their tournament run includes wins over Chicago State, Northern Iowa, Purdue, and Stanford. Louisville has lost three sets across the four matches.

Pittsburgh has improved to 33-1 on the season and rides an 18-match win streak. The Panthers' only loss came on October 12 in a five-set thriller at SMU. Pitt has lost 12 sets all season with two of those coming in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville took three sets in two matches against the Panthers. Pitt's road to the Final Four included wins over Morehead State, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Kentucky.

Pitt is looking for its first trip to the championship game in four tries. Louisville is aiming for its second trip to the championship game in three years.

Louisville and Pitt have built one of the biggest rivalries in the country over the last few seasons. All-time, the Cards lead the series 20-18, but Pitt has won four straight. Prior to that, Louisville had won six of seven matches including a win over the Panthers in the 2022 Final Four to go to the national championship game.

Cardinal Couple will have representatives in attendance to cover the match and a full report on the contest in the Friday Cardinal Couple column. 

All-American Honors for Scott, DeBeer

Two VolleyCards received All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Elena Scott was named a First Team All-American and Anna DeBeer was named a Second Team All-American. Charitie Luper and Cara Cresse both received honorable mentions. DeBeer has earned four All-American honors in her career while Scott has earned three.

(All photos and graphics by GoCards)

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Taj Roberts Named ACC Rookie of the Week -- ACC Volleyball Awards -- Volleyball Tournament Reaction -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Roberts Named ACC Rookie of the Week

For the second time this season, freshman Tajianna Roberts was named ACC Rookie of the Week. Although Louisville only played one game over the last week, Roberts played a crucial role in the road win against Colorado.

Roberts scored 13 points while shooting 50% from the field. She added four steals as well as a pair of rebounds and a pair of assists. This is the sixth time this season where the freshman guard finished in the double figures in scoring. Roberts used a 5-0 run to help spark the Louisville 16-0 run in the fourth quarter.

Louisville returns home tomorrow night to host #11 Oklahoma. Tip-off is a bit earlier than normal, slated for 5:00pm. This game also features the return of former Louisville player Payton Verhulst, who is now with the Sooners.

ACC Volleyball Awards Features Multiple Cardinals

The ACC announced the annual ACC Volleyball awards yesterday. Elena Scott and Nayelis Cabello earned accolades.

Elena Scott was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight time. It is her fourth All-ACC award in her career. This season, the Louisville native averaged 4.43 digs per set played with a total of 456 digs on the year. She also had 110 assists and led the Cards with 33 service aces. Scott's career tallies include 1,861 digs, 419 assists, and 137 aces. The digs and aces both rank in the top-10 in program history.

Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Year. Cabello played a major role in Louisville's 6-2 offense, where she rotated with Elle Glock. The newcomer averaged 5.32 assists per set with a total of 554 this season. She also added 162 digs and 15 blocks. She was named ACC Freshman of the Week six times this season.

Scott was named to the All-ACC First Team alongside Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper. Care Cresse was named to the All-ACC Second Team while Cabello was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team.

ACC Player of the Year was awarded to Pitt's Olivia Babcock. ACC Setter of the Year went to Stanford's Kami Miner. Dan Fisher was named ACC Coach of the Year as Pitt won the ACC and was named the top overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Louisville opens up play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at approximately 7:00pm against Chicago State.

Volleyball Tournament Reaction

With the release of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Sunday night, the biggest question for Louisville fans was answered. What seed would Louisville get? They earned the final 1-seed.

Pittsburgh earned the top overall seed. The Panthers lost one match all season and won the ACC. Nebraska and Penn State each earned 1-seeds, both with two losses.

Louisville beat out Stanford and Creighton, both of whom the Cards beat this season. Stanford did turn around and even the season series against Louisville this past weekend. The Committee seemed to weigh Louisville's wins over Stanford, Creighton, SMU, Wisconsin, and Kentucky pretty heavily. Kentucky earned a 3-seed while the other four on that list are 2-seeds. UofL went 5-1 against 2-seeds and 3-seeds, but went 0-4 against 1-seeds. 

