Volleyball Rolls, Basketball Hits More Lists - Saturday Cardinal Couple

Writer Switch-up

( Now batting...)

Never let it be said that the Cardinal Couple crew doesn't have each others' backs.

Jeff with you here on Saturday, with Case involved with...oh I don't know, something interesting, I'm sure, today and unavailable to write.  He will be back in the saddle and writing tomorrow in my normal place.

This means I get a recap to write though, which has been a rare thing for me in the typical Sunday slot.

Volleyball Rolls On in ACC Play

Speaking of "back in the saddle", yesterdays volleyball match featured, to much crowd applause, the return to play of Anna DeBeer.  DeBeer is not back 100%, she only played in the back row, essentially as a Defensive Specialist, but her presence and solid passing were valuable there.

The Cards took a pretty easy victory over a roughly .500 NC State team, 25-11, 25-21, 25-16.

Frankly, both teams kinda stunk in hitting.  UofL only managed .177 for the match, while NC State had more errors than kills, digging a -.044 hole across the three sets.  The difference making stats here were in blocking, which of course is a particular point of pride for this UofL squad and last night's match was marketed as a "Block Party" because of it.  UofL won the blocking battle 11-6.  DBK's squad also won the serving game with eight aces to NC State's three, and keeping service errors under some control, UofL "only" gifted eight points to NC State from the service line, while NC State was extra generous with 11.

The first set was in UofL's hands almost from start.  NC State picked up the first two points, but the service errors started early for them.  That put Elena Scott at the service line and she promptly lead the Cards on a four point run.  Another point for the Wolfpack and it was Aiko Jones turn to have a four point service run.  A little more back and forth and Amaya Tillman showed her serving prowess with a six point run, including a pair of aces.  DeBeer almost finished out the set with a five point run with an ace.

The second set saw an initial change of fortune.  NC State climbed out to an 8-3 lead, then 11-6.  UofL started, slowly, clawing back some of that margin, but wouldn't take the lead again in the set until 17-16 on an Aiko Jones kill in the midst of a five point run with Raquel Lázaro at the service.  The previous lead was at 1-0 from a Claire Chaussee kill.  More back and forth with slow extension of the lead by the Cards to the final 25-21 set score.

The third set was more like the first.  A Chaussee kill would deliver the serving duties to Aiko Jones who picked up a pair of service aces while UofL extended their lead from 4-2 out to 7-2.  Paige Morningstar got on the court in a service specialist role while UofL pushed the lead out to 11-3.  NC State went on a run to reduce that lead down to 11-7.  Side out percentages for both teams climbed from that point as neither team served more than two in a row the rest of match, with UofL closing it out on an Elena Scott service ace at 25-16.

The outcome of the match is not really surprising, NC State is, to be honest, a middle of the pack team and never posed much of a serious threat to UofL.

Volleyball will be back in action Sunday at 1pm, again, at LNFCU Arena, hosting UNC.  The Tarheels are another middle of the pack team, just barely ahead of the now 6-7 Wolfpack with a record of 7-6.  ACC Network Extra will have the coverage.

Volleyball Photos from Jared Anderson

Basketball Hits Another List

Some people are list makers.  I'm not, but UofL Women's Basketball certainly is.

Hailey Van Lith and Morgan Jones were both listed on the 50 player initial watch list for the Naismith Trophy.  The most prestigious of these awards, the other watch lists that have all seen Cards included have all been for best player in a role, such as shooting guard, or point guard.  This one is the big one, it's the Player of the Year award, so you see the mix of bigs playing in the center and guards out shooting from the perimeter on this list.

Van Lith has made the initial watch list all three of her seasons of playing so far, while this is the first appearance by Morgan Jones.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP will have a limited squad today, with, it seems, only Paulie and I making the call today.  We'll make the best of it, and I'm sure we'll have fun.

You can check it out live on Youtube at https://youtu.be/Jv6E0jvmT3U, or afterwards at your favorite podcast directory.

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Game Week

Basketball Begins

Louisville, when not in the midst of a pandemic-fueled social lockdown nightmare, will take a two minute long spring sports event and turn it into a two week city wide party.  And this is for a sport that many of us don't feel any particular affinity to, though you can check out Paulie's Picks on Saturdays and special racing days, of course.

As a born and raised Kentuckian, basketball is in my blood.  Yes, when asked, I will say that volleyball is my favorite sport, but basketball is more than just sports fandom, it's a cultural touch-point.  In most states, the highest paid public employee in the state is the head coach of the flagship football team in the state.  In Kentucky, it's the basketball coach.  To be fair, North Carolina joins us in this distinction.  Also credit a few New England states for bucking the trend, and in Hawaii, the title goes to a surgeon.

The beginning of basketball season brings with it an excitement that is unlike any other because it suffuses the fabric of the community.  Yes, we are a state divided, when it comes to basketball, predominantly red vs blue, and yes that division is not even, and yes, there is an obvious metaphor here that we won't dive into on these pages.

But there are more than just red vs blue in basketball in this state...well, ok, they are mostly reds and blues, but there are variations.  We've got the red and white in Bowling Green, we've got a pair of blue and gold entries from either end of the state, and then there's the maroon folks over in Richmond.

