Volleyball Advances to Sweet Sixteen -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Sweep WMU to Advance

Louisville hosted Western Michigan in the Yum! Center last night in the second round of the NCAA tournament. As Coach Dani Busboom Kelly noted in her postgame remarks, WMU was a good team that lost only two matches all season. Louisville certainly didn't have a walk in the park, despite the final score. While they finished with a sweep, they had to earn it, winning with scores of 26-24, 25-18, and 25-22. The Cards used a good hitting night to put WMU away, hitting .359 as a team with just 10 errors. Their lowest set percentage was still .300 and every hitter with an attempt hit at least .200.

The Cards jumped out to an early lead in the first, led by a 3-kill streak for Cara Cresse that was part of a 4-0 run to move Louisville ahead 7-3. The Cards had to weather a storm, as WMU brought it back to tie the set at 12 before carrying a two point lead 17-15. After Louisville held close, it looked as though they'd be in dire straights when WMU moved to Set Point 3 with a 24-21 lead. Louisville did no less than rattle off five straight points to win 26-24. 

The second set was closer for longer, but Louisville's brief runs were more frequent that WMU's. The Cards led 15-10 before a quick spurt of energy from the Broncos made it 15-14 again. The trades continued, but they were uneven, and Louisville ultimately took the set 25-18. The second was Louisville's best hitting set, as they were .387 in that one. Somewhat surprisingly, it wasn't WMU's worst set, as that came in the first with a .140 percentage. WMU hit .235 in the second, so Louisville was just more advantageous with their points and opportunities. 

Much like the second, the third set stayed close. Unlike the second, Louisville never had a big run to open the score up. As a result, WMU hung around, threatening to take a set off of the second-seeded hosts. After an error by Charitie Luper brought WMU to within one at 23-22, Luper followed it up with a kill to give the Cards a Match Point opportunity. Cara Cresse took advantage of said opportunity, and the Cards closed it out.

Luper was the leader for Louisville offensively in this one. She finished with 11 kills, which was behind only WMU's Anna Calcagno for the match lead. Calcagno had 13 kills. Luper was the only Card in double figures, but Cresse and Anna DeBeer finished with nine, while Reese Robins had eight, PK added seven, and Aiko Jones rounded out Louisville's kills with five. PK continued her strong tournament as she also had no errors. DeBeer nearly finished with a double-double, as she added nine digs to her kills.

At the net, Louisville was dominant. WMU finished with just three blocks. Louisville had ten. Louisville was even at the serving line, finishing with five aces and five service errors. They lost the category by the narrowest of margins, as WMU put up seven aces and just six errors. Elena Scott, Elle Glock, and Brigitta Petrenko were all busy. Petrenko had 12 assists and two digs, while Scott finished with seven assists to go along with her 22 digs. Glock finished with a double-double as both setters were targeted. Glock had 26 assists and 11 digs, trailing WMU's Logan Case in both categories. Case had 36 assists and 14 digs. That would be part of the reason that DBK said Case and the libero Andelyn Simkins (who also had 14 digs) could play anywhere.

There may have been a couple of spots for improvement, but Louisville will need performances more like last night's than the one on display against Wright State if they want to make a deep run in this year's tournament. As it is, they can only take one match at a time.

Louisville played the only Friday match in their region, so they await tonight's results to determine a location and opponent. The Cards will get either Minnesota or Creighton and they'll plan in either Pittsburgh or Louisville. The match to determine Louisville's opponent is at 7:30 and the one that determines the location (Pitt vs USC) is at 7:00 PM.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll be without Jared this week as some big game is happening in Charlotte or something. We'll have plenty to cover with the knuckleheads on hand, though. We'll talk volleyball, basketball, and whatever else strikes Paulie's fancy. As always, 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

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Volleyball roars back on the Raiders 3 -1 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Hello again everyone and welcome to the month of December and the weekend! I hope everyone is staying warm.

There’s some post season action going on in town this weekend as Louisville plays host to another NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center. The VolleyCards begin another quest for a national championship. Actually, if you ask the squad I’m sure the quest began when they lost in the finals last season...

So lets hop right on into it!


Volleyball

UofL had the second time slot for volleyball action at the Yum! Center last night where they faced Wright State in the first round.   The first match began at 4 p.m. (and UofL's next opponent) featured Western Michigan and Auburn University where the Broncos dominated the #7 Tigers in a surprising 3-0 sweep.

But first, the hostess with the mostessssss, our Louisville Cardinals. 


Final       UofL 3 WRI 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20)   

The Cardinals opened the NCAA tournament with a win over a tough and familiar Wright State team. UofL faced the Raiders earlier in the season more than 3 months ago on August 27th where the Cards walked out of L&N Arena with another 3-1 victory.

This go around, it was in the Yum! Center with more than 5,000 in attendance.

