Volleyball defeats Villanova

SATURDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-We're Back!

-Volleyball rallies to down the Wildcats

-Women's swimming at SMU Classic

-WBB Today in the YUM!

Welcome to the Saturday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. Yes, Sonja and Paul are back from their vacation in the Gatlinburg/Smokies area...well rested and ready to go. The photo above is from a hike we took to Henwallow Falls in the Great Smokies. Sonja and Anne encountered a bear during the hike...we'll share that story down the road on a slow women's sports day.

A great time, plenty of hiking and scenic trips in and around the area. The weather was ideal each day and we actually met a guy from UofL football kicker Chris Philpott's hometown, who had watched him play every game in high school and was on the way to Pittsburgh for the Saturday game.

A very special thank you to : Shannon Ruffra, the owner of CARDINAL DOMINANCE...Charlie "the observer" Springer, the owner of UofL Card Game and special correspondent David Watson for their excellent contributions to CARDINAL COUPLE while Sonja and I were away playing in the woods. The CARDINAL COUPLE site count actually went up per day during our absence...so maybe the readers would rather you guys do the articles...

WE really appreciate the efforts and topics that you provided the CARDINAL COUPLE readers and you guys are the best!

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The University of Louisville Volleyball team roared back from a 2-0 game deficit to defeat Villanova 3-2 in a sold out Cardinal Arena on Friday night. The Cards pulled out the win 15-13 in the fifth game, after starting out 22-25, 16-25, 25-23 and 25-22.

Louisville actually led in the first game 7-3 and was getting good play from Lola Arslanbeckova up front but the Wildcats took four out of the final five points in the game for their first win. Louisville started slowly in game two and could never seem to get in sync, actually trailing 19-7 before falling by 9 points to 'Nova. The Cards went into the halftime break looking for answers and needing the front line to step it up.

They narrowly took the third game in an exciting back and forth contest that had Louisville up 13-9, then tied at 13 and leading 24-21. Villanova climbed back to a 24-23 deficit before Amanda Simmons got a block at the net to give UofL game three. Game four was another nail biter...Louisville hustling to a 11-10 lead after kills from Anastasia Artemeva and then seeing 'Nova go up 19-18. At 23-22 Louisville, it was Lola to the rescue at the end with two kills in a row to get the Cards to the 25 point mark and the three point game victory.

The fifth game saw the teams battle back and forth, tied at four and the Wildcats actually grabbing a 8-5 lead before the Cards slammed home seven of the next eleven points to take command at 12-9. 'Nova was not done, though..and tied it at 13. The Cards got the final two scores of the game to win it, though...on a Arslanbeckova kill and Simmons block.

Louisville goes to 15-6, 9-1 on the season and Villanova to 19-5, 7-2. The Cards get eight days off before their next, at Pitt, on Saturday, November 6th.

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Louisville's women's swimming and diving team is 4th after the first day of the SMU Classic. The Cards got big efforts from Therese Bergstrom, who finished 2nd in the 100-breast and Fanny Lillestrom's 2nd in the breast and third in the 400-IM. Nicole Landisch took third in the 50-free and 1oo-fly.

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Jeff Walz will guide the Lady Cards onto the KFC YUM Center today at 4:30 for an exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan. He'll have the benefit of a full roster of 14 players and I fully expect that he'll use them all and often in a multitude of combinations. What Walz is most likely looking for today is to see who works well together and who is ready defensively and on the transition game. Cards fans should get a treat from the multiple and versatile efforts of Shoni Schimmel and we expect Monique Reid is ready to pick up the scoring lead from where she left off last year.

Don't read too much into the starting lineups and rotations today. It will be 13 days after this one before the Cards do battle again and today's exhibition is pretty much just a tuneup to give Jeff and the coaches a look at their squad against someone else besides themselves and the practice boys.

Tickets are available. I have good seats behind the UofL bench that I'm trying to distribute for friends that are at the Pittsburgh football game and unable to use them. Call me at (502) 291-3651 if you want them...