USA Volleyball wins in SemiFinals against Mexico -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 USA TO FACE CANADA AGAIN AFTER DEFEATING MEXICO

The USA U 21 Women's Pan Am Volleyball squad, with Cardinal star Payton Petersen on the roster goes for their fourth consecutive title when they face Canada today in Columbus, OH.

Mexico went down in straight sets Saturday to the USA 25-17, 25-11, 25-12. Mexico and the Dominican Republic will battle for third place.

USA has won four of the U21 Pan Am Cup titles -- in 2017. 2022, 2023 and 2025. 

In the Mexico match, USA led in every statistical category -- including kills (42-20), blocks (14-3), and service aces (4-0)

USA is coached by Tama Miyashiro, who played her volleyball at the University of Washington and was on the U.S National team as well. Her comments on the win over Mexico. 

"I'm very happy because  we were able to put pressure on Mexico right from the start. I've been following their matches throughout the tournament and they have good players and out goal today  was to neutralize their attack. I'm very proud o the determination out players showed and we are excited to be in the final."

Top scorers for USA against Mexico were Suliane Davis (10 points), Ayden Ames (9 points) and Henley Anderson (9 points) .

A boxscore for the Mexico match is seemingly the needle in the haystack, I could not find one after extensive search, so I have no numbers on how Payton Petersen did in the Mexico match.. 

paulie

 

Volleyball will begin the season with the Red and Black scrimmage -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VB LOOK TO GO FURTHER THAN SWEET SIXTEEN OF NCAA TOURNAMENT IN THE UPCOMING SEASON. 

Louisville Volleyball goes into the 2026 season with a revamped roster and will begin the upcoming season with their annual Red vs. Black scrimmage on Aug 15th. in the LNFCUA. 

All told, the VolleyCards will have 14 home contests...11 at the LNFCUA and three at the KFC YUM! Center. The annual UK match will be in Lexington this season, on Sept. 20th.

They'll participate in the AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee on August 21st and 22nd against Texas A&M and Wisconsin to get the regular season underway....then it's back home to face IU, Dayton and TCU. 

Expected back for the Cards are Kamden Schrand, Addison Makun, Hannah Kenny, Chloe Chicoine, Navellis Cabello, Hannah Sherman, Molly Urban, Payton Petersen, Kalyssa Blackshear and Brooke Bultema  and the Cards will welcome four freshmen to the roster.  

Dan Meske returns as the head coach and has Todd Chamberlain as his associate coach and Parker Mikesch and Jena Otec as assistants. 

A key matchup will be against the Texas Longhorns on Sept 6th in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. 

Chicoine, Petersen and Blackshear were three of the top four kill producers on the squad last season and Cabello led the squad in assists. 

paulie 

Louisville Volleyball releases 2026 schedule -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 A 32 match schedule for VolleyCards

Cardinal Volleyball fans are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2026 season and UofL has released their full schedule.

The Cards will face 18 teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season an all four of the NCAA Semifinal squads from 2025.

14 of the matches will be played in Louisville...three of them at the KFC YUM! Center and 11 at the on-campus L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Aug 15th is the annual Red vs Black season opening scrimmage, then they'll be one of ten squads at the AVCA First Serve Classic in Milwaukee Aug, 21st through Aug. 24th  UofL will face Texas A&M on the 21st and then Wisconsin on the 22nd. Other squads in Milwaukee will  be Kentucky, Texas, Arizona St., SMU. Pittsburgh, Xavier and Marquette.

The Cards come home for three matches after that, at the LNFCU, against IU, Dayton and TCU to close out August. They'll travel to Nashville to play Texas on Sept 6th...then come home to face Missouri on Sept 9th in the KFC YUM! Center. 

A trip to Houston for the Rice Invitational follows...where the Cards will see Rice, Creighton and Northern Iowa.

We'll have much more on the VolleyCards as the season gets closer. It's 59 days away, y'all...before the nets go up and the kills, sets, serves and aces return! 

paulie

Former Cards Awarded -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Familiar Names Earn MLV Accolades

The Major League Volleyball season has just wrapped up and former Cardinals have been in the news as part of the league recently. Last week, the league announced their individual awards, and multiple former Louisville players saw themselves on the list. As part of the only team to have multiple players awarded, Elena Scott (of the Indy Ignite) was named the Libero of the Year. Indy also had the league's best setter, middle blocker, and opposite hitter. The top outside hitter came from the Dallas Pulse, but more on that in a moment. The other Cardinal awarded was Aiko Jones (Atlanta Vibe), who was named the Most Inspirational Player. Jones balances her professional playing duties with being an assistant coach for the Bellarmine Knights. 

I said we'd come back to Dallas, and that's because there is more to discuss than just an individual award. Mimi Colyer was named the Outside Hitter of the Year, which isn't what I came to mention. The former Wisconsin Badger led the league in points and kills this season. In both categories, she narrowly beat out her teammate, Sofia Maldonado Diaz. Colyer had 5.08 points/set while Maldonado Diaz was at 4.94. The third place player was all the way back at 4.52. Dallas finished just behind Indy in total points per set (17.97-17.64), and they were far and away the best teams in the league. Grand Rapids was third with 16.47 points/set. 