Cara Cresse lead the attack for Louisville hitting at a .500% 👀 clip with 13 kills and 5 blocks. UofL got alot of support from the middle of the court with Phekran Kong also leading Louisville with 9 kills and 9 blocks. As a team, the Cards had a 15 - 6 block advantage over Wright St.

Wright State was able to hold the Cards to a .192 hitting % as a team. The Raiders were in the right spots at the right time A LOT of the time throughout the match, It was not an easy task to take down the Raiders as they came out ready to rumble. I thought the team looked a little winded to begin and struggled to 'find their sea legs' in the first set but they didn't really warm up it seemed until the end of the second set.

Our photographer Jared Anderson, at the event,  said he wasn't nervous.   I will say it did not look like the Louisville team we've watched all season.. making silly errors or swinging too strong and out of bounds.  But every point in this match felt hard earned.   

The Cardinals need to get in their nest early tonight and get ready for a Friday night match in the second round.  

Lets look at the next opponent.... 


About Western Mich

Head coach Colleen Munson has spent 19 years in Kalamazoo leading the Western Michigan program. This year, her Bronco squad is just one of two teams to boast 30 wins entering the NCAA Tournament. 

Senior setter Logan Case leads the charge for WMU. The MAC Player of the Year and Setter of the Year averages 11.87 assists per set, the second-highest mark in the country.

Case has a trio of experienced attackers to choose from offensively. Graduate outside hitter Maggie King paces the team in kills per set (3.69) and points per set (4.10). Keona Salesman and Anna Calcagno aren't too far behind. Salesman averages a robust 3.45 kills per set while Calcagno comes in at 3.00.

Western Michigan's defense is captained by Michigan native Andelyn Simkins. The senior libero took home MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, averaging 4.89 digs per set.


Western Michigan (31-2) in the first round

Western Michigan 3,  #7 Auburn 0

The victory is Western Michigan's first NCAA Tournament win since 2008 and eighth in program history. That season, the Broncos won a pair of matches to reach the program's MAC-record fifth regional semifinal. Thursday's win also extended WMU's winning streak to 21, its longest streak since 1983.

Logan Case had 44 assists, the Broncos hit a blistering .367, with Calcagno and King pacing the attack with 14 kills apiece. Mary Clare Brusek added nine kills, with Salesman contributing eight to the cause.

WMU also used the service line as a weapon, tallying a season-best 11 service aces.  Simkins led the way with a career-high six aces, one shy of the single-match program record.

Simkins anchored Western Michigan's defense with a match-high 25 digs, while Reeghan Boyer pitched in nine digs and King added seven.




As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl

Cards Enter Melee Atop ACC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Falls in 4 at GT

Louisville entered Friday's match with the goal of staying tied atop the ACC. Since it was a big night among the major players, Louisville's stakes rose to getting the chance to lead outright as their match progressed. FSU took down Pitt in five sets, giving the Cards a golden opportunity to take control of their own destiny and effectively clinch at least a tie of the ACC title with a match still to play against Pitt. In the end, Louisville stayed atop the ACC, but they've now got plenty of company. FSU's win moved Pitt into a tie with the Seminoles and Yellow Jackets with two losses. Rather than bump GT down to a lonely fourth, the Cards joined the fray as four teams now sit at 11-2.

Georgia Tech is now on a five-match win streak and they are tied with Louisville at 20-3 overall. Pitt is at 20-4 overall and FSU is the outlier with a 17-8 overall record. Of the top four, only GT has lost a conference match at home. The Cards still have a fair handle on their own path to a championship. Louisville has Pitt on the road on November 18th and the return match against GT to close out the season on November 22nd. Pitt and GT will play again next week, but the big wild card is Florida State. The rest of the schedule isn't too threatening for the Seminoles. They play four of their remaining six conference matches at home, including their biggest remaining challenge against rival Miami. 

As for last night's match, it was a clear indication that Louisville volleyball gets everyone's best shot each time out. Perhaps a harbinger of what was to come, GT started the match with an ace and won the first three points. Louisville methodically worked the first set, keeping the Techsters close before going on a 7-2 run to take a 17-15 lead and force a GT timeout. Out of the break, Louisville gave up a point before winning six of the next seven to hold what you might consider a comfortable 23-17 lead in the first set. Needing just two points, Louisville dropped three straight before moving to set point at 24-20. With set point three, Louisville completely fell apart. From 23-17, Louisville went on to lose the set 26-24. They gave up a six-point run after taking set point and lost 9 of 10 points to end the first. Three of the last four points were GT aces.

The second was tight all the way through, but Louisville was never able to seize control. After winning the first point, the Cards could do no more than tie the score for the remainder of the set. As a result, they lost 25-22 and entered the locker room at halftime staring down the potential of a sweep. The first half saw Louisville hit just .167 and .222 while GT was .267 and .351 to open the match. Despite GT holding four key aces in the first (the first point and three of the last four), those four were their only four of the set. Louisville actually scored more aces in the first, but the Cards also added two service errors. In the second, Louisville won the serving battle with no aces. They committed just one error while GT committed four and could only find one ace.