Stanford went 5-3 against teams 3-seed or higher. The Cardinal (singular) won three sets against the Cardinals (plural) but Louisville won four sets, which might have helped been the deciding factor.

While Creighton went 29-2, they went 1-2 against teams 3-seed or higher. The Blue Jays fell to Louisville and Nebraska, but did sweep Kansas. The weakness of the Big East most likely played a factor in the seeding.

The ACC saw much love from the selection committee. Four of the top eight seeds are ACC schools: 2-seed Pitt, 1-seed Louisville, 2-seed Stanford, and 2-seed SMU. Nine ACC schools made the NCAA Tournament, The other five include 7-seed Florida State, 7-seed Georgia Tech, 8-seed North Carolina, 8-seed Miami, and NC State.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky also saw a fair amount of love with four schools dancing: 1-seed Louisville, 3-seed Kentucky, Morehead State, and Western Kentucky. The three non-Louisville schools were placed in the Pitt Region, highlighted by top seeds Pitt and SMU. I don't see any of the three surviving to the Final Four.

Louisville played a lot of matches against teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. Those opponents include Wisconsin, Tennessee, Penn State, South Dakota, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Creighton, Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami, NC State, SMU, North Carolina, Stanford (2x), and Pitt (2x). 19 matches out of 30 opponents this season in the NCAA Tournament shows that this Louisville team is battle tested. Are the Cards ready for the challenge? Playing at home the entire tournament plays in their favor, but the Cards did lose at home to both Nebraska and Pitt this season.

Keys to Winning the NCAA Tournament:

-Limit unforced errors. This includes service errors and attack errors. Louisville likes to serve aggressively, but taking a little off the serve to keep the ball in gives your defense a chance to make a stop. Attack errors seemed to be more plentiful than kills a few times this season. That's more of a mentality or lack of focus.

-Strong blocking. Louisville is one of the top blocking teams in the country. They averaged 3.0 blocks per set this season. The Cards have established their identity under Dani Busboom Kelly through their blocking.

-Feed the hot hand. This might be an underrated key point. Louisville is not short on playmakers by any means. Different players have stepped up in various matches. Whether it's Anna DeBeer, Charitie Luper, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, Payton Petersen, Reese Robins, Cara Cresse, Phekran Kong, or Hannah Sherman, find the hot hand and feed them. It's no different than feeding the hot shooter in basketball.

Cardinal Couple plans to have in person coverage for all Louisville matches in the NCAA Tournament.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Three VolleyCards Taken in PVF Draft -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Three Cards Selected in PVF Draft

Three Louisville volleyball players were selected in the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) Draft. Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, and Charitie Luper all heard their names called and have a chance to play professionally in the United States. The PVF Draft featured five rounds for eight teams.

Anna DeBeer (Round 1, Pick 2) was taken with the second overall pick by the Indy Ignite. The outside hitter and Louisville native has spent the last five years with the Cards. During her career, DeBeer has tallied over 1,300 kills and 1,000 digs and became the fourth player in program history to break the 1,000 mark in both categories. She ranks in the top 10 in program history in kills.

Elena Scott (Round 2, Pick 9 overall) was taken with the first pick in the second round, ninth overall by the Indy Ignite. The Louisville native setter-turned-libero has a chance to team up with her current Louisville teammate Anna DeBeer up in Fishers, Ind, and has played for the Cards her entire four-year career. Scott has earned national attention at libero despite playing setter in high school. She ranks in the top 10 in program history in digs and service aces.

Charitie Luper (Round 3, Pick 24 overall) was taken with the eighth pick in the third round, 24th overall by the Vegas Thrill. Luper spent the last two seasons at Louisville after coming from UCLA. She has logged over 600 kills and 400 digs in her two years with the Cards and has eclipsed the 1,000-kill mark for her entire collegiate career.