The number one seed, Indy, was upset by the Omaha Supernovas in the tournament semifinals, though, depriving Louisville fans of a match of the ages for former Cards. Dallas won their semifinal round and defeated Omaha 3-2 in the championship match. It was the first time an expansion team has won in the league's young history, and it was Dallas's first season in play. It was also the first time the championship match has gone to five sets. Sofia Maldonado Diaz earned the upper hand over her teammate in this one, taking home match MVP honors after finishing with 26 kills. She had five in the decisive fifth set. 

It's always exciting to see former Cards continue to succeed in their post-collegiate careers. Congratulations to these (and all others who had a successful season) and good luck to them in the years to come. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

An interesting Volleyball look -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NO LOUISVILLE PLAYERS ON UofL VB ROSTER

One thing we've come to expect over the years is the presence of at least one Volleyball player on the UofL roster from the city of Louisville. An early look at the UofL roster for 2026-27, though, indicates no Louisvillians on Dan Meske's roster this season. 

There is one Kentuckian...senior libero Kamden Schrand, from Notre Dame Academy, up in Villa Hills...near Cincinnati. And the Queen City, across the Ohio River from Covington,  has a bit of representation of student-athletes on the Cardinals squad. Jessica Drapp, a senior defensive specialist...Brooke Bultema, a junior middle blocker. Our neighbor to the north..Indiana...has sent Ava Utterback, out of Plainfield, Addison Makun, from Silver Creek H.S. in Charlestown, Chloe Chicoine, from Lafayette, Molly Urban (Martinsville) and Elle Strecker from Zionsville. 

Volleyball is a ways off...due to start for the VolleyCards in Sept. with the Cards facing Missouri in the annual ACC/SEC challenge in the L&N Federal Credit Union on campus on Sept 9th. 

It'll be interesting to see how our coverage goes this year for the wide net sport. with Jeff McAdams and Jared Anderson no longer on the Cardinal Couple writing staff...most of our volleyball knowledge left with them. We're hoping Jeff can get his Wide Net Cards running by September. Jared will be there shooting games but is prohibited from send us any pictures. 

I was talking with another writer of college sports, at  different University, recently and the subject came up about UofL banning me from games because my Twitter account got hacked. I explained to her that I had left Twitter to appease the media department at UofL, but they still won't let me interview players or coaches or grant me a media pass. This other writer found that unbelievable. As she told me..."Paul, I have been reading your site for years and if UofL can't recognize all the publicity you give them for women's,sports...at a free site....I'm glad I don't write for them." 

Life has it's mysteries, don't it? 

Happy Derby Week to you, Here in Louisville, we get the annual Great Steamboat Race today.  Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati on the Ohio River. 

paulie

AVCA Announces First Serve Showcase -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Showcase Keeps Expanded Lineup in Year Three

The AVCA Showcase is a long-standing event, originally created in 1995. It saw multiple format variations, including a conference challenge, through the years before coming to an end in 2012. The event was reintroduced in 2024. That season, it was played at the Yum! Center, which was scheduled to host the 2024 NCAA Championship event. That appears to have been more of a coincidence than a new tradition. Last year, it was played in Lincoln, while the championship was hosted in Kansas City. This season, the AVCA First Serve Showcase will be in Milwaukee, and the NCAA Final Four will be in San Antonio. 

Louisville played in the event in 2024, and they will return in this season's iteration. This will be their first time playing in the 8-team version of the event. They'll be among five schools making their second appearance in an AVCA showcase, with Nebraska, the only team who could have made all three, being left out of the lineup. The Cards will also be one of the four teams tabbed to play two matches. 

2024 Cards after their AVCA FSSC win

Louisville is joined by the lineup of the 2025 Final Four (Texas A&M, UK, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin) and Arizona State, SMU, and Texas. All four teams that come from last year's final four are making their second AVCA First Serve Showcase appearance. The event will feature two matches on each day from Friday, August 21st to Sunday, August 23rd. Louisville will play on Friday and Saturday. 

The Cards will get a rematch against the defending national champion Aggies on Friday, following a match between Wisconsin and Kentucky. On Saturday, Louisville will get Wisconsin with both teams on short rest, and Texas and Arizona State will close out the evening. UK and TAMU draw the short straw in the event, as they'll each play fresh opponents on Sunday. UK and Pitt will play the afternoon match with TAMU facing SMU afterwards. 

Louisville will be looking to take down the team that knocked them out of the 2025 tournament in five sets when they face A&M. They can't be too mad, though, as the Aggies knocked everyone they faced out of the tournament on their way to a title. Louisville's last match against Wisconsin also came in the AVCA First Serve Showcase in 2024. The Cards upset Wisconsin 3-1 in a battle between teams then ranked sixth and third. 

