Walz Top 100 WBB Influential People -- Tess Clark Pro Contract -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jeff Walz Listed in Top 100 People in WBB

Silver Waves Media recently released their top 100 influential people in women's college basketball.  To no surprise, Jeff Walz's name was a part of that list.

The list features those involved with women's college basketball from a few different aspects including analysts, scouts, and coaches.

"In just 13 years, head coach Jeff Walz has turned the Louisville women's basketball program into a national powerhouse.  Posting only one losing season during his time, Walz has made the NCAA Tournament in 12 out of the 13 years, including three Final Four appearances.  In just his second season, Walz advanced his Louisville team to the national championship game, which was the first in program history.  Prior to Louisville, Walz helped turn Maryland into a powerhouse as an assistant and won a national championship with the team in 2006.  His 360-103 win-loss record as a head coach has him on a fast track to the 600 Club, and he will be a Hall of Fame coach before it's all said [and] done."

Walz joins the ranks of other big names such as Geno Auriemma, Muffet McGraw, Kim Mulkey, and Dawn Staley.

Muffet McGraw (formerly at Notre Dame), Kara Lawson (Duke), Niele Ivey (Notre Dame), Quentin Hillsman (Syracuse), Sue Semrau (Florida State), and Wes Moore (NC State) are the other ACC coaches listed.

Add this to the list of honors and awards Jeff Walz has racked up during his time at the helm in Louisville.  He has always been a big advocate of women's basketball at all levels and has spoken out about its lesser treatment compared to its men counterparts.

We, at Caardinal Couple, salute Walz and his staff for his accomplishments at UofL.


Tess Clark Signs Pro Contract

Some positive news in the world of sports came out this week when we learned of Tess Clark signing a professional contract with Club Voleibol Alconbendas (Spain).

The former UofL volleyball star has spent her professional career playing overseas in France and Spain, but had to quickly exit the country to return to the United States when COVID-19 first broke out.

Clark played for the Cards from 2014-17.  She is a member of the 1,000-kill club, and is ranked 21st in NCAA D1 history in career hitting percentage.  She also ranks 8th is school history block assists with 359.  She ranks 5th in school history in hitting percentage.

We wish Tess Clark the best of lucky as she continues her professional volleyball career and will continue to eagerly watch her career.


Still No Answer


We still are uncertain with fall sports, and until the ACC holds their meeting later this month all we can do is speculate.  We see new schools and athletic conferences come out each day either postponing indefinitely or cancelling fall sports altogether.

If we do see fall sports happen, we will continue to cover those sports and all the joy and excitement with them in a safe manner.  If we do not see fall sports, we will continue to provide up-to-date information on anything UofL women's sports related as we anticipate sports in the future.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Teeter and Tess plus Dana named -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TALKING WITH SCOTT TEETER

Today's interview is with Scott Teeter. We take a look at what goes into recruiting of student-athletes and also a few of the basics of the game of Lacrosse. During the regular season, we tried to keep a weekly dialogue with the head coach of Louisville Lacrosse and will continue to try and do that now that the sports have been silenced. 

Today's talk is an excellent chance for you to learn more about the exciting sport of lacrosse and also a chance to explore some of the basics of the game. We've heard lacrosse is very similar to basketball in several concepts and features of the game. We know how crazy our readership is about UofL WBB, so we hope you'll enjoy today's chat with Scott. 

LINK: SCOTT TEETER 3/26/20 INTERVIEW


TRAVELS WITH TESS

Many of you remember UofL Volleyball standout Tess Clark and her contributions to Cards Volleyball. She was able to parlay her time at UofL into a chance to play in Europe as a professional after she graduated. 

Getting back from Europe, though, to the United States...in the mist of a pandemic...is no easy feat. We appreciate Nancy Worley, UofL Volleyball SID, sharing Tess's story and we're pleased to share it with you today: 

So after getting turned away from the gate for your flight to Phoenix, what happened then?

Tess: It was crazy. We had to wait in line for hours, just to barely get a flight the next day. It was mayhem because no one knew on either side of the ocean exactly what was going on. The airlines didn’t know. The security didn’t know. This kind of thing had never happened before so they didn’t know what to tell us.  We had to spend the night Saturday and left Sunday.  The United States said it was not accepting flights after Monday at midnight from the U.K. So once again we were just hours ahead of the ban to beat this crazy situation. It could have been way worse.” 

Where did they eventually send you?