 

All three players participated in Senior Day and will conclude their careers at Louisville in the coming month. Despite being drafted in the PVF Draft, all three players could potentially sign to play in the other professionally volleyball league in the United States- League One Volleyball (LOVB). LOVB recently formed and does not have a draft, but instead teams have the option to sign players as free agents. Both Anna Stevenson Hall and Claire Chaussee currently play for LOVB Madison, located in Madison, Wisconsin. Former Louisville player Amber Stivrins (Stivrins transferred out early in her career) plays for LOVB Omaha.

 

For now, Louisville volleyball gears up for a pair of big-time matches to close out the regular season. The Cards host #1 Pitt tomorrow night at the KFC Yum! Center and then travel to #7 Stanford on Black Friday. One win over the final two matches should guarantee a top four seed. Winning both matches would lock in a top four seed without question. Losing both matches could knock the Cards down to about #5 or #6, per a source friendly to Cardinal Couple. We will play by ear and take the rest of the season one match at a time.

Photos today brought to you by our friends from GoCards.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Scott Named Player of the Year Semifinalist -- Signing Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Elena Scott POTY Semifinalist

Elena Scott was named one of the 14 National Player of the Year semifinalists. Scott is one of the first seven players named with the other seven semifinalists to be announced tomorrow.

The senior libero has moved into the top-10 in career digs and services aces in program history. Her 4.57 digs per set this season is on pace to be a career high. Scott currently has 1,727 career digs to go along with 131 service aces and 84 assists.

The other six semifinalists that have been announced include Jess Mruzik (Penn State, outside hitter), Olivia Babcock (Pitt, opposite side hitter), Rachel Fairbanks (Pitt, setter), Torrey Stafford (Pitt, outside hitter), Melanie Parra (TCU, outside hitter), and Sarah Franklin (Wisconsin, outside hitter).

Louisville is back in action this weekend with home matches against Duke and North Carolina. The UNC match will be treated as Senior Day. The Cards will also play at home against Pitt on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Signing Day

Yesterday was the first of multiple signing days and many Louisville women's teams saw players sign their letter of intent.

Softball

Jayden Gohs, RHP, Goodrich, Michigan

Addy O'Dell, INF/C, Newton, Illinois

Volleyball

Kalyssa Blackshear, middle hitter

Hannah Kenny, setter

Addison Makun, middle bocker

Chloe Meester, outside hitter

Golf

Emree Cameron, Nevada, Missouri (Nevada the city, not the state)

Madison Moman, Palm Beach Springs, Florida

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

FH and Volleyball Fall on the Road -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Drops ACC Finale at Cal 2-1

Louisville field hockey's offensive woes continued Friday night, as a swing out to the west coast didn't jolt any life into the goal scoring sticks. Facing a Cal team that had not yet won an ACC game, Louisville needed a win to ensure they would make the ACC tournament. At 6-7 (0-5) entering yesterday, Cal had given up 26 goals and only scored 23 on the season. As we discussed on last week's CCRHP, that number in conference was markedly worse. Unfortunately, Louisville couldn't find the back of the cage consistently enough to get the win. 

Cal scored twice in the first ten minutes of the game, with both coming from Liz Klompmaker. Klompmaker is the leading scorer for Cal, and her second goal in this game was her thirteenth of the year. The first quarter saw Louisville give up 11 shots to Cal, with seven of those being on target. Those came with the help of five penalty corners. The Cards managed to earn zero shots in the first quarter. 

Louisville's offense and midfield did manage to turn it around throughout the rest of the game, but they just couldn't score. Despite the massive difference in the first quarter, Louisville and Cal finished the game tied with 14 total shots. Louisville managed to get one more shot on target, finishing with 10, and the Cards took a total of nine penalty corners, while Cal got just one more to finish with six. Louisville managed to cut the deficit to one goal with three minutes remaining in the first half, but they were unable to find an equalizer in the second. 

Rylie Wollerton scored the lone goal for the Cards, and she was assisted by Aimee Plumb. The box score doesn't say it outright, but the goal came four seconds after a penalty corner, so I'm counting it as a PC conversion. That still means Louisville only converted 11%, but it's better than 0. The goal was Wollerton's sixth of the year. 

