Freshmen impressive in WBB win...Volleyball sweeps! Saturday Cardinal Couple

****NCAA FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS SCORE FINAL****

Louisville loses in OT to Stanford in NCAA Championships 2-1

73:42 GOAL by STAN McCawley, Alex, goal number 15 for season.

A valiant effort by the Cards...goalie Sydney King charging the score attempt...blocking the attempt but McCawley digging it out of a pile and knocking it home.

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Moore, Hines-Allen help lead WBB to 89-69 win


Jeff Walz made a good call in inserting Mariya Moore into Louisville's WBB starting lineup for the Cards' season opener last night at IUPUI. The freshman wing scored nine of Louisville's first 11 points in a dizzying first ten minutes that had Louisville leading 26-12 after a Sara Hammond jumper.

Game over. 



Louisville went up 39-16 after a Jude Schimmel layup with 2:12 left in the first half and took a 41-20 lead into the locker room.

Credit Myisha Hines-Allen, another freshman Card for her contributions also...11 points (but four fouls) in her debut.

Louisville saw their lead cut into late in the second half when IUPUI made it 78-62. The Cards responded with a 10-7 run to finish this one. 

What we liked:

- Solid performances from the "vets"...Bria Smith with 15 points, Jude with 9, Shawnta Dyer with 8. This team has depth for sure...but the starters scored 63 of the Cards points. So happy that Shawnta and Megan contributed good minutes and 13 points. 

-Give us "Moore". An unexpected but oh..so...wonderful debut from the All-American. You go, Mariya! 

What needs work:

- Louisville shot 58% from the free throw line. Those numbers will get you beat in Chapel Hill, Durham and South Bend. What were you practicing on in the summer months girls? Gotta hit the unguarded ones...

- Losing by one in the second half to IUPUI. Really? UK. Iowa, and the ACC will take notice. Finish strong. 

- Getting outrebounded by four. If the strength of these team this year is to be the inside game, this stat is worrysome. 

The Cards head home, provided that the BOM and bus driver had the right coordinates, to face UT Martin on Sunday at 2 p.m. I mentioned to a friend before tonight's game tip-off that anything else than a 20 point win would disappoint me.

Not disappointed. 

After all, it was the first game of the year. Weaknesses will be worked on and a strong home crowd support should give the impetus needed to produce another 20+ win.

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FIELD HOCKEY VS STANFORD AT 2:00 PM TODAY! 

Louisville Field Hockey plays Stanford today in the NCAA Championships. We thought it would be interesting to get the opponent's viewpoint on this one. Thanks to Carlie Tenebaum from Stanford.edu for the article:

Stanford Field Hockey

This year’s Cardinal team is special. Entering the NCAA tournament they are 19-2 and ranked eighth in the nation. They are 3-0 against top-15 teams and 5-1 against the top-20. They have outscored their opponents 51-14. They are undefeated on the road. They are fearless and they are ready.

This year’s Cardinal team is flush with talent across the board. Senior defender and captain Kelsey Harbin will be training with the national team after graduation. Senior forward Alex McCawley leads the team with 14 goals. Junior goalkeeper Dulcie Davies has 6 shutouts and has allowed a stingy 0.71 goals against average. Junior defender Jessica Chisholm has 4 game-winning goals. The midfield has done an incredible job retaining possession and every player who comes in off the bench makes a difference.

With seven seniors on the team, and this being the first senior class that head coach Tara Danielson has coached all the way through their four years, this team has the motivation they need to make a run at the championship. While many teams coming from the 60 degree California “winter” may be daunted with the prospect of a late November game in Storrs, Connecticut, this is not uncharted territory for the Cardinal. They’ve already been to Connecticut this season. And won, driving home a 3-1 victory against the then No. 2 Huskies.

So though the tournament may throw distance, weather, and a top-10 opponent at the Cardinal in the very first round, they are ready. This is their year.

( Great job, Carlie! We'll respectfully disagree and we see the Cards sending the Cardinal back home tomorrow.) 

YOU CAN WATCH THE LIVE STREAM OF THE GAME HERE:

LOUISVILLE VS STANFORD

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VOLLEYBALL GETS ROAD WIN

Louisville Volleyball got back on the winning track with a sweep of Clemson at Clemson Friday night. The Cards downed the Tigers 31-29, 25-22, 25-22. 

Middle blocker Tess Clark had 15 kills and a block to lead the University of Louisville to a 31-29, 25-22, 25-22 win over ACC foe Clemson in ACC volleyball action in Clemson, S.C. " Bottom line tonight was that we passed so well which enabled our setter, Katie George, to run a diverse offense. Our middles were on fire tonight and we were also able to get the ball to Janelle Jenkins who was very effective tonight. Katie's five aces and Lyndsay Palmer's two were key in getting us separation in a very tight match." The Cardinals evened their ACC record at 7-7 and improved to 15-11 overall. UofL hit .273 with three blocks and eight aces, led by Katie George's five. Maya McClendon added 14 kills and Janelle Jenkins had 11kills and 11 digs for a double-double. Clemson was paced by Kristin Faust's 17 kills. The first set was a see-saw battle where neither team could get a foothold. The Cards fought off three Clemson set points and then scored the winning point on an ace by Tara Gowan. Middle blocker Tess Clark had six kills to pace the Cards. The Cards had a 15-9 lead early in the second set. The Tigers doggedly chased the Cards, coming to within four at 23-19 and held off set point four times before a kill by Janelle Jenkins gave the Cards the 25-22 win.  In the third set after tying at 10, Uof L held a slim lead until Katie George served for three straight points to get to set point at 24-19. Once again Clemson fought off set point three times before falling 25-22 in the third. The Cardinals head to Wake Forest for a 7 p.m. matchup tomorrow evening in Winston-Salem. (Thanks to UofL SID for the write up) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Even Scratch the Wildcat mascot wants to hear what we have to say on CCRH !! We'll be talking WBB, Field Hockey, Volleyball and much more on today's CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR on WCHQ 100.9 FM at 11 a.m. If you can't pick up the signal, we're still available for listening at  www.crescenthillradio.com We also have a great interview with Field Hockey coach Justine Sowry discussing today's game against Stanford and audio from Jeff Walz...talking about the 2015 WBB signing class.  YO PAULIE! ... .. .