Tess: “Sunday we flew to Chicago. We were one of the very first international flights to land into O’Hare. So we had heard that Chicago was terribly long in screening but thankfully we were the first plane in so each of our screenings only took about 20 minutes. They took our temperature and asked a lot of questions. That part turned out easy but it was luck of the draw which line you stood in. Some people at the back of the line had to wait a lot longer. We just happened to be in the front.” 

The logistics of moving that many people with so little lead time had to be monumental.

Tess: “We made it home to Phoenix. It was kind of comforting because throughout these airports it was all Americans just trying to get home. We were all in the same boat.  So it was scary and there was so much anxiety but comforting to see families. Because every study abroad student had to leave so there were so many kids my age trying to get out with all their stuff and their suitcases. It was a big reunion of Americans trying to get out.  I took all my stuff home from Spain. Since my parents were there, they had their suitcases so I was able to fit all my stuff. If they hadn’t been there, I don’t know how I would have gotten my stuff home.”

In retrospect, you have to be grateful you made the call to head home. Talk about your decision process.

Tess: ”I feel like the moment I decided to come home was when I read my friend in Finland, which had zero cases at the time,  she was scared. She is a very level-headed person and she called me and said I am too scared to stay. That was my decision point.  If she is scared up there where it isn’t even bad, then I am in a country where it is already pretty bad and I knew then I had to get out. It was a wave of emotions at that point because my team was third in the league at that point, we were going to playoffs. We had a good chance to do so well, so that was emotional. I had to come to terms with if I left, I wouldn’t probably get to go back for that. I am so close with this team.  Just having to say goodbye to them was so hard. So sudden and not knowing. Andie was not able to say goodbye to anyone. She heard the news and the flight she booked as five hours later and she was gone. She didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.  I am thankful I got to say goodbye but it was draining. They totally understood but it still sucked.  I think every girl over there can attest that it is a sucky situation. There wasn’t anything else you could do. France was shut down. Spain was shut down. Germany was locked down. You couldn’t travel within the European Union. France had to lockdown its airports and the girls I knew playing there got out of there within hours of the shutdown of air traffic.”

There has to be a silver lining in all these dark clouds.

Tess: ”I think it was a blessing in disguise that my parents were there to go through this with me because it was nice to have my people there. If I had to face the uncertainty of travel alone it would have been harder. I obviously love Europe, but I am thankful to be back home in America. I don’t think it is as bad as it is going to be here judging from what I saw there.  I feel healthy and I feel like none of my family members are showing any symptoms.”

Is the CDC monitoring you and your family since you came in from a hot spot?

Tess: ”When we got screened by the CDC, they said that we were on a 14-day self-quarantine. So while no one is monitoring us, we are very respectful of that. We haven’t left the house. I have about five days left of only being home. We have to take our temperature every day and record it. My dad is working from home. My mom is a school nurse and the school system in Arizona are online classes only until April 10.  She is still waiting to hear if they are going to cancel school for the rest of the year but it hasn’t been announced yet. She’s on vacation still technically.  My sister goes to a small college in Arizona which is all online classes for the rest of the year. We are all home together.” 

You have to feel empathy for all the athletes who lost their championship opportunities or season. Talk about the range of emotions you have gone through.

Tess: “I think it is frustrating. As a professional volleyball player, you more than likely do not stay on the same team for more than one year. To have something that was so good and to be on a team that had a good shot at doing well in the playoffs it is frustrating that the situation came up. Obviously no one can control it, so there is no one to blame. All these teams have to deal with this crisis financially. The pro players don’t really know when the teams will start looking for players again and that puts us at a disadvantage because Americans are probably last on the list to recruit and sign. There are just a lot of unknowns. It is out of our control. All these American girls who were over there are now home two extra months instead of being in the mix.”

You are in some of the best shape of your life, what are you doing to keep your volleyball skills up to the professional level?

Tess: ”It is not like we can go help coach clubs or play. They are all cancelled and facilities are closed. It is irking because my practices in Spain were so difficult and they went so much quicker and faster and they made me so much of a better volleyball player. Every single day for three hours I would do that and I got so good. I have only been home for a week and I can’t find anything that was that high intensity. I am a very positive person. I am dealing with it. When you sit down and talk about it, you realize how sucky it is. ”

Talk about your perspective of the big picture of this unprecedented crisis.