In goal, Brandelynn Heinbaugh took the start this game and played 56 minutes. Louisville went empty net in the waning minutes to try to tie. Heinbaugh finished with seven saves, which should have been plenty for Louisville's offense to keep them in this game. 

The Cards have one more regular season match before they find out their fate about the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Louisville will take on UC Davis tomorrow at 2PM Eastern. The match will be available on America East TV and the link can be found on GoCards as well. As with pretty much every other match in the current skid, Louisville needs a win to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Unfortunately, their ACC tournament fate is out of their control. Last night saw both Cal and Stanford pick up their first ACC wins as Stanford beat Wake 1-0. Cal will play Wake tomorrow and the two California teams will face off on Halloween. Since one team is guaranteed to finish with two wins, it will come down to tiebreakers for the last spot. As best I can tell, Louisville needs Wake Forest to beat Cal and for Cal to beat Stanford. All four teams currently have one win and Louisville only holds the tiebreaker over Stanford. Wake also plays Virginia, so the wrong results for the Cards could potentially see them as the only ACC team to finish 1-7 and out of the conference tournament. 

Volleyball Loses 5-Set Thriller at Pitt

Two of the top teams in the country went head to head last night and the battle for the top of the ACC went down to the wire. Facing a team that had only dropped four sets all season entering the match, Louisville was able to add just two to that total. The Cards and Panthers went hammer and tongs for the entire match before the Cards ultimately fell 15-12 in the deciding fifth set. Given the pattern, Louisville may have very well won a sixth set if they played it, but they potentially would have lost a seventh. Louisville won the evens and lost the odds, with the final scoreline being 21-25, 28-26, 17-25 (eek), 25-22, 12-15. 

This match was everything you'd expect: even almost across the board. Louisville finished with more kills (70-68), but they were surprisingly outblocked (13-16). Statistically, the serving line was almost a non-factor. Louisville went 1-7 and Pitt went 3-12, giving the Cards a net +3. However, stats don't tell the whole story with serving, and when those plays happened could matter a lot. The big differentiator was the total errors and playing in system. Louisville had 70 assists on their 70 kills, so every kill was played through the offense. Pitt had only 65 assists, meaning they had three free points from Louisville over passes. Louisville also finished with 35 errors to Pitt's 20. Since blocks count as errors for the hitter, that means Louisville had 19 true hitting errors and Pitt had seven. That'll do it, folks. 

Pitt set the tone straight out of the gate by blocking Anna DeBeer for the match's first point. Charitie Luper tied it up, but Pitt went on an 8-2 run to take a 9-3 lead. The Panthers kept Louisville at arm's length for nearly the remainder of the set. As I mentioned, though, the timing of service line swing plays can be very important. With a 23-17 lead, Pitt had a service error, starting a three-point run that gave Louisville life at 20-23. Unfortunately, that knife cuts both ways. A service error from Louisville gave Pitt set point and the Cards could win just one more before the bell. 

The second set appeared to flip the script entirely, with Louisville taking the early 9-3 lead and looking to be in control. As the scores crept up, points were largely exchanged one-for-one and Louisville was flying high at 19-13. All good things must end, it is said, and so it was for the Cards as an 8-2 Pittsburgh run tied the second set at 21. With the Panthers at home and carrying all the momentum, Louisville was in danger. They won two quick points to go up 23-21 and could take a breath, but Pitt punched right back to take set point at 24-23. From there, it was do or die for both teams. Louisville won a pair for their own set point, and the teams traded to tie it at 26. In came another key service error, and Louisville finished the set with a big block to win 28-26.

The third set was nothing to write home about. It was Louisville's worst set from a hitting perspective and Pitt's best. The Cards hit 0.182 and Pitt put up a whopping 0.433. Surprisingly, Louisville's error number (8) was not their highest of the match (they had 10 in the second), but a hitting deficit of 25% is pretty tough to overcome. Unlike the first two sets, the third was close early, with Louisville keeping it within two points up to 13-15. Unforced errors and Pitt blocks came home to roost, though, and Louisville dropped the set out of the halftime break 25-17. 