We have a new entrant this year, to add to the excitement, officially scarlet and silver, with the Bellarmine folks kicking off their D1 journey...well, a little bit delayed, alas.

Cardinal Couple, of course, focuses on the women's side of sports at UofL, so our excitement in the coaching ranks is mostly for Jeff Walz, but I think I can speak for most of us when we show our respect for Kyra Elzy as she fills in the role in Lexington.  Around the state, though, there are coaches with ties to Louisville, and we certainly celebrate their successes, with Samantha Williams, a former assistant to Walz, helming the squad at Eastern; Greg Collins, who served a stint as assistant at Louisville some time back, in the big chair at Western.  Murray and Morehead coaches don't have any specific ties to Louisville, but as in-state competitors, we can certainly show our respect or Rechelle Turner at Murray, and Greg Todd at Morehead.  Of course, the newcomer to this DI coaching klatch is Chancellor Dugan, at Bellarmine...although we've followed her pursuits for years.

Basketball in Kentucky is "a thing", and so, I guess it's not terribly surprising to note that all of the above coaches are Kentuckians, born and raised.  That's something to be proud of and respect about the sport in the state.  We get excited when we recruit players from far off places, such as from Canada, Japan, and even the corners of our own country such as Washington State, California, and Texas, but it's good to take a step back and notice the home grown folks from places like Ashland, Georgetown, Fort Thomas, Oldham County, Calvert City, Berea, and Louisville, all here in Kentucky.

Of course, here at Cardinal Couple, we'll be cheering more for the Cardinals squad, but I can speak at least for myself, when I saw that I do get a bit of an extra feeling of excitement when I see Eastern, Western, Murray, Morehead, and yes Bellarmine as well, do well in their efforts.  And, yes, I respect the Kentucky program, and want nothing but the best for Elzy and her squad.

Let's not forget two Cardinal greats in Becky Burke and Candyce (Bingham) Wheeler, who begin their journey at South Carolina State and Michelle Clark Heard in Cincy either.

This week kicks it off for basketball in the crazy sports year.  Play got cut short last season, and now scheduled games can, at best, be considered tentative until the actual tip-off, but we're going to have basketball.  It's going to be altered a bit, and many of us will be watching from homes rather than in the stands, but we'll have basketball, which in a state like Kentucky, may very well help us get through the winter.

And that's something to be excited about.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

And the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour had the full house...full Skype call?...yesterday as we shared the latest edition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  Check out the recap of the Women's Basketball virtual tip-off luncheon, and a preview of the upcoming game at Middle Tennessee on Wednesday.

We had fun, as always, and I hope you do too, when you listen ! 

JMcA

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Gameday vs Duke

WBB vs Duke

The Cards play host at the KFC Yum! Center today against Joanne P. McCallie and her Duke Blue Devils.

The Dukies come in to town with an overall record of 7-6, and a 1-1 conference record.  We discussed the Blue Devils, and their schedule/results on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday.  Frankly, we weren't that impressed.  I try to stay positive and respectful of opponents, particularly conference opponents, but sometimes you just have to call it what it is.

The most impressive win on the Duke schedule is against ACC basement dweller Boston College.  Let that sink in a minute.  The next best wins are against...UNLV?  High Point?  We're not talking college basketball elite, here.  Loses come from Texas A&M, Northwestern, a 43 point pasting by South Carolina (which, at least is a good team, but...43 points.), and...checks notes...FGCU?  Yikes.

Duke, and McCallie, has had some good players in the past, and I've always considered her a good recruiter, and potentially good coach on the practice court.  I've also gone on record as believing that she is not a good on-floor coach, particularly with respect to clock management, and drawing up plays for particular situations.  I will acknowledge that I may be spoiled to the absolute genius, or should I say mad scientist, of Jeff Walz in those categories.

So, who do we need to be watching for on this Duke team?

The biggest scoring threat is Haley Gorecki, averaging 17.5 points per game.  She's followed up by Leaonna Odom, and Miela Goodchild, with 14.1 and 11.0, respectively.  Gorecki also dishes well, with nearly double the assists of Odom, with the second highest totals on the team.  Shot blocking is led by Onome Akinbode-James, but she has only 13 on the season.  Compare that to Kylee Shook's 34, and E Balogun's 17, and I like our presence in the paint.  Duke leads opponents overall (but, again, look at strength of schedule) in the steals and blocks stats categories, but trails in turn-overs and assists.

The game is at 2 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center and will be aired on the ACC Network, so you have the option of either streaming, or linear TV for this one...and, always a good choice...Nick and A.J.. on Cards Radio 790 WKRD. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Well, there's no actual radio involved anymore, and things are a bit barebones at the moment, and we had some sort of audio routing issue yesterday, but the CCRH is alive and kicking.  We'll sort out the audio issues, and we're still considering options for when and where to do the show.  The location we were in yesterday probably has the best setup for audio for us, but Saturday mornings are the busiest time of the week for the facility (it's used for far more than just podcasting!). 

We're considering a possible change to the show time, perhaps to Tuesday night?  We do feel very strongly about maintaining the live broadcast aspect of it, but we kinda feel like the actual time frame of that live broadcast is not as important.  Let us know what you think in the comments.