Tess: “I have perspective that my problem not finishing my pro season is insignificant when people are dying. Even as I was traveling, seeing these countries shut down and Americans who weren’t as lucky as me and got stuck there. We were very, very thankful that we had a plane ticket home.  Now being home in my safe home with enough food, we are more than grateful we aren’t one of the people that are suffering. We are so lucky. When you think about it, every single person in the world has had something cancelled, or lost their business, every single person has been impacted in some way. The fact that we have our house and we have each other or isolated alone. There is so very much to be thankful for.  I am supported by my parents and I am not in debt. All of the players lost our salaries for the rest of the season. So that is a bummer but then again in the big picture, thank goodness for the University of Louisville with my full ride there, I don’t have debt. So it is just this period of waiting and we are just really lucky.” 

DANA HONORED

 University of Louisville junior guard Dana Evans is one of four finalists for the 2020 Wade Trophy, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today. The prestigious award is presented by the WBCA each year to the best player in college women’s basketball.

She is joined by Tyasha Harris of South Carolina, Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon and Aari McDonald of Arizona.

Evans led Louisville in scoring with 18.0 points per game while connecting on a league-best 90 3-pointers. She also became the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to be named ACC Player of the Year a year after receiving ACC Sixth Player of the Year honors.

Harris finished the current season as South Carolina’s leader in assists (5.7) and steals (1.6) for the third consecutive year. She was named the recipient of the 2020 Dawn Staley Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best guard in NCAA Division I women’s basketball by the Phoenix Club of Philadelphia.

Ionescu, the 2019 Wade Trophy recipient, became the first player in women’s or men’s college basketball history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in her career. She earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors and matched her single-season record eight triple-doubles.

McDonald concludes her college career with 66-straight double-figure scoring performances. She led the Pac-12 with 20.6 points and 2.3 steals per game and earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and All-Pac-12 selection honors.

The WBCA will announce the winner of the 2020 Wade Trophy on April 2.

Have a Friday full of feeling!

paulie

xxxxx

Tess Clark Goes Pro -- Men's Soccer has Class -- WNBA Update -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Tess Clark Signs Pro Contract in France

Wednesday afternoon former volleyball player Tess Clark announced that she was going pro.  Clark has signed a contract with Les Louves du SRD volleyball in France.

Clark was a four-year starter at Louisville.  During her time she became the 18th player in program history to reach the 1000 kill mark.  She was part of two ACC Championship teams (one with Anne Kordes and one with Dani Busboom Kelly) and was 76-47 (0.618) in her career.

The awards for Clark pile high including awards such as being named to the Academic All-ACC squad, All-ACC teams every year, All-ACC Freshman team, and several AVCA Regional honors.  She was second on the team in kills and attack percentage and fourth in blocks her senior year.

I quickly became friends with Tess during her first year on the team.  There weren't many students attending games at that time so I was a rarity.  The team hosts autograph sessions following most home games so I made my way to talk players such as Tess, Maggie DeJong, and Katie George, among others.  As I transitioned to the media realm some of my best pictures at volleyball featured her.

Cardinal alum Erin Fairs is also playing overseas currently and can play a role in mentoring Clark.  We wish Tess the best in France!

Men's Soccer Plays with Class

UofL men's soccer photo

I know, I know, we're a site that covers women sports at UofL.  However, I like to give credit where credit is due even if it is a men's sport.  Under Ken Lolla's guidance, the Louisville men's soccer team has become a familiar face in regards to community service and other special events.

Yesterday, the soccer team hosted six-year-old David Turner for a special day at Lynn Stadium.  Turner suffers from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Giloma (DIPG), an inoperable brain tumor on the brain.  Turner and his family have been big time soccer supporters since I have been attending matches.

UofL men's soccer photo

Turner's day was filled with memorable moments including a pregame talk in the locker room, a penalty kick shootout (he helped Red defeat White 3-2), a photo op with the team, and a press conference following the shootout.  At the press conference, Turner accepted an offer from Coach Lolla and signed a letter of intent as a future Cardinal.

As a member of the Louligans, the UofL soccer supporter section, it always brings a smile to my face when the team holds events such as this.  Thank you for representing this university with great class.

WNBA Update

Angel McCoughtry is averaging 15.8 points. 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.  She's played in 10 games this year with the Atlanta Dream (6-4).  Our very own Jeff McAdams was in attendance at their most recent game so we'll see what Mr. Worldwide has to say about that on the show tomorrow and his write-up on Sunday.

The Dream defeated winless Indiana last night 72-67 in Atlanta. Angel had a strong game with 16 points in 30 minutes. Tiffany Hayes has been another "go-to" for Atlanta this seaason and she responded in fine fashion with 23 points to lead all scores.