We're still seven months (and an entire spring sports season) away from this event, but it will be here before we know it. If you're looking to make a trip to Wisconsin in late summer, you can look to snag tickets for the event on Ticketmaster starting at 10am central (11 eastern) on Friday, January 30th. We'll all be excited to root on the Cards whether in person or on the screen. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

From Blue to Red -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BULTEMA TRANSFERS FROM UK VOLLEYBALL TO UOFL 

Maybe today's riddle could be,,,,

"What do you call a bird that previously was a cat that is from bearcat country? "

And...the answer is Brooke Bultema, a 6'3" middle blocker in volleyball who hails from Cincinnati that has decided to  leave UK after two years of playing for Craig Skinner and the  Wildcats of Lexington to join the UofL roster. 

Or I guess you could  say that the MB known as BB from OH is now UL instead of UK. 

(Take a look...at Brooke)

Let's see...the Cards lose one of the best MB's to ever don the Cardinals colors when Cara Cresse graduates and picks up Bultema, who will be a junior at the start of volleyball in 2026.The move sounds optimistic, if you are a Cards fan..but what are the numbers and stats and accomplishments behind BB? 

Let's go back to high school...where she played for Ursuline Academy. She was named one of the top 50 players in the nation by Volleyball magazine in 2022. and she chose the Wildcats over Michigan St. Penn. St. , Ohio St., Illinois and Purdue. After redshirting a year, In her first action as a Wildcat, she was named to the All-SEC Freshman team, and as a sophomore she spent time at middle blocker with junior Lizzie Carr, sophomore Jordyn Dailey and freshman Kennedy Washington. 

Bultema had 11 kills and eight blocks when the Cats faced the Cards in 2025. You gotta think Dan Meske is happy to have that kind of ability and skill on his roster in 2026 instead of having to face it. 

(Hannah Sherma also returns at MB for the Cards)

The Cards, as of today, have a wealth of middle blocker talent going into next season. Addison Makun, a sophomore returns, plus Hannan Sherman, a redshirt junior. They also have freshmen coming aboard in Amirra Bailey and  Elli Strecker.  

It should be a fun season...and we'll bring you the best of the Cards here at the "Couple". 

**************************************************************************************************

As of Sunday, 12/28/25, we have still not been exonerated from the false accusations by a UofL staffer about a tweet . That account was hijacked, that account iis deleted now and it never came from me in the first place. We will continue to fight to clear our good name. I just want my writers to be able to cover events again. Punish me all you want, I'm old and irrelevant to most people anymore...but let the future of Cardinal Couple thrive and survive in those much younger writers. 

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Al's Breakfast Club

Our good friend and one of Paulie's mentors in Al Parrish, gave us a scare a few days ago, when he was admitted to the hospital in serious condition. The good news is...Al's a fighter and hasn't given up the battle yet, he's hanging in there and, according to his daughter...showing signs of improvement. 

I've been privledged to be a member of Al's Breakfast Club,..and, knowing Al, he'll come through this setback and start arranging breakfasts and locations for all of us as soon as the  doctors release him. 

Hang in there Big Al. . You've spent a lot of years cheering for UofL sports squads to do well and win. Now, we are all cheering for you. 

paulie

CARDINAL WISH LISTS WE CAN SEE FOR XMAS-- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

TWAS the day before Christmas..

What do you think the some of the Cardinals women's athletes and coaches want for XMAS? I don't have any insights or bona fide ideas on this matter, but let's have some fun on this day before Santa comes down the chimney and we celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

WBB

 

Grace chose the Cardinals over Kentucky, Baylor, Duke, Florida, LSU, NC State and West Virginia. Yes, there is "Grace" among us...

Jeff Walz -- how about if Santa brings him two 6'7" posts for Christmas? Players who can make the three. control the boards, play defense and help bring Coach a National championship.  

Elif Istanbulloglu -- A free throw success rate of 90% the rest of her career here at Louisville (This from a guy who had a 51% success rate in his career free throw endeavors...)

Laura Ziegler -- A trip to the Final Four and National title trophy to put in her trophy case. 

Taj Roberts -- Double-doubles for the rest of the season and first team All-American honors.

Grace Mbugna -- Recognition as the "best collegiate WBB player to ever come from Kentucky" by the time she graduates 

VOLLEYBALL

Dan Meske -- A national championship next year and Coach of the Year award. 

Kalyssa Blackshear -- Most kills in Volleyball next season

Nayelis Cabello -- 1300 assists next season and All-ACC honors. 

Payton Petersen -- Over 400 kills and three more inches to make her 6'2".

Anna DeBeer -- A title for her Philippines team and an award for "the most beautiful volleyball player on a group of islands"

My buddy...Santa John

Happy Holidays to all and we wish you a very merry Christmas. 

From All of Us to All of You...

paulie

VolleyCARDS vs Texas A&M preview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

On the TWELFTH day of December , my true love gave to me?! Another blanket of snow covering the city of Louisville this morning.  And honestly, I do enjoy it.. it's pretty to look at but not fun to be out in.  Surprisingly, UofL did not cancel operations this time.... GRRRR.  

Like I commented after last week's storm that happened the night before finals, this time it came the day of winter commencement.  Congratulations to the Class of 2025!!