Down 2-1 against the top team in the country in a very hostile environment, Louisville was on the ropes. The Cards continued to struggle offensively to start the fourth, but the Panthers very generously gifted them three service errors in the first 15 points. Those points were crucial for the Cards, as they were blocked twice and had two hitting errors over the same stretch. Trailing just 7-8, though, Louisville was able to put their heads down and get on track. The Cards committed just two more errors over the remainder of the fourth set and managed to stretch a lead over time to 20-17. They took a 23-20 lead, and it looked briefly similar to the second set. This time, though, they held strong, putting the brakes on a Pitt run after two points and holding on to the 23-22 lead. Louisville won the next two to set up the tiebreaking fifth. 

In retrospect, the start of the fifth may have been a sign that a win wasn't on the books last night. As the match started with a block of DeBeer, the fifth began with a DeBeer service error. Pitt won five of the first seven points, and the Cards looked like they could be in trouble. Louisville managed to bring it back to 6-7, but the ball just wouldn't fall their way. After a kill by Charitie Luper looked to keep the Cards alive with the score at 8-10, Elena Scott had a crucial service error, her only one of the night (DeBeer only committed two). Instead of a chance to make it 9-10, Louisville was down 8-11 and that quickly became 8-12. In a set to 25, that wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately, the fifth set is a race to 15. Again, Louisville managed to chop out a point and, again, an untimely service error flipped the ball right back. This time, it was Nayelis Cabello committing her only service error of the night. The Cards had just seven service errors and three came in the fifth set. Brutal. Louisville managed to go on a short burst thanks to back-to-back blocks and drew to within 12-13, but Pitt took the last two points to secure the win. 

Obviously, Pitt is very good, but they've been proven to be beatable and this match looked very winnable for Louisville. It's a tough way to end, but the Cards will get another shot at the Panthers on Thanksgiving week in the Yum! Center. In last night's match, Louisville was led by Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper. DeBeer tied the match high of 22 kills with Pitt's Olivia Babcock. Luper was third among all players with 19. Louisville also got double-digits from Reese Robins, who had 10. Cara Cresse finished with nine kills and Sofia Maldonado Diaz had seven.

Defensively, Elena Scott finished with 21 digs and was forced into seven assists. Both Luper and DeBeer completed double-doubles, finishing with 17 and 14 digs, respectively. Elle Glock also had a double-double (technically) as she picked up 11 digs to go along with her 38 assists. Phekran Kong led the team with six block assists, while DeBeer was close behind with three BA and the only solo block of the night for Louisville.

The Cards are back in action tomorrow as they head deep into the heart of Texas to take on SMU. The Mustangs have been giant killers this season, so Louisville needs to have maximum focus to avoid a losing streak. SMU is ranked 12th in the country and swept Notre Dame last night. Tomorrow's match will get underway at 1PM and will be on ESPN. I'm sure Jeff will have more to say tomorrow about both matches as he was in Pittsburgh last night.

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast This Week

With Cardinal Couplers scattered to the wind this week, the choice was down to me as to whether I'd like to monologue the hour. Had things gone a bit better for the Cards this week, perhaps I would have considered it. As it stands, though, we'll have no show this week. We should be back next week barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Volleyball Sweeps; FH Offense Goes Cold; Louisville Live -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DeBeer is Back as Volleyball Beats Clemson 3-0

Louisville volleyball took care of business against Clemson ahead of their big matchup tomorrow and moved to 3-0 in conference. After a big win over Stanford last weekend and with Georgia Tech on the horizon, it was important for the Cards to not have an emotional letdown when the Tigers came to town. No such thing was at hand, as Louisville ripped off a 25-13 first set to establish the tone of the match. Clemson fought back by making the second set closer at 25-22, but Louisville separated again at the end with a 25-17 victory to complete the sweep. 