Myisha Hines-Allen is further down on the WNBA stats list with 5.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.5 steals per game in her 10 games with the Washington Mystics (6-4).  She hasn't seen as much playing time as the veteran McCoughtry has, but has earned herself solid playing time and a role with the Mystics.  At this rate she will be a star in Washington in a matter of years.

What Day is it?

Back by popular demand I bring back the events of today's date.  First, yesterday was flag day and the 243rd birthday of the U.S. Army.

There are a lot of good "holidays" today including National Day of Prayer for Law Enforcement, National Flip Flop Day, Native American Citizenship Day (we love you, Schimmel sisters!), Nature Photography Day, Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and Worldwide Day of Giving.

There's no Case or myself in the studio tomorrow, but Paulie, Worldwide, and a random special guest or two will attempt to hold down the fort called the Magnificent Media Mansion on Mellwood for another rendition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  You can tune into 100.9 WCHQ fm radio or on Facebook live on the WCHQ Facebook page.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Cardinal Couple - Just Keep Driving

On the Road Again

After upwards of 24 hours of traveling over a 3 day period, to spend less than 20 hours in Minneapolis, I'm back in the 'Ville.  I'm tired, disappointed in the outcome of events in Minnesota, but oh so very glad I made the trip.

EDITOR NOTE:  Jeff was nice enough to join us on the radio yesterday while watching his Tesla drive him back to Louisville, I haven't heard if he picked up beer cheese or Huber Beer yet...but you CAN hear the show HERE

VolleyThoughts

The UofL Volleyball playing year has come to a close with a disappointing 1st round NCAA
tournament loss to a surprisingly good Northern Iowa team.

My thoughts about the season are still all a-jumble, but I want to try to get some down here.

First and foremost, if you take anything away from my chaotic thoughts, take this one away.  This team over-achieved compared to what was expect of them...by a lot!  Picked in pre-season to finish 8th in the ACC, which would likely have left them on the outside of the NCAA tournament looking in (again), with a new coach...not only new to UofL, but new to being a head coach altogether, this team put together an amazing later season run through the conference only losing two matches, and taking the co-championship with Pitt and earning the NCAA automatic qualifying bid for the conference.  Drawing an NCAA tournament draw that pitted them in the sub-region of the 7th seed vs the much closer 4 seed in Lexington.

So what happened in Minnesota?  While I haven't had the chance to go back and rewatch the match (and I'm not sure I will) to analyze, my first instinct points to blocking.  Not our blocking so much, although we were certainly a better blocking team than we have been in recent past, but to the opponents blocking.  If you look at the later season losses and matches where we struggled, the one theme that I think I found is that the other team blocks well.  In the UNI match, we were even in total blocks on the stat sheet, but not all blocking efforts make the stat sheet.  Deflections and tips that don't result in a point don't show up in the stat sheet at all, and good blocking teams don't just rack up stats, they deflect and tip shots that give the defense a better chance to play the ball and get a good in-system offense set.  Getting tips and deflections also causes the hitting team to try to start adjusting their shots to hit around, tip over, or just power through the block, all of which are actions that can be fraught with peril.  Any time you can get the other team reacting to you, rather than the other way around, you have a leg up.

We had an amazing defensive trio this year in Molly Sauer, Gabbie Wiley, and Alexis Hamilton.  We got less playing time late in the season from Alexis due to a wrist injury, but these three did an amazing job covering the digging and passing duties using just two players at a time, particularly on serve receive, when most teams would use three.  Add in a sprinkling of all-around playing from the likes of Amanda Green, and Melanie McHenry, and our digging and passing were much improved over last years, and drastically so over two seasons ago.  In basketball, turnovers and rebounds can generate offense (particularly if you're playing Walz-style of basketball), the equivalent in Volleyball is digging and passing.  We lose Gabbie to graduation, and looking on the current roster, the name that jumps to mind to fill that spot would be Natalie Palastro.  We do have two signed Libero/Defensive Specialists, including a standout from Nebraska name Maggie Mullen who I expect will compete for this role.