In this inaugural podcast broadcast, we dove into the latest basketball win at Clemson, and previewed this afternoon's Duke contest.  You can laugh along with us as we get adjusted to a new facility, and setup.

And, for the next benefit of switching to Youtube, I can post here, not just a link to the broadcast, but can embed the broadcast itself.

Again, apologies for the audio issues, we'll get that figured out, and I hope you enjoy the latest show.  Click subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of future shows.  I know we're excited for the possibilities that we have with this setup and format.  We'll continue to grow and develop, that I promise.

-- 

JMcA

Fall successes and A Bucket Catching Water -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Empty Calendar

No, we haven't time traveled back to July.  We just have a short-term lull in UofL Sports calendar entries.  Fall sports are all now officially done with the crowning of an NCAA volleyball Champion last night (Stanford beat Wisconsin in a sweep, if you're interested).  Of course Christmas is this week, and Chanukah has begun its eight day run.  Students are home on the winter break between the fall and spring semesters, and the focus at this time of year turns away from the sports world a little bit.

This is only a short term lull, however, as the women's basketball team will be back next week with the beginning of their conference play and also the first home game in approximately a month.

I always find transitions like this are a great time to take a step back and take stock of where things stand a little bit, and using that to prepare for the future.

First off, let's celebrate the UofL women's fall sports teams' success this year as a whole.  We had All-
Americans named in all three, Field Hockey, Soccer, and Volleyball.  Each of the three had good post-season runs with a program best Elite Eight appearance for Volleyball.  All three finished the year with impressive records.

Basketball has finished their non-conference slate of games with a pretty impressive win-loss record, 11-1, and they weren't all over cupcakes.  Yes, we've had some clunkers of wins, but they still go in the win column, and they serve as an opportunity to learn and improve.  Other wins were very impressive indeed, including, of course, a victory over then top-ranked Oregon, and a fourth straight win over a Top-15 ranked UK team in a tightly contested battle down to the final seconds.

Now the basketball Cards get ready to embark on their conference schedule.  We get home and home match-ups with several teams, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Boston College, and Pitt.  The rest, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Wake Forest, UNC, Virginia, Florida State, NC State, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech, we will only see once in the regular season.

Add in the exhibition game against the US National Team on February, and we have a recipe for 3+ months of fun basketball ahead of us.

Here's a scheduling note that might take you by surprise.  We're only about a month and a half away from Softball season.  Now, of course, our Softball squad almost always schedules almost a month of road games to open the season...and almost always to the south to take advantage of warmer weather.  I can't say that I blame them.  In any case, even the home opener is only about two and a half months away.

Softball is coming off of a good season last year, with a win over a Top-25 UK team, as well as a program first series win over Florida State, so they'll be looking to better that.

What an exciting time of year, both in the sports world, and outside of it.  I hope, whatever roles you may play in life, that the next week will give you an opportunity to step back, rest, and rejuvenate a little bit to close out this year strong and head into the new year on a good footing.

It is a chance to reflect on how well the UofL women's sports programs did this fall, are doing this winter and what will the spring bring? We'll make a New Year's resolution right now that we'll do the best we can do here at Cardinal Couple to keep you informed, enlightened and entertained.. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is winding down its time on WCHQ FM, our home since the start of the show, but that doesn't mean the shows are getting any less interesting.

We had a full house yesterday, with the full compliment of five in studio, Paulie, myself, Jared, Daryl and Case "The bucket that catches water".  What does that mean?  Check out the replay on Facebook to find out, or listen and still be completely mystified like the rest of us:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2644999785559824/

In any case, we had fun wrapping up the Volleyball season, and discussing the head-scratching that is
currently part of being a UofL women's basketball fan, given the recent games.

Al Davis, of Oakland Raiders fame, used the phrase: "just Win, Baby!" WBB has taken that to heart, it's just the margin of wins and way they are getting them that has many of us considering blood pressure medication and experiencing brief panic attacks. 

Next week will be our final broadcast from WCHQ 100.9.
It has been a unique opportunity to be a talk show, about women's sports, on a station that has emphasized local music. 

Enjoy the holidays!

-- 

JMcA

Volleyball Finishes -- WBB and the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Finishes

We, here at Cardinal Couple are well acquainted with juggling multiple major stories in UofL women's sports, and today is no exception.

We start with the a recap of the end of the season for Volleyball.  Normally, it's a disappointing affair when a team suffers a post-season defeat and the end of their competition for the year.  For volleyball this year...well, yeah, there is a twinge of disappointment, but there is also joy.  Joy that this team, even after losing the best player on the squad to an ACL tear, was able to do what no team has done in UofL Volleyball history, advance to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA with two upsets that got the volleyball talking heads across the nation talking about the Upset Queens of Louisville (a metaphor that I far prefer over the overused and problematic "Cinderella").

There is also excitement.

Excitement?  Yes, because the team you saw on the floor of Gregory Gym in Austin upending the number 2 seed in the tournament has a very good chance of being the exact same starting lineup you see in August of 2020.  What changes might occur?  Well, we might have some incoming freshmen competing for positions on the court over the players that occupied those spots for the past several weeks.