Also on today's slate is a big Sweet 16 matchup for the Volleyball squad with the #3 seed Texas A&M Aggies.  This one will be held in the overall #1 seed region of Lincoln Nebraska. 

About the Aggies

A&M is 25-4 on the season.  Their last loss came in the SEC tournament to the #3 Texas Longhorns who had been lingering around the top 3 all season.    The Aggies did beat the #2 Longhorns back on Halloween at home when they got up 2-0 and ultimately won in 5 sets. They beat Campbell and TCU to advance to face the Cardinals in the Sweet 16.   Two of their losses came back to back at TCU and against SMU at the beginning of September.  

Prior to their loss in the SEC tournament, the Aggies had not dropped a set since 11/2.  

Louisville is 2-5 against the Aggies all time however the Cardinals captured the most recent matchup taking a five-set victory on their home court in 2019. Texas A&M holds the advantage in four of the seven team statical categories leading in kills per set, assists per set, hitting percentage and aces per set, while the Cardinals hold the advantage in opponent hitting percentage, blocks per set and digs per set.

Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 19 matches and sits 23 kills away from No. 3 on Texas A&M's career kill list.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last three games and is 11 blocks away from ranking third on the programs all-time block list.

This one will be on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

Around the NCAA

UK beat Cal Poly to match up with Creighton who beat Arizona State, on Saturday 12/13

Pittsburgh beat Minnesota in 3 sets to face Purdue who beat SMU 3-1. 

As Always, 
Go Cards
~Daryl 

VOLLEYCARDS ADVANCE IN NCAA TOURNAMENT -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville takes Marquette in Five Sets

Louisville Volleyball moves on to the round of 16 with a four set win over the Marquette Golden Eagles in the LNFCU Arena Saturday night. 

The sets.went.21-25, 25-11, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12. 

The Cards were led by Chloe Chicoine's 28 hills. Others in double figure kills for Louisville were Payton Peterson (19). Cara Cresse (13) and Kalyssa Blackshear (11) Chloe did not have the most ills in the match, though, as Marquette's Natalie Ring delivered 29.

SET ONE

The Cards had a early 9-7 lead after a Marquette attack error...but the two squads were tied at 13 after a Natalie Ring kill. It was 19-18 Marquette and the Cards were still close late. .trailing 22-20, but the visitors got three of the next four points to take the set 25=21 

SET TWO

Louisville jumped out to an early 6-3 lead on a Hannah Sherman kill...then went on a 6-1 run, taking a 12-4 on a Chicoine kill. The Cards doubled the score at 16-8 after another chicoine kill and led 21-9 after a Petesren kill.and outscred Marquette 4-2 the rest of the way to win 25-11.

SET THREE

UofL looked awful early and fell behind the Golden Eagles 8-1 to start the match. It was 11-5 Marquette after a Emma Park kill. The Cards did come back to tie the match at 19-19 on a Cresse kll....and led 23-22 on another Cresse kill...but lost the final three points of the match...two Marquette point coming on ring kills...for a Marquette 25-23 win. 

SET FOUR

The Cards jumped out to a 5-1 lead and stretched it to 8-3 on a Kalyssa Blackshear kill. The Cards had a 16-11 advantage on a Sherman/Petersen block and stretched the lead to 22-14 on a Cresse/Petersen block.  A Blackshear kill ended the fouth in favor of the Cards 25-19.

SET FIVE

Louisville took command of the final set early at 5-1 on a MU hitting error. Marquette battled back ti geet within one at 8-7...but the Cards regrouped to go out to a 11-7 lead. The Cards clung to a 13-11 lead but benefitted from a Marquette service error and Chiocine kill to take the set and match.

Want to see that dramatic fifth set again? Or for the first time? Go HERE 

So, the Cards advance and will face Texas A&M next...Friday, Dec 12th. @ 7 p.m. ET.

A&M knocked off TCU, who the Cards have not faced this season. 

 

A hard fought win against an opponent that may have been overlooked in a lot of circles, but Marquette  came in with nothing to lose and fought valiantly 

WBB

Louisville women's basketball faces New Hampshire today at noon in the KFC YU!M! Center. It'll be on ACCNX if you can't attend

All photos from Jared Anderson. 

paulie

SC escapes Cards WBB 79-77 -- VB preview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL



Gooooood morning readers and hello if you’re new here!

Hoping finals went well for studenst.  I know it must've been sooooo hard to want to get out of bed when there's several inches of snow on the ground.  I must say, campus is absolutely gorgeous coated in a blanket of snow.  It really makes the Cardinal birds stand out.  

Speaking of Cardinal birds standing out, I'm actually not too upset after last nights rumble with the Gamecocks of South Carolina.  We will go ahead and get into the recap since there's so much to cover today.  



WBB 


Louisville 77  - South Carolina 79 

Photo: Jared Anderson

The visiting #3 South Carolina Gamecocks escaped the Louisville Cardinals when a 3 point attempt by Taj Roberts was just a little too strong and bounced off the rim as time and hope expired at the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday night. 10,012 attended this one... which was high effort and excitement from start to finish.  Coach Walz complimented in the post game the squads ability to put four full quarters together and take the #3 team down to the wire.  Elif Istanbulluoglu had 15 points and 9 rebounds and Taj Roberts had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.   