Out of the break, it seemed as though the teams were in for another tight battle. Louisville was the team that showed more mettle, though, calmly extending the lead one point at a time. The Cards forced a GT timeout after a three-point run took the set from tied to 11-8. After the timeout, Louisville traded two for one as they pushed their lead to 17-11. The Cards were able to make it 21-14 before GT threatened another run. This time, Louisville weathered it, and the score once more landed on 23-17 after an Elena Scott handling error. Bianca Bertolino, who had dominated the match and led the service charge to end the first set, promptly erred on her serve to give Louisville set point seven. The Cards didn't mess around, taking the set 25-17.

Though it looked like Louisville may have won some momentum, the result of the third may have come down to GT slipping a bit rather than Louisville turning it on. Louisville only hit .270 in the third while GT hit an abysmal -.037. That didn't last. The Cards opened the fourth with an ace and took a 3-1 lead after a GT error and a service error. The lead quickly evaporated, though, and they saw the Yellow Jackets move to an 8-10 advantage. The Cards fought back to a 10-10 tie before another massive run by Georgia Tech effectively sealed the set and the match. A service error gave the ball to GT, who used two kills, two aces, and a setting error by Elle Glock to take a 16-10 lead. Louisville managed to get it as close as 18-14, but they ultimately fell 25-19. 

Louisville was never quite able to get going in this one, third set aside. The Cards ultimately hit just .186 in the match. While they had the top two kill leaders in Charitie Luper and Phekran Kong and scored more kills than GT, the timing of the errors was what did Louisville in. Looking at total errors (attack, service, block, miscellaneous) Louisville only committed five more (37-32) than Georgia Tech. If you include receiving errors (inverse of aces) just one more is added. The difference, like I said, was the timing. When Louisville led 23-17 in the first, six of GT's nine points came on Louisville errors in some fashion (two outright attack errors, one GT block, and three receiving errors on aces). Turn a couple of those around, or insert a GT error here instead of the third, and we're probably talking about a completely different match.

At the end of the day, the Cards are in, relatively, the same position they were in before Friday. They're still not alone atop the league and they still get another chance to beat (most) of their competition for the title. Louisville can only control what they can control. If they can end the season on a strong run and beat both Pitt and GT to close the year, they have only to hope that FSU slips up. It wouldn't be too out of character for this FSU team to do so. We'll just have to wait and see. The quest for an 11-match win streak to close the year begins tomorrow at 1PM on ACC Network Extra when the Cards face Clemson.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll have at least three (with a wildcard) on for the show today. We'll talk Louisville volleyball, obviously, the exciting but unfortunate end to the Louisville field hockey conference tournament, and hit the highlights from Paulie's media sessions with the Louisville women's basketball team. As always, 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

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Sweep Irish -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

VolleyCards Sweep Notre Dame

A shortened week had no ill effect on the Louisville volleyball as the Cards went on the road to sweep Notre Dame 3-0 (25-12, -18, -16).

While Louisville appears to have completed dominated based on the final score, Notre Dame had some bright spots including keeping the second set close until the Cards closed the set on a 7-0 run.

The Cards handed Notre Dame their third loss of the season and their first in ACC play. Only four teams remain undefeated in conference play.

On the night, the Irish were limited to 17 kills on -0.115 attack percentage. They did end up with more aces (five) than service errors (three). Meanwhile, Louisville doubled up their service errors (eight) over aces (four). The Cards more than doubled up Notre Dame in kills with 39 for the match. Louisville hit .250.

It's not often a middle blocker racks up the most kills, but Phekran "PK" Kong did so with 12 kills on .500 hitting. Aiko Jones (eight kills) and Anna DeBeer (seven kills) also had strong attack nights. Elena Scott and Elle Glock each had eight digs with the latter also recording 30 assists.

Set One: Louisville 25, Notre Dame 12

Louisville looked like one of the best teams in the country after racing out of the gate to a 9-0 lead. Their lead extended to 15-4 before Notre Dame burned their final timeout. The Irish pieced together a 4-0 spurt but Louisville never allowed things to get any closer.

Set Two: Louisville 25, Notre Dame 18

ACC play is rarely easy and Notre Dame reminded Louisville of that in the second set. After the Cards went up 3-0, the Irish battled back to a 7-7 tie. Neither team was able to piece together any type of run for much of the set and Notre Dame a 15-17 lead. After the Cards and Irish came even at 18 apiece, UofL then rallied for a 7-0 spurt to claim the set.

Set Three: Louisville 25, Notre Dame 16

The only good thing for Notre Dame this set was being able to string together three straight points and four straight points. Louisville went on cruise control for a good chunk of the set including building a seven-point lead late in the set. After the Irish cut the Louisville lead to 20-15, the Cards scored five of the final six points to claim the win.

Louisville improves to 12-1 on the season and reaches 3-0 in ACC play for the fifth straight season, COVID-19 season excluded. The Cards have won five straight in the series against Notre Dame and now lead the all-time series 24-23.