Think about that for a minute.  Beyond just seeing the current players get even better, the biggest chance of a change is because we may have some incoming players that are even better.

To be sure, we'll miss Melanie McHenry.  This team would not have done what it did without her.

There are no qualifications to that statement, and if anything it understates her importance to what happened here.  The biggest disappointment of the season may have been not getting to see her finish out her final NCAA tournament on the floor, but it wasn't to be, and as unfortunate as that is, it positioned this team to have the potential for even better things next year.

Spring play for volleyball can largely be about, "OK, what do we do without our seniors that are graduating"...at least partly figuring that out.  Louisville Volleyball has already done that, so spring play will get to be a much more pure opportunity to just practice and get better.

"Don't worry Dani...I'll go get a win
in Lexington to take their minds off
Saturday !" 

The future is exciting, here.

OK, to the actual match last night.  Minnesota was a beast, they clicked.  Louisville never got it's blocking game going well, and credit Minn for quick offensive play and good passing that kept Louisville's block guessing.  Similarly, passing and serve receive just wasn't there for the Cards in this one.

I said, during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday, that the Cards have the talent to play toe to toe with any team in the country.  I stand by that statement.  The talent is absolutely there, it's just a matter of bringing it to bear when the challenge is presented.  The Cards were a little bit off last night, and Minnesota will be planning their travel to Pittsburgh for the Final Four.  Well played, Minnesota, and good luck.

Basketball

The other big story line today, and it's a big one in it's own right, is the UofL vs UK basketball game at Rupp Arena at 1pm.

Kentucky comes in to this game undefeated (10-0), and that's impressive, no doubt, but when you look at their schedule to this point...well, maybe that undefeated record isn't quite so shiny.  The best competition they have played to this point is...probably Virginia, who they squeaked past, 50-47.  Beyond that, they've beaten a bunch of mostly mediocre mid-majors.

The game today will be UK's first really big test of their season, but it won't be their last.  They are, of course, in the same conference with South Carolina (never underestimate Dawn Staley), Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi State, but those are in the future, and here in the present, well, it's a little difficult to tell how good of a team UK really is.

Let's get this out there, though.  We do know that 6'2" guard Rhyne Howard is good.  Again, no qualifications are needed, here.  She is a very fine player.  She leads the team in many statistical categories, only dropping out of the top spot for Offensive Rebounds (but leads in total boards), along with assists and steals.  In points scored this season, she's not all that far away from doubling the tally of the 2nd place scorer Sabrina Haines, and accounts for over a quarter of the points scored by the team for the whole season.

"Paulie, I think I'd like to go dancing in Lexington Sunday..." 

How will the Cards continue their win streak over UK?  Well, the answer is pretty obvious after the previous 'graph.  Stop, or at least significantly slow down, Howard and force UK to figure out another way to win if they can.  Of course, that's a tall task, but the Cards did it with Sabrina Ionescu, and they can do it with Howard.  The question is, which UofL team will show up?  The team that played Oregon?  Or the team that played Ohio State (and the first half of NKU)?

Game time is at 1pm at Rupp Arena, and is televised on ESPN...not the deuce, not the U, not on a streaming platform.  This one is getting the top dog treatment by the 4 letter network.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

I may be biased, but I think the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday may have been one of our
best.  Paulie, Case, and I were in studio recapping the Cards magical run in the volleyball tournament, and previewing today's UK game.

Check out the replay at Facebook Live:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2186056001703321/

-- 

JMcA

Cards over Ducks - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Paradise It Is

It was a place with palm trees, which is always a win in my book, and the Cards won the actual game, too.  The Cards were victorious over the top ranked Oregon Ducks, 72-62, in the Paradise Jam on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Do you call this the biggest upset in UofL Women's Basketball history?  I think there's an argument to be made for it.  Of course, the 2013 win over Baylor gets an argument, and frankly you could probably come up with others.  The Baylor win, and now this Oregon win are the only wins UofL WBB has over top ranked teams.  Against Baylor, the Cards were the 5th seed in the NCAA tournament, while the Cards are currently ranked 8th, so based on the rankings/seedings, this one is the bigger win.

The argument on the other side of that coin comes from having watched Baylor in 2012-2013 and the fact that it was in the post-season, rather than this early season win.  Which do you think is the biggest win in UofL WBB history?  Let's hear it.

On to the deets, though.

Much like the Baylor game, where Shoni Schimmel and Nita Slaughter shone brightest...you remember The Shot, punctuated by Rebecca Lobo's "Come on, now!" but you might also remember Nita Slaughter's 7 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc...Kylee Shook and Dana Evans will get the spotlight in this one.  Kylee finished with 18 points, including one from beyond the arc along with a pair of blocks and 15 rebounds, for the double-double and the all tournament team berth.  Dana tallied 17 points and 6 assists on her way to the tournament MVP award.