End of 1Q. 27-25 SC

FG %
12-19 63.2% Cards
12-19 63.2% Gamecocks
Reb. 9-5 Cards
3-pt %
1-5 20% Cards
2-4 50% Gamecocks

Cards win the tip and strike first on a bucket from Anaya Hardy after she got her first career start.  No early jitters for the national runners up as they quickly respond.  Scoring next for UofL, Mackenly Randolph making it look like Louisville may have quite a night too.   Louisville outrebounded SC 9-5, but both went back and forth trading baskets.  Elif went 3-4 for 6 points and 2 rebounds.  The Cards were unable to connect on a 3 in the first quarter until Imari Berry hit one with just under 3 min left in the quarter.  It was a relatively high scoring one where SC had a 27-25 lead.   

Photo: Jared Anderson

End of 2Q  18-14 SC


FG %
5-12. 41.7% Cards
6-11 54.5% Gamecocks
Reb. 6-7 Gamecocks 
3-pt %
3-6 50% Cards
2-3 66.7% Gamecocks


The Cardinals could not score a bucket until there was 6:07 left in the half when Reyna Scott chucks up a prayer and hits 3 as time expires to make it 30-29 SC.   But the gamecocks respond with one of their own. 

Please believe me when I tell you that Elif was the absolute motor of the first half where she had 12 of her 15 points and looked like one of the best players on the floor.   At one point on a SC miss she coralled the rebound and  dashes back on defense to prevent a fast break bucket when SC took it away from Laura Ziegler.  

When SC hit another 3 to go up 5, Elif hit a 3 pointer to pull it within 2 at 36-34. 
Not long after, a 3 pointer from Taj Robert to tie up before SC went on a 6 point run in 52 seconds forcing Walz to call a timeout.  

Out of the time out, Elif scores a bucket underneath and SC calls a timeout of their own.  A late turnover by the Cards allowed SC another offensive opportunity and they took advantage heading into the halftime break.  

Photo: Jared Anderson

HALF  45-39



End of 3Q Cards 23-18

FG %
9-16 56.3% Cards
6-14 42.9% Gamecocks
Reb. 7-9 SC
3-pt %
2-4 50% Cards
3-6 50% Gamecocks


Unlike previous games where the Cards struggled in the third quarter, Louisville managed to turn things around.  After a bucket by Skylar Jones to make it 50-47 Elif takes the charge forcing a SC turnover.  Jones gets fouled but goes 0-2 at line.  SC attempts the 3, gets their own rebound and up and in to make it 52-47.  Jones gets back to the line 1-2.  A Reyna Scott layup 54-50 and SC inbounds violation gives it back to Cards for another opportunity.  The Cards got it within 1 but couldn't get over the hump yet.  



End of 4Q 16-15 SC

FG %
5-18 27.8% Cards
6-17 35.3% Gamecocks
Reb. 13-12 SC
3-pt %
3-8 37.5% Cards
1-3 33.3% Gamecocks




At this point in the game, I had gone to the bathroom and the Cards secured the lead while I was in there.  I definitely considered spending the rest of the game in there.... 

Cards were still up when I returned to my seat, 67- 63.  And not long after SC started putting some points on the board.  We had already seen them go on a couple 6 point spurts here and there.  And they did that when they scored a couple buckets to go up 68-67.  Elif rebounds off a missed SC three attempt, goes down to make one of her own and put the Cards up 70-68 with just under 5 minutes left in the game.   With the mojo in the Cards favor, another bad forward pass in Hardy's direction but ultimately in the crowd resulted in another turnover for the Cards.   A Taj 3 makes it 73-68 with 4:11 to go forcing SC to call a timeout.   A block call from the refs and then shot clock violation gave SC the chance to go ahead and they did on a fast break layup to go up 73-72.   But as the clock wound down, and the two traded blows, two huge layups from SC's #11 to put them ahead for good.  Elif attempted another 3 pointer but it was no good with 1 minute left.  Walz calls a time out with 34 left on the clock and what looked like a foul behind the 3 point line by SC on Berry was overturned to be a 2 point FT attempt and keep the Cards from possibily tieing it up at the line.  Where she made both attempts and got it back within 1 point at 78-77.   SC called a timeout and it was a fouling game until the very end when with 7.7 seconds left, the Cards got the shot they wanted.  It just didnt go in by Taj Roberts.  And she had to be consoled by her teammates afterwards as she was visibility upset as the clock wound down. Actually Louisville did get one more possessiont when after 2 missed FT attempts from SC's #11 the Cards have less than 3 seconds left but Hardy was not able to get it down the floor for a good shot attempt.