The Cards finished with 20 errors in yesterday's match, but the first set was fairly clean. Louisville only hit 0.28 but they had just four errors. With only 25 attack attempts, it's not so difficult to see why the percentage was low. Clemson, meanwhile, hit 0.0 in the first set. The Cards won the matchup in both aces and blocks for the match and they had far fewer serving errors. In fact, Louisville was +6 at the line while Clemson was -5, netting the Cards a +11 advantage in serving. Coupled with their 12-6 advantage in blocking, it becomes apparent how Louisville could sweep while committing more overall errors (Clemson had 19). 

The second set, where Clemson closed the gap, saw the Cards hit 10 errors. They had 51 attempts in the second, putting 15 kills on top of their errors. They managed to stay positive and still outhit Clemson 0.098-0.07. It was nothing to write home about, and Louisville actually played from behind for most of the set. After going up 3-2, Louisville gave up a 6-1 run to Clemson to go down 8-4. They slowly clawed back the deficit throughout the set before regaining the lead at 18-17. The teams traded points until a tie at 20, after which Louisville took five of the next seven points to win. 

Halftime was likely filled with a bit of a wakeup call, which it seemed Louisville responded to. They came out of the break and jumped out to a 4-1 lead which they extended to 11-6. From there, the Cards kept the Tigers at arm's length before ultimately going away at the end. Clemson won three straight points to make it 19-16, but they'd only score one more for the remainder of the match. 

Leading the way were Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper (of course). Luper had 11 kills and 4 errors to finish with a .250 hitting percentage. DeBeer, on the other hand, was back with a vengeance. We've been waiting for her to return to form and she has shown signs of getting there recently. Yesterday was another indication. DeBeer hit 12 kills with no errors, finishing with a .522 percentage. She assisted on 4 blocks and had two aces with no service errors. She also finished second on the team (and third in the match) with 11 digs. Hello, Anna DeBeer. 

Elena Scott led all players with 19 digs and added three aces and a pair of assists. She had just one service error and an error in reception. Light work for the player of the week, who continues to make her case as the top libero in the nation. Many will say it's still debatable. Most in this region would disagree. 

The Cards take on Georgia Tech tomorrow. The Yellow Jackets have slipped a bit this season but they are still plenty dangerous. It's a 1:30pm start in L&N Arena, and the match will air on ACC Network. 

Field Hockey Scores First, Falls 2-1 at Syracuse

Justine Sowry would desperately like for her team to find some offense. I know you're saying, "Case, they've scored 21 goals in 11 games; that's not bad." I hear you, but there is a bit more nuance to that. While they've scored 21, they are 5-6. Of their 21 goals, 16 have come in their five wins. Three came in their 4-3 overtime loss to Ohio State last weekend. That means they've scored two goals in their other five losses. That's... not going to get it done.

Yesterday, Louisville looked to be off to the races. The Cards earned a corner in the first three minutes and Chloe Plumb tipped in the goal after an assist from Izzy Bianco. They were 1-1 on corners and 1-1 on shots. Unfortunately, the game doesn't end at the three minute mark. Louisville went on to get just three more shots in the game and none of them were on target. That's even with earning four more corners. Eek. 

Syracuse, on the other hand, calmly took the first goal in stride. The Orange earned two corners in the first quarter, taking a total of five shots. They forced two saves from Brandelynn Heinbaugh, but they finally got by her as time wound down in the quarter, tying the game at one with just 19 seconds remaining. While the second quarter was silent for both teams, Cuse took seven more shots in the second half, putting four of those on target. For those not keeping track, that means Syracuse outshot the Cards 12-4 and outshot them on target 6-1. The Orange scored the go-ahead goal (which would prove to be game winning) with five minutes left in the third quarter.

We've talked about how Louisville's offense needs to support the keepers in women's soccer, and the same is true in field hockey. Heinbaugh finished with four saves, which isn't world beating, but it could have been enough. Louisville forced no saves from Syracuse. Outside the first goal, they couldn't even put the ball on the cage. That's not how you're going to win games. 