In other graduations, we will lose Maggie DeJong (apparently we have a firm quota of one "Maggie" per season) in the middle.  I expect Piper Roe to step up to fill that role.  Again, we have a signed freshman from Appleton, WI named Emily Scott, but I expect this role to be Piper's unless something crazy happens.  Tess Clark will also be departing, and the current roster player that would most naturally slot into that spot is Megan Sloan, but we incoming freshman Aiko Jones out of Jamaica who looks absolutely dynamic, as well as a Wisconsinite, Claire Chaussee.  I can see both competing for the role as incoming freshmen.  Lastly we graduate Coline Coessens, who mostly helped out as a serving specialist, but did occasionally play full-rotation with all around skills.  Not being confined to one specific role, I expect her contributions will be replaced with a patchwork of players and adjustments in play over the overall team.

This was a great year for UofL Volleyball, it hasn't matched the most successful years of the squad over the years, but given the starting point, I don't believe there is any room for complaints here at all.  This was a huge step forward for the squad, and I expect more to come as this team gets molded more and more in Dani Busboom Kelly's image.

I look forward to spring play, and the start of play next fall.

"You and I" might be advancing, yes, but I love the future
of this team. 

Basketball In Action

Two basketball games today.  The men host Seton Hall at the KFC Yum! Center at 4 p.m, while the women are hoping to outrun the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State with a 3 p.m. tip.  While the men will be looking to get back to their winning ways, the women will be working to continue to remain undefeated and go to 8-0 to start the season (with wins over 3 Top 25 teams in there already, lest we forget).  If you can't make it downtown, the men will be shown on ESPN2, while the women's stream will only be available on the added-cost SDSU streaming service.  I'll give Nick and AJ the listen on 790 AM (probably streamed) instead, and perhaps pull up the #3 Notre Dame vs #1 UConn game starting at 4 p.m.

 Muffet McGraw vs Geno Auriemma is always an entertaining match-up of two very good teams, both of which we'll be playing later this season.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Looking for wins to talk about from yesterday?  The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour was a walk-off
Grand Slam home run of a broadcast.  It was particularly awesome if you ignore the dufus who couldn't even manage to stay on a phone call.

It was a bit of a different lineup from our usual, but man was it fantastic.  Julie JC "no periods" Sullivan, Paige "Wiener Dog Lover" Sherrard, and Daryl "#4" Faust joined Paulie in studio, and we couldn't ask for better analysis and discussion of Volleyball, Basketball, and Soccer than from this crew.  I did manage to maintain a phone connection for long enough to talk about the Volleyball loss some as I was driving across the hinterlands of Wisconsin, and then got to listen to the rest of it via the wonders of Internet streaming.

The replay is already up at

 https://soundcloud.com/chradio/cardinal-couple-20171202.

 If you didn't get to hear it live, definitely go check it out.

-- JMcA

Louisville Women's Basketball doubles up SEMO 80 -40 -- Volleyball sweeps Virginia -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES IN LOUISVILLE 40-POINT ROMP

Paige, Paulie and the Attack Yorkie's
best friend captured by Jared

The 2017-17 Louisville women's basketball season got off to a rousing in the KFC YUM! Center Friday night...the Cards had no trouble with the Southeastern Missouri Redhawks, pulling away to an 80-40 victory in front of an announced crowd of 6054. 

Give Myisha Hines-Allen Louisville first basket of the season. The Montclair, NJ senior took a nice feed from Asia Durr 43 seconds into the contest and Louisville blew out to a 16-0 first quarter lead before SEMO connected on two free throws with 3:15 left in the initial session. The Cards ruled the first ten minutes and held a 25-5 lead after one. Jaz Jones had seven points for UofL.  

Head UofL coach played 'em all and played them often in the first half. Sam Fuehring's two free throws put Louisville up 28-6 two-an-a-half minutes into second quarter play. SEMO scored the next five points and Walz got a quick time out to discuss it. The conversation worked...the Cards went on a 14-0 run to end the half... Arica Carter nailed a three in the stretch and UofL held a commanding 42-11 advantage at the midway point. 

Louisville held a 20-2 edge in points-in-the-paint, had 24 points off 19 RedHawks turnovers and Dana Evans led UofL in first half scoring with eight points on 1-3 shooting and 6-6 from the free throw line. Louisville was also having their way on missed shots, with a 22-11 rebounding edge. 

Durr got the crowd enthused in the third period when she nailed a three to start action and the Cards held a 49-13 lead when Jones connected on a falling down, off-balance jumper with 7:42 left in the third. Kylee Shook got involved in the three-point scoring when she nailed one with two minutes left in the quarter and Louisville held a convincing 60-26 scoreboard lead with ten minutes to go. We saw a lot of combinations in the third...including Loretta Kakala and Shook in the paint. 