UP NEXT

Louisville vs New Hampshire

Sunday 12/7 12pm

ACCNX

FRED REPORT

Freddie Mercury

FREE THROWS -- This was probably the one area we can groan about from this match for Louisville where they went 6-10 at the FT line which does not earn a letter by our standards. Skylar Jones went 1-4 at the line in back to back trips. no letter

REBOUNDING -- to my own surprise, the Cards matched SC on the rebounding efforts with 34 total. Elif lead for the Cards with 9 of them.  Anaya Hardy got her first career start and pulled down 5 of them.  She came up huge in some big moments.  CAPITAL R 


EFFORT/EXECUTION --  From start to finish, Louisville fought.  Both squads threw punches back and forth and it was a helluva battle between both.  Coach Walz was extremely candid in his post game about his team's efforts with #3 SC.  About the last shot from Roberts and the realty of being the one to be in that moment.  He was super impressed with the way the team set up the shot.. it just didnt go in this time.   "If you wanna take that shot, You gotta be prepared for it not to go in. If she makes it, she was happy."  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- Defensively, Tessa Johnson for SC was open.. way too often.  And she made the Cards pay for it.  She went 4-7 from 3 point land.   Aside from that, I thought UofL put up an impressive defensive effort.  6-6 Okot was practically unstoppable too.  She just had to put it up on the glass to score a layup practically at will.  CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY:   _R_E_D


Volleyball

Photo: Jared Anderson 

Louisville plays Loyola Chicago Friday evening following the first round matchup with WKU and Marquette at 4pm.  All at L&N Arena.  

Louisville begins its post season holding a 24-6 record, 16-4 in the ACC.  


from loyolaramblers.com

Loyola won its third A-10 championship in four years and second straight after beating #6 Duquesne in the semifinals and #4 VCU in the championship. The Ramblers beat both in five sets.

Ann Marie Remmes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, while Kaitlyn Burke and Emma Henry were on the All-Championship Team.  Remmes totaled 36 kills while hitting .425 over the two matches. She added 10 digs, seven blocks, and two aces. She had 19 kills in the win over Duquesne and followed up with 17 against VCU.  Burke went for back-to-back double-doubles in the tournament. She had 21 kills and a career-high 28 digs vs. the Dukes. Against the Rams, she had 20 more kills with 11 digs.  Henry racked up 115 assists, averaging 11.5 assists per set. She had 57 in the win over Duquesne and 58 more vs. VCU. She recorded a double-double vs. the Dukes with 14 digs.

•Loyola has played 128 sets this season and 12 five-set thrillers. In seasons 2023, 2023, and 2022 combined, the Ramblers only saw five sets 12 times.
• The Ramblers rank in the NCAA top-20 in the following categories: eighth in total assists (1,527), eighth in total attacks (4,570), 10th in total kills (1,637), 11th in total digs (1,935), and 16th in total blocks (306).
• Avary DeBlieck broke the single-season block record that previously stood at 144 during the final weekend of regular season action. She has 168 and counting this season, which ranks fifth in the country. DeBlieck is averaging 1.41 blocks per set, sitting 23 in the NCAA.
• The Ramblers won their first ever tournament game last year in the first round over #24 BYU, 3-0.
• Head coach Amanda Berkley is in her eighth season at the helm. Her overall record with the Ramblers is 153-92.



Softball

Softball announces its 2026 schedule. You can see the spring slate in the following link. We will break it down further another day 2026 Softball Schedule

Make it a great weekend!!!

As Always, 
Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

NCAA VB Tournament Breakdown — TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

NCAA Volleyball Tournament Breakdown: Louisville’s Path to the Championship, ACC Teams, Possible Upsets and Dark Horses

As Daryl mentioned yesterday, Louisville volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament. This time, the 2-seeded Cardinals will only be at home for the first two rounds as opposed to last year when Louisville never left the 502 the entire postseason.

Louisville is one of seven ACC teams in this year’s tournament, two shy of last year’s ACC showing. This tournament features 1-seed Pitt, 2-seed Louisville, 2-seed Stanford, 2-seed SMU, 5-seed Miami, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina. 

Three teams from Kentucky are dancing: 1-seed Kentucky, 2-seed Louisville, and Western Kentucky. All three programs have been strong volleyball programs for well over a decade. The Cards and Hilltoppers could meet in the second round, but Kentucky is on the opposite side of the bracket.

Nebraska Regional

Photo courtesy of NCAA

This is a tough regional. Texas A&M can easily run with anybody and might have been deserving of a 2-seed over Louisville. Outside of a loss to TCU, the Aggies’ other three losses came to 1- and 2-seeds in the tournament. Miami could be a 5-seed that gets out of opening weekend. The Canes have one of the best outside hitters in the country and their only questionable loss was to Cal.

While I like Western Kentucky as an unseeded team, I don’t think they can beat Louisville, who swept them in late September. There aren’t any unseeded teams I think can make much noise on this.

Nebraska has looked like the best team in the country all season. I still think they are. I think they go this whole regional and won’t drop more than two sets at most.

Texas Regional

Photo courtesy of NCAA

This is another tough regional. While I am not sold on Indiana as the 4-seed, I think 2-seed Stanford and 3-seed Wisconsin are both very good. I don’t think Penn State is worthy of a seed, but they are matched up with a South Florida team who wasn’t able to beat a tournament team all season.