I don't want to be overly negative. Field hockey is difficult at the top, and that's where Louisville fancies themselves. The non-conference schedule is a gauntlet, which is supposed to help prepare them for their conference schedule. Unfortunately, for the second year running, we're looking at a team under .500 halfway through the season. The Cards may remain ranked even if they lose to #3 Virginia tomorrow, but they're going to have to find a way to get out of the offensive slump. With UNC and Duke still on the schedule, as well as Wake and Cal on the road, Louisville field hockey need some wins to be considered for the NCAA tournament. I think they're good enough to do it, but they'll need to prove it to the committee.

Louisville Live at the KFC Yum! Center

Louisville men's and women's basketball have put aside the flashy outdoor venues of 4th Street Live, Louisville Slugger Field, and Churchill Downs in favor of the friendly confines of the KFC Yum! Center. I think they should consider Lynn Family, but I doubt Soccer Holdings would be too keen to allow them to put something on their well-manicured field. L&N Stadium could also be fun with the new field level suites.

That said, there's something quite right about doing your kickoff event on your home floor. Given all that has happened with the men's basketball program in recent years, there's not a thing wrong with getting everyone to bring good vibes to the Yum! Center. Last night there were good vibes galore. Plus, how can you not get excited for the upcoming year with an introductory picture that goes as hard as this one?

Last night's festivities included a 3x3 game, 3-point contest, and a dunk competition. Taking home victory in the 3x3 were Ja'Leah Williams and Mackenly Randolph from the women's team along with J'Vonne Hadley and Terrance Edwards on the men's. They were joined by Stephen Van Treese representing the alumni. Their team was coached by Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers. The team they defeated featured Imari Berry, Anaya Hardy, and Chelsie Hall along with Koren Johnson and James Scott. It was coached by Merissah Russell, Olivia Cochran, Elif Istanbulluoglu, Nyla Harris, and Jayda Curry. 

It's nearly impossible to tell who all participated in the 3-point contest, but unfortunately the women couldn't quite keep up this year. The finals were between grad transfer (and 6'-11" forward) Noah Waterman and transfer senior guard Reyne Smith. The aptly named Reyne took home the victory. 

Freshman Khani Rooths was the winner in the dunk contest, earning 10s across the board, except for the (well within his rights) strict judgement of Darrell Griffith. Dr. Dunkenstein still scored Rooths a 9. Anaya Hardy got it on the action in the dunk contest as well, exciting the crowd with (just about) a dunk of her own. I'd score it a "standard Peyton Siva breakaway" style dunk but it'd be pretty difficult for anyone to defend, so I like it. 

This season should be exciting for the Cards, and we're looking for both teams to feed on the energy each can bring to the Yum! Center.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It'll be a twosome on the show today, as a noon kickoff holds out Jared and Daryl. I'm headed to a friend's shower (it was scheduled before the football game), but Paulie and Jeff will hold down the fort. They'll be happy to talk volleyball and Louisville Live, but perhaps not quite as thrilled about field hockey and soccer. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Volleyball News -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Climbs Rankings

Following a highly successful weekend, Louisville Volleyball moved from #5 in the AVCA rankings up to #4. The Cards are one of three ACC teams in the Top 10 and one of six ACC teams currently ranked. 

On Friday, Louisville cruised through a sweep over Cal including winning the first two sets by a combined 22 points. They followed that with a sweep over then-#3 Stanford on Sunday. Outside of the first set, this one was much closer that was highlighted by a 10-1 run in the second set.

The Cards sit at 10-2 on the year with five wins against ranked teams. Their two losses come against teams currently ranked in the top three.

Pitt remains the unanimous #1 after improving to 12-0. Nebraska (12-1) stayed put at #2 and Penn State (12-1) moved up a spot to #3. Stanford (9-1) fell to #5. Other teams Louisville has or will face currently ranked in the top 25 include #6 Creighton (11-2), #9 Wisconsin (7-4), #13 Kentucky (7-6), #16 Florida State (10-2), #17 SMU (10-3), and #19 Georgia Tech (8-3).