Sydney Zambrotta kept the fans buzzing when she sank two straight threes to begin the final session and the Cards got a trifecta from our favorite attack Yorkie in the fourth quarter as well. Paulie called for a forty-point win and Evans obliged him by bombing a deep three home as the game ended for the 80-40 final. 

All Cards scored in this one and Jones led the way with 12. Evans and Shook added 11, Bionca Dunham went 5-7 from the floor for 10 points to round out the double figure producers. Durr contributed eight in 20 minutes, Myisha went for six and a squad-leading 11 rebounds...Carter and Zambrotta also finished with six. Fuehring added four in 16 minutes...as did Laemmle and Kakala finished with three in 11 minutes.

A good overall effort by the Cards...Walz would like to see the turnovers drop (19 for the Cards) and the fouls decrease...but was pleased with the opening effort by the squad. We have his comments -- also Myisha Hines-Allen and Jaz Jones' at the end of the basketball segment today. Good to see a freshman (Dana Evans) shoot free throws so well and Myisha ruling the boards in "My-Zilla" fashion again. 

THE FRED REPORT.

(Our first Fred of the year --
Fred Astaire

(In case you're reading us for the first time or have forgotten from last year, we do a "Fred Report" -- Free throws, Rebounding, Effort/Execution and Defense -- after each game. 

Free Throws -- Louisville shot 14-22 (63.6%) for the game. Kudos to Jaz (4-5) and Dana (6-8). Asia lagged with just 1-3. Our standard to earn a letter here is 70%, so no letter can be awarded here. Coach Walz did point out to me in his post-game comments that two of the misses did turn into Shook rebounds and subsequent baskets. Three is better than two, according to Walz Theorum I but we didn't get a chance to discuss opposing free throw defense...he'll dispute the grade here, I am sure, but the numbers don't lie.

Rebounding -- Louisville took a 44-28 victory in the battle of the boards. Myisha gets kisses for her 11. No other Card has more than five, but no one played more than 24 minutes...so we'll award a CAPITAL "R" in this category. 

Effort/Execution -- Louisville was a running bunch Friday night and had 22 assists on 29 made baskets. The third quarter was the only time SEMO stayed fairly close in a 18-15 Louisville quarter edge. The turnovers are problematic, maybe, you throw bad passes and bad things happen and 19 will get Louisville slaughtered by Ohio State Sunday. The fouls need to lessen as well but the hustle is definitely there...I'll be magnanimous and award a CAPITAL "E" here.

Defense -- It was a decent effort against an undersized and over-matched Ohio Valley Conference foe. SEMO went 14-47 from the floor (29.8%) and had 28 turnovers. They were 1-10 from "three" range. Louisville also got 10 steals. Holding anyone to 40 points in 40 minutes will always get you a CAPITAL "D" and that's what we'll award here. 

FINAL FRED COUNT:   _-R-E-D

A pleasing time getting to see everyone perform and, for the most part, perform well. 

Things get rockier Sunday in Columbus vs. Ohio State. The Buckeyes put it on Stanford 85-64 last night. Kelsey Mitchell had 30 points and Stephanie Mavunga 17 points and 26 rebounds for OSU...but, for now, UofL is undefeated.

LISTEN TO BELOW: 

POST GAME WALZ

POST GAME MYISHA AND JAZ


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VOLLEYBALL CONQUERS CAVALIERS

Worldwide descends the step in
Cardinal Arena

Meanwhile, back on the UofL campus in Cardinal Arena, the UofL Volleyball team was dispatching of Virginia in straight sets 25-9, 25-13, 25-19. 

Tess Clark with 15 kills for Louisville (20-6, 13-2) and Dani Busboom Kelly's boomers impressed her. 

"I thought the offense was crisp tonight and we changed up a few things in transition and you saw that tonight. Tess had an awesome game. It's great when you work on something all week and see it performed." 

Molly Sauer scored on six straight serves in the first game and Louisville hit an incredible .536 in the first game. 

Throw the heater! 

The Cards jumped out big in the second game and led 14-4...Clark getting five kills in this set. 

Gabby Wiley served for five straight points in the final game but the Cavs closed it to six at 19-13. They would get no closer. 

The VolleyCards face Virginia Tech on Sunday in Cardinal Arena. Top of the ACC, it's a nice thing, right?  

PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON TODAY, WHO ATTENDED BOTH BASKETBALL AND VOLLEYBALL. HUSTLING FELLA ON FRIDAY NIGHT! 