Also like the Baylor game, there was lots of supporting cast.  The rebound and outlet pass that led to The Shot?  5'6" Jude Schimmel getting the rebound over two much larger Baylor players, also getting 6 points and 3 assists, also Bria Smith with 13 points and 3 assists.  In this game, Elizabeth Balogun had 11 points, a pair of blocks of her own and four rebounds.  Jaz Jones had 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds despite some significant foul trouble.  Bionca Dunham and Norika Konno got 6 points and a pair of rebounds each. Konno played brilliantly while Jones was saddled with foul trouble and on the bench.

And this is the picture Sports Illustrated runs in their
recap of Louisville's win? Uh, Ducks didn't cut down the
nets, SI. Cards=Red. Oregon=Green. Nice proof-read. 

The Ducks had this one in control in the first quarter, leading 24-13 by the end of the first frame, but the Cards would win it all back in the 2nd quarter, winning the 10 minutes by 24-8, for a halftime score of 37-32.  The 3rd and 4th quarters would be more competitive, with the Cards adding 4 to the margin in the 3rd (14-10), and only adding a single point in the 4th quarter score-fest (21-20).

I only got to listen to the Nick and AJ call on this one, but Coach Walz give credit to Video Coordinator Lamont Russell with the Mad Scientist idea of putting Kylee Shook up at the top of the key on defense to disrupt the offensive set for the Ducks. Even Oregon head WBB Coach Kelly Graves said it :"Louisville wanted this one more than we did."

So what happens with rankings tomorrow.  The men's side of the league has been topsy turvey, (Hi Evansville, and Stephen F Austin!) meaning the UofL men will probably find themselves in the top spot, what happens with the women?

Well, it's unlikely that they'll jump from 8th to top ranked, although the upwards mobility could be
significant.  In addition to Oregon dropping, expect Baylor to relinquish the number 2 position after losing to 5th ranked South Carolina in the other half of the Paradise Jam.  3rd ranked Stanford struggled, but won over 10th ranked Mississippi State while 4th ranked UConn easily handled Dayton in their only outing this week.

So, I think that leaves Stanford in the top spot, UConn 2nd, and South Carolina 3rd.  Is there a chance for Louisville to climb to 4th?  I think it's possible.  Where do Oregon and Baylor land?  5th and 6th are possible.  That means Texas A&M and Oregon State end up dropping a couple spots, which does seem vaguely unfair to those teams, but I think that's the reality of the situation as it unfolds.

We'll find out tomorrow afternoon when the updated rankings come out.

Volleyball Selection Tonight

The Volleyball selection show is at 8:30 tonight on ESPNU.  The Cards should easily have a berth, and hosting is essentially out of the question, so what's left is to find out to which location the Cards will go.

Volleyball tends to stick fairly closely to the RPI for the 16 seeds that get to host, of course, we don't have the latest RPI standings until after the bracket is revealed.

What teams are in the region that are likely to host?  Pitt, is basically assured a hosting berth, and may even get to host the regionals depending on how far Wisconsin falls after their loss this week.  The committee does try avoid setting up in-conference matchups in the first two rounds, however, so that's unlikely for us.

Other possible locations include Kentucky (currently 7th in RPI), Marquette (currently 12th in RPI, though likely to drop after getting knocked off my St. Johns in the Big East final), and WKU (currently 15th in the RPI).

But, the GPS says there is a Volleyball
game here? 

Of those candidates, where would you like to see Louisville go?  I think I prefer Diddle Arena in Bowling Green over heading into UK territory.  It's a bit longer of a drive, but still easily reachable for fans, without having to go in to play on a rival's home court.  Also, frankly, I think we stand a better chance of getting past the sub-regional with WKU as the seeded team as we've already knocked them off once in the season and the team has grown and improved since then.

I'm probably going if it's within 10 or so hours. We'll find out tonight

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie and I held down the fort for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday. Sonya was in studio auditing the broadcast. 

It's 11:02, when is this song over" 

Volleyball and Basketball were the topics du jour.  We recapped the volleyball loss to Pitt and the basketball wins for the week, including over UTA (or UTC in Paulie-speak), and Oklahoma State.

There's a good chance that we will not be on the air next week due to scheduling issues.  Paulie will be out of town following the WBB squad to Columbus, and depending on what happens with Volleyball selection, I may on the road to cheer them on.  Availability of Case, Jared, and Daryl are still to be determined.  Stay tuned, we'll let you know.

In the meantime, check out this week's show at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1395334880646526/

-- 

JMcA

WBB Cards Soar Past Oklahoma State -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Evans, Cards Soar Past Oklahoma State

In their second game in as many days in the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Louisville women's basketball defeated Oklahoma State 69-48.

Dana Evans led all scorers with a career-high 28 points.  Elizabeth Balogun posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cards had a strong defense in the first half and won the quarters 19-13 and 18-12, respectively.  However, 12 turnovers in the half were plenty to keep the Pokes within striking distance.

A 14-5 run for much of the second quarter pushed the Louisville lead to 15 right before the half.

Louisville's defense turned on the jets even more, slowing down the Oklahoma State offense and surrendering just 23 second half points.

The Cards managed to get the lead to as high as 24 points late in the third quarter.  After that, the lead
never faltered and remained above 16 the remainder of the game.