Next on the schedule for UofL is NC State. The Cards and Wolfpack will meet in Raleigh on Sunday at 4:00pm. This one will be on ACCN linear.

Exciting Personal News

In what has been an exciting and eventful 2023 year for me highlighted by a wedding and honeymoon, the next big thing to happen this year is becoming a homeowner! Katy and I closed on our first house here in town on Monday. Here's to many years of homeownership!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball Survives Dayton -- WSoc Visits IU -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Survives Dayton

When you're the number two team in the country, you'll get everyone's best every match. That was no different when Louisville volleyball (7-0) visited Dayton last night. The #2 Cards and #30 Flyers battled it out over five sets before Louisville ultimately prevailed 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-11).

Louisville hit below their season average at .283. They committed an uncharacteristic 22 attack errors. Add 10 service errors and it was over a set's worth of free points for Dayton. The Cards did log 63 kills and eight service aces. 

Anna DeBeer had a team-high 24 kills while hitting .353. Cara Cresse hit a remarkable .588 while earning 12 kills. PK Kong didn't have a busy offensive night, but was effective when her name was called, hitting .417 with six kills.

Elena Scott showcased her defensive prowess with 20 digs, a match high. She added nine assists and an ace in the mix to round out a busy night for her. Elle Glock must have been training with Scott as the setter recorded nine digs herself. Glock also made her presence felt at the night, being involved with four blocks.

Set One: Louisville 25, Dayton 17

The first part of the set was close, with the teams being tied at 10 apiece before Louisville went on a 7-0 run for a commanding lead. Dayton never managed to get within five after that and the Cards even pushed their lead to 10 at one point.

Set Two: Dayton 25, Louisville 23

This one followed suit from the first set for a while. We saw a 6-6 tie before Louisville flirted with a few small leads at 15-10 and 16-12. A 7-2 run by Dayton put the Flyers up by two. The Cards battled back for a 22-21 lead but failed to hold onto the lead.

Set Three: Louisville 25, Dayton 19

Louisville came out of halftime with renewed vigor. Well, not exactly. It was another tight start with an 8-8 tie before Dayton pulled ahead by one. Then, Louisville kicked things up a notch. They went on a 9-2 run to take a 17-11 lead. The Flyers pushed for a rally, bringing the score within 20-19 before the Cards slammed the door shut by scoring the final five points.

Set Four: Dayton 25, Louisville 19

Dayton was quick to get to a 4-1 lead before we saw 5-5 and 11-11 ties. Mini runs by each team brought the score to 17 apiece. The Flyers would score eight of the final 10 points to force a fifth set.

Set Five: Louisville 15, Dayton 11

The final set had a promising start when Louisville took a 5-0 lead. Dayton would close the gap some at 6-3 and 9-6. Louisville tried to build their lead but the Flyers kept making things difficult and cut the lead down to 12-10. A timeout was all Louisville needed as they closed the match on a 3-1 spurt to earn the win.

The Cards host Penn State (3-2) on Sunday at 1:00 pm at L&N FCU Arena. After an 0-2 start to the season, the Nittany Lions have won three straight matches.

Soccer Visits Indiana

Women's Soccer painted up to cheer on their men counterparts

Fresh off their first win of the season, Louisville women's soccer heads to Bloomington for a 7:00 pm kickoff against Indiana in the Battle of the Border. TV is scheduled for B1G+ so be prepared to dish out a few bucks if you want to watch.

The Hoosiers are undefeated on the year, starting 4-0-2. They drew with their two toughest opponents in Virginia Tech and Tennessee. They have outscored opponents in the four wins 9-1. Louisville trails the all-time series 4-2-2 but have gone 2-0-2 in the most recent four meetings.

If you choose to travel anywhere near campus tonight, remember that Louisville football has their home opener tonight so traffic will be heavier than normal. You might catch various women's teams present at the game 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball in the Championship -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Faces Texas for Another Milestone Opportunity

After making the Final Four last season, Louisville took another step forward this year to become the first ACC program in history to make it to the NCAA Volleyball Championship game. To win, the Cards will need to take down a historic program with a lot of momentum, but it will be one Louisville has faced before. The Texas Longhorns hosted a regional in 2019, which you may remember as the season that Louisville made it to their first Elite Eight. In that tournament, the Cards entered unseeded, having to travel to Bowling Green for the first two rounds. Louisville faced Texas in the Sweet Sixteen and, for the first time in five attempts, beat the Longhorns. The Cards would go on to fall to Minnesota in that Elite Eight. 

Facing the Longhorns again, much has changed over that time. Louisville had an undefeated season dashed by Wisconsin in the Final Four last year, which included All-American seasons from Anna Stevenson and Tori Dilfer. While many of the faces have changed, one thing remains for Louisville: the drive for greatness. Aiko Jones, Amaya Tillman, Claire Chaussee, and Alexa Hendricks all remain from that match as well. Jones had 24 kills and four blocks in the 2019 matchup; a repeat performance would be stellar. 