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IN OTHER ACTION...

Louisville Field Hockey plays their first game in the NCAA Tournament at Ann Arbor, MI today against Northwestern. The Cards have their work cut out for them...Northwestern took UofL 2-0 in the regular season in Evanston. 

Louisville finished second in the recent ACC Tournament at Trager and will hopefully be ready to battle the Wildcats and the rather cool conditions this one will be played in. Justine Sowry, Minnie Mink and Nicole Woods preview the journey below: 

JUSTINE, MINNIE AND NICOLE HEAD TO MICHIGAN

Louisville is #8 in the nation and Northwestern #10. A 2 p.m. start and live scoring will be available at MGoBlue.com

Football hosts Virginia today at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Louisville will try to get back on the winning path after a bye week and loss last time out. The Cards edged by the Cavs last year on a late Lamar Jackson to Jaylen Smith touchdown and today's 3:30 p.m. contest could prove to be just as exciting. 

The Cards are 5-4 on the season. You can catch this one on ESPNU or listen tom Paul Rogers always excellent call on 790 WKRD. 


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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR AND DONATIONS

WE take to the airwaves tomorrow at 11 a.m. for another edition of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. It's the "A" team in studio...Paulie, Jared, Case and Jared. 

We'll talk hoops, we'll talk Volleyball, we'll talk Field Hockey and play clips. Expect the usual banter and shenanigans to ensue. 

LISTEN HERE: www.crescenthillradio.com

I was asked if donations we receive also support our radio show. They do not. WCHQ does not charge us for our weekly show. The money that you donate to us goes strictly to finance our website. 

I will be going to Columbus, OH Sunday to cover the WBB Cards on the road. I'll drive it straight through both ways instead of spending donations on a hotel room. 

We try to be wise and responsible stewards of the funding you provide. We appreciate it. Please consider donating by check or Pay-Pal. Mail those checks to: 



Cardinal Couple LLC
c/o Paul Sykes
PO Box 91521
Louisville, KY 40291 

Thank you,

Paulie




paulie
xxxxx

CARDINAL WIN AND CARDINAL LOSSES -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NOVEMBER is donation month here at Cardinal Couple. Here is another reason why we could use your support. I'll be quite honest with you...I really like the group of writers and photographer I have here on the site right now. Three guys who work full time at other jobs, have lives outside of work and our website, friends and family and responsibilities. They take the time each week to express their thoughts and opinions about UofL women's sports...all UofL sports...on these pages. We are a non-profit. They do this for love of game. Here's the deal. I would like to be able to get them a little something besides the occasional gift card. Maybe a prepaid gas card now and them to help them with the expenses of going around and covering these events. Something to say "Thank You" for the hard work, dedication, Cardinal coverage and creativity that Jeff, Jared and Case bring to these pages. 

Please consider donating to Cardinal Couple. Check, Pay-Pal...heck, even walk up to me and hand me cash if you want.

Our mailing address is Cardinal Couple c/o Paul Sykes PO Box 91521, Louisville, KY  40291. Make your check payable to Cardinal Couple. Thank you. YOU are CARDINAL COUPLE and WE never forget that. 


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VOLLEYBALL ROARS BACK TO DOWN DUKE ON ROAD

As Duke and Louisville played Volleyball on Sunday afternoon in Durham, NC...they had two avid watchers on the ACC Network Extra. Worldwide Jeff and I were following the action while covering the Louisville Field Hockey game in the ACC Tournament Finals. I was also following it on Stat-tracker. Early on, it wasn't going so well for the Serve and Volley Cards. Down two sets and in a dog-fight in the third...the "Busboom Boomers" were in distress. 

Then, Field Hockey ended and I needed to wander down to get post-game chatter from Coach Sowry. Worldwide wasn't budging....choosing to remain in the press box and watch the action in Durham. I expected nothing less. 

Maybe it's good I left. While I unsuccessfully attempted to get post-game comments from Coach Sowry (she got those out of the way quite quickly before this old man could get down the steps and onto the pitch...talking to a media contingent that had been noticeably absent all season. Go figure) the Volleyball squad started to rally. While I trudged back to my car and headed home, the Cards had won the third and fourth sets and when I entered the house, I was able to catch the fifth and final set. 

Cards WIN! The Cards WIN! A back and forth, topsy-turvy exciting thriller on the Duke campus. 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-19. Melanie McHenry with 16 kills. Backs to the wall and on the ropes, the Serve and Volley Cards come back. 