Evans, who decided to knock out one of my bold predictions by just one point, shot 6-9 from three-point range and added five assists.  Overall, the Cards shot 9-14 (64.3%) from deep.

From the field, Louisville went 28-59 (47.5%) as the short range accuracy continued to be a hassle.

Trips to the free throw line were slim- Louisville shot just 4-5.  The Poke didn't get to the line much either, going 7-11.

Eight of 11 Cards to see the floor saw double-digit minutes with the other three all recording below three minutes.

Louisville (7-0) will have a tall task today as they face #1 Oregon.  The 6-0 Ducks defeated Oklahoma State 89-72 and UT Arlington 91-54.

Another lights out performance from three-point range and cleaning up the turnovers will give the Cards their best opportunity to win, and a chance to prove me wrong on a second bold prediction.

The two foes will tip off at 3:15 on the silly $29.99/month website.  Or just listen to Nick and AJ give you detailed play calling on air. They'll move to either 970 WGTK AM today or  1080 WKJK AM since Louisville Football will be on the usual channel 790.  I'd check both, the UofL Sports information site listed 1080  WGTK, which doesn't match up on call letters and radio dial number. You can always go to the live stream on the UofL website and we've linked it up for you below.

 LINK: LOUISVILLE WBB VS OREGON


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Speaking of on air, it appears Paulie and Worldwide will be on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour alone.  I will be battling the elements on the field as Louisville football has a showdown with rival Kentucky for the Governor's Cup. Case is down on the farm and Daryl is throwing a party at her place for the Football game.

Sonya will join the guys in the studio to observe, she doesn't like to "mic up" We're also on Facebook Live !  LINK:  THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR


OTHER

On a quick side note, congrats to Chris Mack and the men's team for defeating WKU and moving up to #1 in the country.  Walz will get his squad up there soon, and we could see the first school to have the women's and men's teams win the national championship in the same year since UConn in 2014.

We usually don't do anything here about non-women's sports here at Cardinal Couple, but a lot of you will be tuned in to Louisville vs. Kentucky Football in Lexington today at noon, so GO CARDS, BEAT UK.

Since Paulie edits most of the articles here at Cardinal Couple, I'll leave the FRED report to him as an add-on.


THE FRED REPORT

Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst says "Scream for those Cards!" 

FREE THROWS -- Hardly anything to mention here, as Dee Kanter and her crew swallowed the whistle and let them play. Louisville attempted five and made four. Kylee and Dana tried two each and made them. "E" got one and missed it. Still. 80% is 80% and we'll award a Capital "F" for the limited but productive marksmanship. 

REBOUNDS -- Louisville won the battle of the boards 47 to 39 and it was Bionca Dunham and Elizabeth Balogun leading the way with 10 each. Louisville only managed seven on the offensive boards, a quite low number, but overall the "grabs" effort was enough to earn them another Capital "R" for running down missed shots. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- No slow start Friday for the Cards, leading by six after the first quarter and increasing that lead as the game went on. Turnovers, though, another bugaboo with 21. Walz likes to tease that if you throw the ball to someone in the same colors as yours, those turnovers will drop. The Cards did win the points-in-paint battle, fast break points and second chance points stats, though, so...based on that, I'll offer a lower case "e" for hustle. 

DEFENSE -- Louisville WBB held OK State to 25.4% shooting. The Cards had eight blocks. They forced 14 OK ST turnovers and scored 14 points off them. They allowed just 48 points. All that leads to a Capital "D" for their defensive efforts. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-R-e-D


Happy Saturday and Go Cards!

Jared

Volleyball Senior Day , Boise St visits WBB, The Caardinal Couple Radio Hour -- SUNDAY CARIDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Senior Day

In a roster of 16 players, only one is a senior, Melanie McHenry.  If you've graced these pages during volleyball season at any point in the past four years, you've seen her name.  Today UofL Volleyball honors her UofL career.

McHenry suffered an ACL tear in the Notre Dame match a few weeks ago and has been sidelined ever sense, but on the sidelines she has been.  Even three days after surgery, McHenry did what she had to do to be there for her team on the sidelines last Friday against Syracuse.  I'd say her support payed off, with the team finally coming together and "gel"ing for the first time, really, since McHenry was injured.

That team play continued, again with McHenry on the sidelines, in the return visit from Notre Dame, earning the Cards their first sweep against Notre Dame in 3 years.

My comment during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday was that the team play against Notre Dame was the probably the most put together play I've seen from a UofL Volleyball team.  I've seen teams with more talent, and I've seen many better individual performances, but I don't think I've ever seen a team play together, cohesively, like I saw UofL do Friday evening.

Today's match is against Miami at 1pm in the L&N FCU Arena.  The Cards did get the win over Miami, in Coral Gables, during the nigh on disastrous stretch of matches after McHenry's injury.  They did take the full five sets, with two of them involving extra points to get the win.

Today's match is yet another case of the Cards being able to get a win, IF they show up and play the way that have seen that they're capable, and the way they have done so the past two matches.  This is almost a must-win match for the Cards to ensure their post-season opportunities.  Right now they almost certainly have a berth in the NCAA tournament (there is no ACC post-season tournament for volleyball), but a loss to RPI 134 Miami might drop them into "bubble" territory, and if the Cards are on the bubble, the 2-5 record, towards the end of the season, between the Virginia Tech and FSU matches will loom large over the Cards resume.