Elena Scott Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week

For the third time this season, Elena Scott was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week. The senior libero continues to impress even the biggest volleyball experts with her antics and her wide radius of court she can cover.

In the two sweeps against Cal and Stanford, Scott averaged 6.5 digs per set. She also had a season-high 26 digs against the Bears. 26 digs in three sets (8.67/set) is an outrageous amount. She is up to 204 digs this season and 1,556 in her career. Her 4.98 digs per set this season is on pace for a career-high.

Louisville stays home this weekend with matches against Clemson at L&N Arena on Friday at 6:00pm (note the time change) and Georgia Tech at L&N Arena on Sunday at 1:30pm. Both matches are currently slated for ACCNX.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cards Welcome Cal to ACC with Sweep -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DeBeer and Maldonado-Diaz Lead Cards to Win

Louisville hosts the Pacific Coast teams in the ACC this weekend and, while all eyes are on tomorrow's big match against Stanford, the Cards didn't lose sight of their first opponent in Cal. The Golden Bears managed to win 21 points in the third set, but that was after combining for only 28 in the first two. Louisville swept handedly last night to open their big weekend with a win. 

Cal is... not very good. The Bears were 8-4 entering yesterday's match but that came after an exhibition loss to UC Davis to start the year. Cal hasn't beaten a Power 4 team yet this season and they've lost those matches by a total set score of 15-1 (including last night). I say all that just to get the point across that this win was big for Louisville in that it was a massive trap game, but not in the sense that it accomplished all that much. But hey, you've gotta win the games you play. 

Despite the big set scores, Louisville didn't look particularly crisp offensively. They ultimately finished the match with 15 errors, five per set, and only hit 0.172 as a team. That was, of course, much better than Cal's -0.29 but still. Anna DeBeer and Sofia Maldonado-Diaz were both leaders offensively, as each put down eight kills and managed three service aces. Only Nayelis Cabello hit higher than either one as she hit 1.000 by going 1-for-1. 

DeBeer and Sofi were part of an 11 ace day, led by Elena Scott who had four. The Cards only had six service errors, so it was good to see them positive in that category. Elena Scott was all over the place in the back row, cleaning up 26 of Louisville's 52 digs. 

Cal also only had six service errors, but they had just five aces. Louisville was strong defensively, as evidenced by Cal's final hitting percentage. The Golden Bears had just two hitters over 0.000 on the day. Louisville dominated the block, as well, putting up 13 total compared to Cal's four. Even more impressive than the total number of blocks is how well Louisville was reading Cal's offense. Of those 13 blocks, only one was solo, meaning multiple Cardinals were on hand for pretty much every attack attempt by Cal. 

Louisville played 12 players in the match, a stark contrast to Cal's seven, and that was without a normal member of the rotation as PK sat this match out. Whether PK's absence is something to be concerned about or a precautionary rest ahead of Sunday's match is unclear. The Cards will turn their attention from L&N Arena to the KFC Yum! Center for tomorrow. Louisville brings in Stanford for yet another top-ten matchup, this time top-five. Stanford dropped one spot last week from 2 to 3, but that was a result of Nebraska going from 5 to 2 more than anything to say about Stanford. The Cardinal are 9-1 this year after their win over Notre Dame and they share a common loss and two common wins with Louisville. Each team has beaten UK and Wisconsin 3-1 and each has lost to Nebraska 3-0. 

Tomorrow's match looks to be another big one, and it will be nice for everyone to be able to stay dry. The event gets underway at 3PM and the match will be carried on ESPN. 

Field Hockey Postponed

As the heavy winds and unrelenting rain came through yesterday, Louisville field hockey postponed its match with Boston College for player safety purposes. That match got underway at 9:30 this morning and we'll keep you updated on the results. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We're a group of three again this week as Daryl tries to avoid trenchfoot at Louder Than Life and Jared begrudgingly leaves his leaky house for a trip to South Bend. We'll have plenty to talk about (and in the case of WSOC, plenty to avoid), though, so be sure to join us. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case