North Carolina could be an unseeded team to make a little noise early on. The Tar Heels, like the rest of the ACC, fell victim to the power of Pitt, Louisville, Stanford, and Miami, but they did take down SMU. Three of the Tar Heels’ losses were in a four-game stretch.

Outside of dropping two to Kentucky, the Longhorns’ only other loss came to Texas A&M. They have had some calls in other matches including against Louisville, Stanford, and Tennessee. I think the Longhorns sneak out of this regional but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wisconsin or Stanford work some magic.

Pittsburgh Regional

Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics

Pittsburgh seems to have the easiest region. Outside of SMU, I don’t see much threat from anyone else. Both Purdue and Minnesota have storied programs but have had consistency issues the last couple years.

Florida as an unseeded team could be a sneaky dark horse, provided they can get past SMU. The Gators’ record doesn’t look good but they have a handful of ranked wins including taking down Pitt. They also took Kentucky to five sets, one of just a couple SEC teams to do so.

With home court advantage and having Olivia Babcock, I think Pitt gets out of this regional.

Kentucky Regional

Photo courtesy of NCAA

Kentucky doesn’t have a cakewalk but I also don’t think they have an overly difficult region either. Arizona State hasn’t impressed me to be a 2-seed, especially with them getting destroyed by Pitt and Texas. The Big 12 is down some in volleyball with a few solid teams such as BYU and Colorado, but the Sun Devils didn’t face much challenge in conference play. Creighton is dangerous as a 3-seed. They have not lost since mid-September and all of their losses are to seeded teams. They took Nebraska to the wire and got big wins against Kansas and San Diego, but they play in a weak Big East conference. USC and Tennessee are seeded teams that could make some noise.

I don’t think any unseeded teams will have much luck in this region other than maybe Georgia Tech upsetting 8-seed UCLA, but there could be some battles and upsets when seeded teams face each other. I think either Tennessee or Creighton has a good shot at taking down Arizona State.

Kentucky has had an excellent season highlighted by wins over Texas, Texas A&M, Louisville, and SMU. Outside of Nebraska, they have looked nearly unstoppable and last lost in early September. The only team I could see maybe challenging them is Creighton but this is a region that Kentucky should come out on top.

Having all 1-seeds advancing this year isn’t too surprising. While there continues to be more parity year after year, there has been a noticeable difference between the top four or five teams vs the rest of the ranked teams vs everyone else. I think we see Nebraska take down Kentucky to complete the undefeated season.

Photo by Jared

I think Louisville cruises through the first two rounds, sneaks by Texas A&M barely, and then falls to the Huskers in the Elite Eight.

We plan to have in-person coverage of the opening two rounds at L&N Arena this weekend.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB crushes Bellarmine 100-37 -- VB 2-seed in NCAA tourney -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good Monday morning readers, and hello December!!!! 

Its the last day of classes and students are preparing for finals the rest of the week.  Winter commencement is scheduled for Friday 12/12. 

I, myself, am mentally preparing for the winter break and taking the opportunity to relax and reset for another new year.   And wow, how has it already been 11 months since the wedding?   Sheesh.   

Time just flies because I think about how this time last year, Louisville volleyball was hosting Penn St for the national championship.  And the Cards suffered hopefully their last loss of the year this past Saturday vs Stanford. 

Another Volleyball post season is upon us so let's jump on in... 

Volleyball Selection Show

The CARDS are dancing once again!!

Photo: Jared Anderson

Your UofL Cards drew a 2-seed in the Nebraska region (shocker).  Louisville will host the first and second round with Loyola University Chicago 30 min following the first match which is WKU and Marquette at 4pm at L&N FCU Arena.  

Your top 4 1-seeds are Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Texas.  

Check out the full volleyball bracket HERE



WBB

Final  Bellarmine 37 - Louisville 100

Photo: Jared Anderson

Louisville swept the MTE this weekend as the Cards picked up 3 wins to move to 7-2 on the season.   Imari Berry lead all scorers as she came off the bench to have 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. 

End of 1Q  30-6  Cards

FG %
12-21 57.1% Cards
2-19 10.5% Knights
Reb.  17-9 Cards
3-pt %
2-7 28.6% Cards
0-8 0% Knights


End of 2Q  28-7  Cards


FG %
11-22 50% Cards
2-17 11.8% Knights
Reb.  19-8 Cards
3-pt %
4-12 33.3% Cards
0-8 0% Knights

Photo: Jared Anderson

HALF   58-13  Cards



End of 3Q  23-16  Cards

FG %
7-17 41.2% Cards  
6-17 35.3% Knights
Reb.  14-8 Cards
3-pt %
4-8 50% Cards
4-7 57.1% Knights


End of 4Q  19-8 Cards

FG %
8-14 57.1% Cards
3-10 30%  Knights
Reb.  8-5 Cards

3-pt %
3-7 42.9% Cards
0-4 0% Knights


FINAL 100-37

Photo: Jared Anderson

FRED REPORT

Freddie Prinze Jr

FREE THROWS --  Louisville managed to make 11-15 from the free throw line for a good enough 73% to earn a letter by our ratings, however, I still think this area needs much improvement when it comes to bigger moments so I'll give it a lower case f 