In a slightly unusual change, the Senior Day presentation will be after the match, rather than before, so be sure to stay through to the end.

Basketball Battling Boise

Boise State, yes, the team with a blue(?!) horse as a mascot, and of course, the universally loved Smurf Turf on their Football field, will be coming into the KFC Yum! Center.  They will be looking for revenge for the 74-55 win the Cards visited on the Bronco's on their home court last year.

We talked during the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday, about the lack of generalized respect that teams like Boise State get in mainstream media, when they have a tradition of competing well in women's basketball.  The comparison was made to WKU, who nearly always have a competitive team in a mid-major conference as well.

Fans of women's basketball will not overlook teams like Boise State, particular given the state of Cards play right now.  Walz has a lot of talent on his squad this year, and in an almost diametrically opposed scenario to what I saw in volleyball, maybe the most talent he's ever had on his team, but their team play...yeah, not so much, right now.  OK, there are also some fundamental execution errors that need to get cleaned up (hello lay-up stats), but there's talent, and certainly a will to win, but there's a lot of "putting together" that still needs to happen on this squad.

This game also tips at 1 p.m., the same time as volleyball, so you'll have to decide on downtown vs campus for these.

Both competitions are available for streaming on ACC Network Extra.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The "A team" was in studio yesterday for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  It was a good hour (well,
a bit over an hour) of discussion on Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, and Field Hockey.  It's a busy time of year, but it makes for some fun conversations, that's for sure.

Check it out, if you missed it, at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/1009040542781716/

-- 

JMcA

Sunday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Stands Alone

In UofL women's sports, Volleyball stands alone today.

The Cards will take on the FSU Seminoles at 1 p.m. to wrap up their four match road trip.  The Cards are coming off of a nail biter five set win, with some bonus points involved, at Miami on Friday.  Today's task is more challenging, with Florida State being involved with the 4-way tie for 3rd place, along with the Cards, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina.

Claire Chaussee

Overall, the Cards have been on a bit of skid since losing the services of Melanie McHenry at Notre Dame three weeks ago.  More subjectively, the Cards have just looked unsure of themselves on the court.  Is it just a matter of their confidence having been shaken?  Claire Chaussee has largely taken over the left side hitting duties in place of McHenry, and while McHenry is, to be fair, the better player of the two, the drop isn't that significant.  Chaussee has done great work bringing her power under control, though admittedly there is more to be done.

Let's hope the gritty win at Miami restores some confidence to this squad that they can persevere through challenges, close sets, and matches.  They'll need it today against the Seminoles for sure.

Anna Stevenson

Most of the offense for FSU comes from #15 Payton Caffrey and #3 Morgan Chacon, with about 300 and 200 kills on the season respectively, with both coming from the left side.  Leading the middle blocking and attack is their big 6'3" middle #13 Taryn Knuth.  Also be on the lookout for another big 6'3" swing from #4 Jasmyn Martin.  Looking for the settings to be done mostly by #7 Lily Tessier, with perhaps some time from #17 Adrian Ell.  Neither setter seems inclined to the setter dump, which should hopefully give our middles, likely Anna Stevenson and Amaya Tillman, the ability to stay down on the set and better counter the middle attack from Taryn Knuth.  I haven't seen who is playing the Libero position for FSU, with two listed on the roster with about equal stats, both, however, have fewer digs than Caffrey and Chacon.

Will the Cards realize that the season isn't lost just because McHenry is now basically serving as "Coach McHenry" rather than being out on the court?  They still have plenty of talent to be one of the top teams in the ACC, let's hope the Miami match served to bring them together to play as a coherent whole, and to quit doubting their abilities.

The match airs on the ACC Network Extra at 1 p.m.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Paulie and I held down the fort at WCHQ for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  Jared was banking,
while Case was in an undisclosed location...why?  We're not at liberty to say...or maybe we just don't know.  Either is possible. Case may not even remember. 

In any case, we had a good chat about Volleyball, Field Hockey, Soccer, and Basketball.  We discussed the tournament prospects for Field Hockey and Soccer, we discussed the Volleyball win over Miami, and what it will take to get the team back solidly on the winning ways.

You can check out the replay at the Facebook Live link:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/406628936683311/

The days at WCHQ are numbered, but work is ongoing in planning for the next phase of the CCRH.

-- 

JMcA

Field Hockey to ACC Semis -- Volleyball and Basketball tonight -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ONE IS ENOUGH -- FIELD HOCKEY CARDS BLANK ORANGE 1-0

Mercedes "Meche" Pastor delivered the lone goal is Louisville Field Hockey's 1-0 win over Syracuse yesterday afternoon in Newton, Mass. The game was held at the Boston College Field Hockey complex and the Cards were fortunate to draw the early game. The night contest between Virginia and Duke was contested in a driving rainstorm for all four quarters and had to be miserable for the two squads.

Virginia won 2-0 to advance to the semifinals, where they'll face Boston College...who took out Wake Forest in the second game of the afternoon. 