The Cards will face the top-ranked team in the country this evening, but it's not as big of a mountain to climb as it may seem. Through the end of the season, Louisville was ranked second in RPI, just behind Texas. Their two losses on the season were to Ohio State (seventh) and third-ranked Pittsburgh, whom they've since beaten twice. Texas's lone loss on the year came against Iowa State, ranked 31st in RPI, in the same week as Louisville's last loss. The Cards stood to claim that top spot before falling to Pittsburgh on the road that weekend. The Longhorns boast the AVCA Player of the Year in Logan Eggleston, but the Cards have an All-American on all three teams themselves. With Anna DeBeer seemingly back to as normal as she'll get this season, Louisville will have all the firepower they can ask for in the matchup, including incredible tournament performance from Phekran Kong.

Should Louisville win, they'd be the second team from Kentucky to become National Champion in just three years. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998, only California has more than one champion from their state, though it would take some effort for the state of Kentucky to match their number of four. (Long Beach State went undefeated in 1998. USC won back-to-back titles in 2002-2003 and UCLA won in 2011. Stanford is Stanford.) Texas is seeking their second championship in the expansion era and third overall. There are some interesting coincidences in this matchup. Texas won their last championship in 2012 in Louisville. Since then, they've played in the title game three more times. The loss to Stanford in 2016 isn't particularly interesting just because there isn't a connection, but their other two appearances--2015 and 2020--were both in Omaha. In 2015, they fell to Nebraska, where Dani Busboom Kelly was an assistant coach. In 2020, their loss came to Kentucky. 

While none of those connections are likely to have any bearing on this evening's matchup, they're sure to become part of the storyline regardless. These players and teams have poured their hearts into the season, and only one team can win it all in the end. It's the cruel nature of tournaments like these. On the same day, the World Cup final will see one country have its dreams dashed in the most agonizing game. Basketball sees it every year for March Madness, while baseball crowns a champion in the same city as tonight's match. 

Louisville has been drawing ever closer since that win over Texas in 2019. It seems only fitting that they'd get the Longhorns again in a chance to reach the pinnacle. Tonight's match is at 8PM Eastern on ESPN2.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

With tonight's very important match to discuss and a week off on the horizon next week, we didn't want to cancel this week's show. However, with the bowl game at 11 and various holiday events, we have had to make a shift. Today's live show will begin at 10AM, with the podcast posting shortly after. Jeff will join us from Omaha, where I'm sure the hotel is buzzing with anticipation. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. 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

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Louisville Volleyball is Going to the National Championship! -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Volleyball is Going to the National Championship!

Let's go! The Cards win! Louisville beats Pitt 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-2) to advance to the NCAA National Championship!

Before we get into the meat and bones of the match and the celebration, let's take a look at some of the other events that happened in Omaha yesterday.

In the first match of the night, 1-seed Texas go against the semi-surprising 2-seed San Diego. The Tereros would pull off a 28-26 first set victory before the Longhorns woke up and dominated the next three sets 25-16, 25-18, 25-20. Texas dropped just their third set of the NCAA Tournament.

The much-anticipated match-up between 1-seed Louisville and 2-seed Pitt followed roughly 30 minutes later. The late 10:00 p.m. ET start had both teams' fan bases in their pajamas and drinking coffee at night.

Louisville and Pitt tied for the ACC regular season title with the Cards earning the tiebreaker. Some in the world of volleyball titled this one as the "ACC Championship That Never Happened". It lived up to that hype.

Notes about the Final Four:

-This was a rare Final Four that saw no SEC or Pac-12 teams.

-Two of the Final Four teams (Louisville, San Diego) have women's head coaches.

-Louisville and Pitt are the fourth and five ACC teams to make the Final Four (2011- Florida State, 2021- Louisville and Pitt).

-This is the first time an ACC team has made the NCAA Championship game.

-Texas is the only one of the Final Four teams to have won a national championship or even make a championship game appearance.

-Dan Meske was named AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year

-This is the fourth Louisville team to compete in a national championship (men's basketball- three times, women's basketball- two times, men's soccer- one time). Louisville has quite a few individual champions and student-athletes compete in championships over the years too.

Now, onto the match as we take a look at all five sets.

Set One: Louisville 25, Pitt 19

A service ace started the match for the Cards and ignited a 6-0 run for the Cards. In fact, Louisville had two aces in that stretch. Pitt would not go down and would go on a mini run to bring the Louisville lead to 7-6 and then tie it at 9-9. A couple of small runs helped the Cards go up 17-11, 19-12, and 23-15, allowing the Cards to put themselves in an almost-comfortable lead. Momentum was all in favor of the Cards at this point. A paid of Anna DeBeer kills were the final two Louisville points in an opening set highlighted by strong serving.