REBOUNDING --  UofL nearly doubled up Bellarmine on the boards grabbing 58 compared to 30. Cards' Anaya Hardy lead all with 10.  CAPITAL R 


EFFORT/EXECUTION --  12 Cardinals played in this game with Reagan Bender and Anaya Hardy getting the most minutes on the floor in this one but not much together.   Reagan has been showing glimpses of being a 3 point spark when the Cards need some offense (not so much in this game) but she did get the start against the neighboring Knights.    CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- Louisville held Bellarmine to 13 points in the first half and 37 in total.  They forced 9 steals and had 4 blocks.  BU was 0-16 in the first half from beyond 3 point range.  CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY: f_R_E_D

UP NEXT

Louisville vs South Carolina

ACC/SEC Challenge

Thursday December 4th

7:00PM ESPN

If you're going to this one, check your ticket to find what section you are sitting in and wear your sections respective colors to fit the STRIPE OUT theme!   

If you're in an even section wear WHITE and 

if youre in an odd section wear BLACK

Get tickets HERE!!!!

As always
Go Cards!
~Daryl

WBB wins over ETSU, VolleyCards fall to Stanford -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WBB ROMPS EAST TENNESSSEE 88-50

The Louisville women's basketball squad got a very convincing win Saturday over ETSU at Bellarmine after a rather sub-par first quarter. ETSU led 14-12 halfway through the first quarter, but Louisville was able to finally wake up and go up 22-18 on two Imari Berry free throws left in the opening quarter. . Berry would go on to get 17 points in the contest,leading Louisville in scoring... one of the Cards in double figures in the game. Laura Ziegler had 16 and Elif Istanbulloglu finished with15 for Jeff's Walz's squad...who improved their record to 6-2. 

The Cards nearly matched that first qurter total in the second quarter, with 22 points...but the UofL defense was much more stingy...allowing just 11 ETSU points. The Cards went to the intermission with a 45-29 lead. 

Ten UofL student-athletes saw at least 12 minutes in the UofL victory.

The third quarter was Louisville highest scoring quarter...with 25 points and, once again...the defense did their job and limited ETSU to just 11 points. Up 70-40 after the quarters, Walz was able to look at a lot of different combinations on the floor in the final 10 minutes and the Cards won the battle of the fourth quarter 18-10.

(Chimp J.Fred Muggs...can you name the TV show he was on?)

THE FRED REPORT

F -- Free Throws -- 18-25 is 72% and s. Berry gets the thumbs up or her 6-6 marksmanship from the charity stripe. Anaya Hady needs to work on her touch with a 2-6 effort. 72% is over the mandated 70% we look for here to award a letter...so we give an "f"..but not a upper case F, since they barely got pat 70%. Score: f. 

R -- Rebouning -- The Cards were the kings of the boards with a 48-25 commanding advantage on board worl. Kudos to four Cards who grabbed six each. Glad to award a capital R here for the rebounding edge and the team effort in grabbing them. Score: R

E -- Effort/Execution -- UofL had 19 assists on 30 baskets, a not-so-bad 12 turnovers, 48.4% shooting on the night and was 10-21 from three-point win. Combine all that with the 38 ponit win and I can easily award a capital "E" 

D -- Defense --ETSU is not  VERY GOOD BSKETBALL TEAM -- DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THNMING THEY ARE -- but holding them to 32.7%  shooting, 50 points and just two fast breaks and two second chance points the entire game is pretty strong stuff. No problem in awarding a capital "D" 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  f-R-E-D

The Cards return to the KFC YUM! Center tomorrow to face Bellarmine. It's a 2 p.m. contest and on ACCNX if you can't attend. 

#7 VOLLEYCARDS FALL IN FIVE SETS TO #5 STANFORD

A heroic effort that fell just short for Dan Meske's VolleyCards yesterday in the LNFCUA to #5 Stanford. The 25-17, 16-25, 22-25, 26-24, 12-15 loss was a thrill-a minute on campus...but in this top ten battle, the Cardinal defeated the Cardinals. 

Despite middle Cara Cresse reaching a milestone with 500 career blocks...the Louisville squad could not pull off the win in front of a packed LNFCU arena. 

The Louisville squad goes to 24-6, 16-4 on the season in a match where Chloe Chicoine had 17 kills and the the Louisville squad won the first set in seeminly easy 25-17 fashion...the wheels fell off the cards the attack the rest of the way and Stanford is yoru ACC champ

In the past two matches, the VolleyCards have run into a candidate of ACC (if not national) P.O.Y. in Olivia Babcock (Pitt) and Elia Rubin. (Stanford). 

I've no doubt that the Cards will receive a decent NCAA Tournament seed tomorrow, though and probably get to host a couple early tournament games. It's at 6 p.m. and you can watch it on ESPN. 

(Volleyball photos from UofL)

paulie