It almost didn't happen. The Cards fell behind in game three 19-17 before going on a 8-1 run to stay alive and win the contest. Maggie DeJong had two kills during the final nine volleys of the third game.  

The Cards commanded action in the final set by jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Blue Devils could not contain Tess Clark in the final chapter...she registered three kills late -- including the set and match point. She ended up with 12 kills on the day. 

The win puts the Cards in a three-way tie for first place in the ACC standings with Pittsburgh and NC State...all 12-2 in ACC play. Louisville comes back from their Tar Heel state jaunt to face Virginia (7 p.m.) on Friday night and Virginia Tech (2 p.m.) on Sunday in Cardinal Arena. 

Be there.


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FIELD HOCKEY FALLS IN FINAL TO TAR HEELS 1-0

When you can't score, you aren't going to win and that's what happened to Louisville Field Hockey Sunday in the ACC Tournament Championship finals. Shooting predicates scoring and the Cards weren't doing much of that either against UNC...one shot in 35 minutes of first half action and just three in the final half. The TarHeels got 13 shots off in a game that emphasized defense. 

UNC was the #5 seed in the tournament but actually had a better record (14-4) than the third seeded Cards (14-6) coming into the match. And, make no mistake about it...this is a very good North Carolina squad. Ashley Hoffman is the ACC defender of the year. They were more organized than Louisville and played a lock-down, stifling defense. 

The Cards had a shot at getting on the board with 13 minutes left in the game. Whena Munn got free on a jailbreak and dashed down the pitch to try UNC goalie Amanda Hendry but her shot was denied. The Cards also got a penalty corner attempt a couple of minutes later. Hendry covered that shot up as well. 

Although I didn't get to record this, losing coach Sowry did say: 

" It's so disappointing that we were unable to put one in the back of the net. We're young. Even right up to the last minutes we really didn't know how to handle those moments. I'll put it down to youth, but it's been one heck of a season so far. To win back-to-back against Syracuse and a formidable Duke squad , that's preparing for the NCAA Tournament and ultimately the Final Four here. I'm super proud." 

Freshman Alli Bitting and sophomores Ayeshia McFerran and Carter Ayars were named to the All-ACC Tournament team. 

And so, the Cards move on to the NCAA Tournament. Yes, they are in...one of the 18 teams (and six ACC squads) who got invites. Louisville will open in Ann Arbor, MI against #9 Northwestern on Saturday (game time to be announced). If UofL wins, they would get either Michigan or Syracuse in Round Two. 

The Cards have played all three schools in the Michigan bracket this year. They fell to the Wildcats of the Big Ten 2-0 in the regular season and Michigan came to Louisville and knocked them around 5-0 in Trager. Louisville had two 3-2 wins over the Orange...one in regular season play and one in the ACC Tournament.

Chances of Louisville getting through this gauntlet and back to Trager Stadium for the Final Four? Difficult but not impossible. Michigan had their number, obviously...and starting the tournament against Northwestern wasn't the best match the Cards could have hoped for. 

Chances of Paulie getting a final post game interview with Field Hockey players and Coach Sowry this year...also difficult but not impossible. It is regrettable and a bit disappointing that the guy who conducted the vast majority of the post-game home interviews this year got shut out twice in a row...but I'll end on a positive note here and say that it has been a joy to cover them this season and they have played some exciting hockey. 

Turn Minnie Mink loose. Jared needs the goals. She's a scorer (that's what she does). A big thanks to him for the wonderful photo work he has done this year and it is featured here again today. You can see all of his photography work from Sunday (and the season) on his Facebook page (Jared Daniel Anderson). 

We'll update you when we get specific game times and ways to watch. The chances are 100% that Cardinal Couple won't be there for live coverage. 


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Louisville men's soccer went through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer Sunday against Virginia before losing in a shootout (Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, OK Corral!) The Cards are eliminated from the ACC Tournament with the loss at Lynn and will wait their fate in the NCAA Men's Soccer Selection Brackets that will be released on Saturday. The Cards were ranked 6th in the nation before the game and will hopefully get a chance to host opening action in the 64 team field. 



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THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

The weekly edition of The Cardinal Couple Radio finally got put up for rebroadcast at WCHQFM. Hear it here: 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 11/3/17

We had big fun talking UofL women's sports, bashing each other, and went off on an interesting tangent about space launches. No, we're not sending Walz to the moon...nor Sowry to Saturn but it was revealing. 
Have a great Monday! 

Paulie