Set Two: Pitt 25, Louisville 23

Louisville saw themselves in an early 3-1 lead, but the Panthers weren't about to let themselves go down big or early again. Pitt would take a 7-5 advantage before two straight points evened the score again. A strong Pitt attack saw the Panthers pull ahead 11-8. The Cards would cut their deficit to one that saw Pitt lose a challenge, but the fourth service of the match halted the momentum and give Pitt a 12-10 lead. The Panthers would go into the media break up 15-12. The Cards struggled to go against Pitt's front line defense and Dani Busboom Kelly called a timeout down 19-16. A block by Aiko Jones and DeBeer's fourth ace of the night brought Louisville within two at 21-19 and caused Pitt to call a timeout. After trading points, DBK burned her last timeout down 24-22. The Panthers would ultimately take the set to even the score at halftime.

Set Three: Louisville 25, Pitt 22

Coming out of halftime, DeBeer logged her fifth ace of the night and the Cards went on a 3-0 run before Pitt would score a couple to make it 3-2. Another 3-0 spurt by the Cards highlighted by an Aiko Jones forced Pitt into an early timeout. Pitt would score four straight to even the score before a Claire Chaussee kill stopped the run. Neither team could build much of a lead and Chaussee tied the score at 15-15 with her famous sky high jump for the kill. A net violation by the Cards put Pitt up 19-16 and DBK would call a timeout. The Cards would rally to even the score at 22-22 and Pitt would burn a timeout. A pair of aces by Elena Scott and a kill by Chaussee helped the Cards end the set on a 5-0 run and take a 2-1 lead.

Set Four: Pitt 25, Louisville 22

A similar sight unfolded at the start as Louisville went up 3-0 and then 5-2 before PK Kong went to the bench to get checked out for a minor hand injury. Louisville's attack helped spark the next couple points as Pitt called a timeout at 7-2. Pitt wouldn't go down without a fight, though. They pieced together a run to bring the Louisville lead to 8-7. Then Louisville got hot for a bit. Everything seemed to click for the Cards. A monster kill by Jones and Scott's fourth ace put the Cards up 15-10. Timeout number two for Pitt. After Louisville's lead got cut to 16-13, Busboom Kelly called a timeout to give her team a breather and to refocus. Louisville's errors got the best of them as the score was evened at 17-17. Insert a quick 3-0 Louisville run capped off by a block by Amaya Tillman to help put the Cards back on top. Louisville used its last timeout of the set after the Panthers evened the score at 22-22. Sloppy play continued for Louisville as Pitt went on to take the set.

Set Five: Louisville 15, Pitt 2

Louisville started the deciding set on a 3-0 run. Kong's block forced Pitt to call an early timeout. Then, Chaussee found the corner for a kill and Kong logged back-to-back blocks to extend the lead to 6-0. The block party continued to push the lead to 8-0. Pitt managed a point and Louisville followed with a 4-0 run to go up 12-1. Louisville closed the door from there to take the win!

WOW! Talk about a helluva fifth set! The Cards left no doubt on which team was going to walk away victorious.

Claire Chaussee led the Cards with 25 kills and a .429 attack percentage. Anna DeBeer had 15 kills and Aiko Jones added 12 kills on a .310 attack percentage. Raquel Lazaro had 49 assists. Elena Scott had 28 digs. DeBeer and Scott each had five aces. PK Kong recorded a career high 10 blocks in the match. Amaya Tillman logged seven blocks and Jones had six.

Dani Busboom Kelly looks for the hat trick after winning national championships as a player and assistant coach, now going for her first as a head coach. Louisville looks to be the first women's team on campus to win a national championship. 

Louisville and Texas will face off at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday for the national championship. We will recap all of the excitement on our Cardinal Couple Podcast tomorrow morning. Note: The podcast will be at 10:00 A.M. this week, since we figure some of our readers might be interesting in watching  Louisville Football in the Fenway Bowl at 11:00 A.M

(All photos courtesy of Louisville Athletics and Louisville Volleyball)

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball Rolls; Field Hockey Falls -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Get First Sweep in Three Matches

Louisville started the season 12-0 in sets before dropping one to San Diego and then three in the loss to Ohio State. After sweeping Purdue and losing just three sets in two road wins against Kentucky and Stanford, the Cards started conference play with three straight sweeps. Georgia Tech took a set off Louisville in the match on ESPN before the Cards went on the road to get two more sweeps. When they returned home last week, Louisville lost their first set of the season to an unranked opponent when they beat Virginia Tech 3-1. On Sunday, they lost their second set of the season to an unranked opponent when they beat Wake Forest 3-1. 

If you're keeping track, that's three sets lost on the road this season, with two coming against a bitter rival ranked in the top-15 and one coming against a perennial powerhouse ranked in the top-10, and six sets dropped at home, including two to unranked opponents and Louisville's only loss of the match. Louisville started this week's road trip yesterday keeping the statistical oddity alive when they headed to Charlottesville to take on the lowly Cavaliers. The Cards took care of things in a relatively straightforward match 25-18, 25-15, and 25-22. 