The Cards advance to face #1 North Carolina today at 1 p.m.


Pastor's score came in the ninth minute of the match. She took a feed from Whena Munn  and sent a scorcher past Syracuse goalkeeper Sarah Sinck for her ninth goal of the season. 

Louisville dominated in the stats -- out-shooting the Orange 13-3 and the Cards had a 5-1 edge in penalty corners. 

Coach Sowry on the revenge 1-0 win: 

"Obviously very happy with the result. We had to do certain things that we didn't do well last week against them. They are a very good team and they put a lot of pressure on you. They are lethal with their transitions, especially their counterattack. We had to work harder with the ball and we had to anticipate turnovers and be right there to win the ball back immediately. Defensively we had to contain them to stay in the contest. We had to keep their best players from being involved and I thought we did an outstanding job there. They did get a couple of breakaway opportunities but our deep defense handled it very well. I am proud and pleased with our group that we were able to make those adjustments from last week". 

LINK: POST GAME SOWRY

A much harder task awaits the Cards today against North Carolina. The Tar Heels trounced Louisville 4-1 in Chapel Hill earlier this season. UNC is 17-0 on the season and the defending National Champions.  The "Heels" are on a 40 game win streak. 

A Cardinal win would be a monumental upset. Sowry's stick swingers have a huge task ahead of them but the #6 Cards may have an equalizer in the weather in Beantown....temperatures are expected to be around the freezing mark when the match starts.  

Good luck to "David" as they take on "Goliath"...this one can be viewed on the ACC Network...channel 937 for Spectrum viewers. GO Cards !!


MURRAY STATE VISITS THE YUM! TONIGHT


The 1-0 Louisville women's basketball squad entertains the Racers tonight at 7 p.m. -- maybe appropriate, since Churchill Downs is conducting Fall racing currently. This one, though, looks like it could be over before they make the final turn and head for home. 

Louisville put up a program high 115 points up against Murray last year in the YUM! and Murray returns just two starters and has lost about 50% of their scoring from last year. Kylee Shook had a career high 21 points against MSU last year and "B"...Bionca Dunham produced a double-double (19 points, 16 rebounds). 

They do return 2019 OVC Freshman of the Year in Macey Turley and lone senior Cekeya Mack. They went 13-17 overall last year, 9-9 in conference and were eliminated in the first round of the OVC Tournament by UT-Martin (who Louisville will visit on Dec. 19th.) 

One would assume that Coach Walz would return with the same starting line-up that he employed against WKU and probe even deeper in substitution patterns and combinations on the court.  I'll be interested in seeing whether Louisville speeds up their offensive attack with fast breaks and whether they use a full-court press against Murray. 

I' also hope to see a better effort in the Cards rebounding. It was an emphasis point Walz made after the WKU game -- that it was a key area Louisville had to get better at. I can't fault Liz Dixon nor Jazz Jones for their board production. They combined for over half of UofL's grabs against the Toppers with 21 (Dixon 13, Jones 8). I'm guessing Walz would like to see the others, primarily Dunham, Diop and Shook, pick up their numbers on the glass. 

The ACC Network Extra has the coverage for this one, with our buddy Don Russell and Heidi Mueller. I'm pretty sure it's not the Heidi Mueller actress who's married to NFL star DeMarco Murray. 7 p.m. is start time but you might want to arrive a bit early, since it is Hawaiian Night Promotion and there will be $6 mixed drink specials. 


I wonder if Don Ho will perform at the half, or if the guys from Hawaii 5-O will swarm the court and arrest someone? Remember that great theme song from the original Hawaii 5-O television show? Is Magnum P.I. leaving the Isle to come in for a visit? 

I've got the opening soundtrack linked up below. I love that opening drum sequence. Book 'em, Dano!  

LINK:  The Ventures - Theme from Hawaii 5.O


VOLLEYBALL IN MIAMI

While Louisville WBB is doing battle with Murray State, the VolleyCards will be playing in sunny Miami against the 9-11 Canes. 

The Cards have some things to work out, now that Melanie McHenry is sidelined for the season. They are 2-4 since she injured her knee and have dropped their last three -- against Pitt, BC and Syracuse. 

We're hoping for a successful start to this southern  road swing (the Cards also play Florida State on Sunday) and that UofL can defend the powerful UM attack of Janet Kalaniuvalu, Savannah Vach and Elizaveta Lukiandva. 

Let's hope the multitude of Cardinal fans in Miami for the Cards football game Saturday will make their way over to the Knight Volleyball Complex to cheer on Dani Buboom Kelly's squad. Reports we heard indicate that Cardinal fans nearly outnumbered Canes fans for the men's basketball game earlier this week. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

A small but mighty cast and crew will be on hand for tomorrow's broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM. Just Jeff and I manning the microphones, with everyone else involved in other activities. 

We'll have plenty to discuss. Action from Friday and earlier this week event, plus upcoming activities for women's basketball, women's soccer, Field Hockey and Volleyball. 

Give us a listen or watch on Facebook Live. After tomorrow, just seven shows before the station closes it's doors. 

LINK: www.wchqfm.com


Have a fantastic Friday! 

paulie
xxxxx