Virginia entered the match 9-10 on the season and 1-7 in the ACC, so there wasn't much concern about them knocking off the Cards in a normal match. However, Louisville has Pitt on the horizon, so this was definitely a trap game. The Cards didn't really blink. After getting the 1000th kill of her career against Wake Forest, Claire Chaussee got right back to work by opening the match's scoring. After a few traded points, Louisville went on a 6-0 run led by a five-serve scoring run by Aiko Jones that included three aces. Despite the 9-3 lead Louisville garnered and the 12-5 lead they turned it into, Virginia held on, using runs of their own to close the gap to 15-12 and then to 16-15. Louisville didn't let the set get tied, and a 9-3 run closed the door. 

The first set saw Louisville hit just 0.200 with six errors, but the 0.156 from Virginia, a three-point serving advantage, and two handling errors by Virginia helped keep the Cards out front. Both teams finished with three blocks in the set and ten on the match, so there wasn't much of an advantage there. 

In the second, Louisville jumped out early again, taking 6-2 and 14-6 leads. Just like before, Virginia was able to claw their way back. An 8-3 Virginia run brought the score to 17-14, but that would be about the end of that. If you'll remember, Louisville took the second set 25-15, so you know how this one ends. Amaya Tillman saw what Jones did in the first set and said, "I'll raise you." Her five-serve run saw four aces before Virginia was able to knock her off the line, after which Louisville took two more points to set the final score.

The second set was another six error set for the Cards, but they improved their hitting to 0.241. Amazing what one fewer attempt and one more kill can do for your numbers. Virginia took a step back in this one, despite having just four errors, and hit just 0.148. Louisville limited Virginia's attack opportunities with the aces, but the Hoos also limited their own chances with two more bad sets, and two service errors. The teams again tied on blocks in the set.

Things got just a little weird in the third, which you might expect from a set that nearly requires extra points between a top team in the country and a team that is below 0.500 on the season. Chaussee, who had been quiet after the opening point, won Louisville's first two points of the third to give the Cards a 2-1 lead. It was a short lived lead, though, as a service error gave the point right back. A kill by Tillman preceded a four-point run from the Cavaliers, who jumped out to a 6-3 lead. Unlike the previous two sets, Louisville didn't break out a run or two of their own to reclaim control. Instead, Louisville won a pair before the two teams traded ten straight points. Louisville won another extra point to tie the set at 11, then won three more to take a 14-12 lead. While it seemed like that brief 5-1 run would be enough to propel the Cards to finish out the third set, it wouldn't be quite so simple. Instead, Virginia continued to work hard to spoil the fun, keeping the trading up to eventually tie the set at 19. Another kill by Chaussee, her fourth of the set but just seventh of the match, gave the Cards a 20-19 lead with Aiko Jones stepping to the line. Jones was unable to repeat her previous success and a service error was followed by a block and a kill to give the Hoos a 22-20 lead. Staring down another frustrating dropped set, Louisville tightened their belts. Chaussee snagged a kill to break the Virginia serve, Nena Mbonu got her ninth to tie the set, and the Cards brought it home with two blocks and an ace.

While it certainly could have looked cleaner, Louisville went on the road and returned to their sweeping ways. Both teams hit a match high in the third set, but Louisville once again committed six errors. They finished with 18 on the day compared to just 14 for Virginia, but things mostly evened out with Virginia committing three bad sets and a ball handling error. In a surprising turn of events, Louisville dominated the serving battle, finishing with nine aces while Virginia had just two. Louisville also committed only four service errors while Virginia had five, giving the Cards a net eight point advantage in the category.

It was the Amaya Tillman show last night. After her dominant performances of late, Virginia keyed on Claire Chaussee, and other players stepped up. Tillman led the charge with nine kills (tied for team high), four aces, and seven assisted blocks. She committed just three errors on her way to 0.353 hitting, had no serving errors, and added five digs. Cara Cresse didn't play, giving Phekran Kong all of the time at the other middle spot, and PK took advantage. She finished with nine kills and just one error to lead the team in hitting at 0.571. She was also credited with an assist and three assisted blocks. Nena Mbonu led the outsides, dropping nine kills with four errors on 17 attempts. Chaussee finished with eight kills and Aiko Jones with seven. Raquel Lazaro was all over the court, adding six assisted blocks, six digs, and a kill to her 34 assists. 

One of the big ones is next. Louisville takes on Pitt tomorrow at 1PM. This is Louisville's last listed match on the ESPN platforms, though they do have two more matches scheduled to air on the linear ACC Network channel. It's a busy week for the Cards, who have a Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday to close out October. Pitt is playing their fourth straight home match before heading back on the road, and they swept Miami, Florida State, and Notre Dame in the previous three. At 19-2 (9-0), the Panthers are ranked 8th in the country. They are theoretically behind the Cards in the conference standings on overall winning percentage, but that doesn't mean much. Tomorrow's match is for the outright lead in the ACC. Tune in to ESPNU to see them duke it out.

Field Hockey Loses Late at Syracuse

After the thrilling shootout victory against Duke and the 4-0 romp over Ball State on Senior Day, Louisville field hockey was riding a high heading up to Syracuse in an attempt to close out the season strong. The Cards would need to beat the Orange and Boston College to finish the conference season .500, but it wasn't meant to be. Despite taking the lead in the fourth quarter, Louisville's defense faltered, and Syracuse scored two goals in the final ten minutes to win.

The first quarter of this one was very much a "feel each other out" kind of opener. Both teams substituted frequently, but the only other event in the quarter was a shot by Embry Jane Imorde that was wide of the cage. The teams made a combined sixteen substitutions to try and see what would work best before implementing those plans in the second. The action started quickly, with Syracuse forcing a save on their first shot of the game two minutes into the period. Louisville earned a corner shortly after, forcing Syracuse's first save on a Julie Kouijzer shot. The Cards gave up a penalty corner a minute later, with Sasha Elliott being on-hand to save the shot. She'd get her third save on Syracuse's last shot of the half with four minutes to go. Louisville earned two more shots of their own, with one coming on another corner, but both were wide of the mark. 

The floodgates opened in the second half. Syracuse earned a corner in the first minute, but they were unable to get a shot. Five minutes later, they repeated the effort, this time forcing an Elliott save. Louisville took their turn next, forcing a pair of saves on corner attempts. More substitutions followed before Syracuse got another shot from open play with four minutes left in the quarter. The attempt was saved, but the danger not completely cleared. After a Louisville substitution during a stoppage, Syracuse's Quirine Comans scored her 13th goal of the season, chipping Elliott to give the Orange the lead. Louisville was undeterred, and Katie Schneider responded with her own goal from open play just under two minutes later. Despite all that had happened, the two teams entered the fourth just as they had the third: tied. 

It didn't stay that way for long. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Louisville earned a penalty corner. The attempted shot by Kelsey McCrudden was blocked, but it was done so illegally, giving Louisville a penalty stroke attempt. Aimee Plumb stepped up to take the attempt for the Cards and converted. Louisville led 2-1. Syracuse went back to work on offense. Three minutes after Louisville took the lead, Syracuse tied it back up. A penalty corner resulted in no shot, but initiated another corner, as they often do. This time, a shot was offered, and Louisville was able to block it away. Unfortunately, "away" meant right to the corner taker, who chipped a defender to tie it up. Their offense didn't stop there. The Orange kept up the pressure, forcing back-to-back saves with six minutes remaining. With four minutes left, they were back in the circle, and Sasha Elliot was again up to the task... almost. Elliott's eighth save of the night was recovered by Comans and fired home for her second goal of the night and 14th on the year. Elliott would be called on again just thirty seconds later before she was pulled with three minutes left to give Louisville an extra attacker. For a moment, it looked as though the Cards might repeat their magic from a week ago, as they earned a corner with thirty seconds left. The corner was for naught, though, with Louisville unable to find a shot. Final score: 3-2.

All season, we've waited for the Louisville offense to show up in conference the way that it does for non-conference games. Entering the night, Louisville had been outscored 8-1 in their four conference games, despite holding an overall 31-14 goal advantage on the season. For the first time all year, Louisville scored more than one goal in a conference game. Unfortunately, they also gave up three goals for just the second time this season. Despite the three goals, Sasha Elliott was fantastic. She had nine saves, as Syracuse's offense was relentless. Louisville was outshot 13-9 and 12 of those 13 were on frame for the Orange. Louisville put just five shots on frame, despite out earning Syracuse on corners 6-5. 

Louisville will look ahead now to Cornell as they travel to Ithaca to take on the "Big Red" on Sunday at 11AM. They'll hope to take down their third Ivy League team of the year before they play their home finale against BC on Friday. The Cards need a strong finish to the season for momentum purposes as much as anything else. The Eagles are 6-9 on the season and 2-3 in the ACC, so a win can give Louisville an improvement in ACC Tournament seeding. Despite being 1-4 in conference, Louisville is still ranked in the top-ten nationally, but they'll likely need to win the last two and get at least one win in the conference tournament to make the NCAA tourney. 

Louisville Live

Lindsay and I celebrated our anniversary last night with an evening at Cooking at Millie's, so I wasn't in attendance at Louisville Live. The rest of the crew was, so I'll let them share their thoughts throughout the week. Jared did send me some photos of the event, though, so have a look and see the excitement the team has for the upcoming season.

Angel was one of last night's honored guests.

Payton Verhulst won the three-point competition

The team reacted accordingly.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We've got almost a full house this week, as we're all available but Daryl. A tee-time in late October is a rare opportunity, so we won't hold it against her. Hopefully she doesn't have to play through a group of cows like the folks at Cherokee Park did earlier this week. We'll have plenty to discuss, so be sure to tune in. As always, 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!

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case