No Passing Fancy -- Kordes looks to solve Volleyball woes...Monday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Falls to Virginia in Five sets

The art of passing...in its various forms...can make the difference between winning and losing in quite a few of the sports that the University of Louisville women and men participate in. 


We'll start with the obvious. If Bobby Petrino's quarterback isn't passing the ball effectively, the Gridiron Cards chances of getting the "W" goes down significantly. Turn to women's basketball...if Bria, Jude, Mariya or any of Walz's players aren't making the correct and proper passes while on offense, it drags down the efficiency of the offense's chance to score. 

Ask Justine Sowry, Kellie Young or Karen Ferguson Dayes how important passing is when their turf runners are trying to set up a goal. 

Don't ask Volleyball's Anne Kordes, though...it seems to be a hot button issue these days and a topic that probably isn't her favorite to talk about:

"...our passing has been our Achilles heel this entire season. Our blocking, serving and defense are good but we have to control that first contact. It is all mental...so we need to get over it in a hurry..." 

Passing is the first step in a usual three-step process in trying to score on the opposition. It is not so much an actual pass...but control of the ball coming over the net. A good pass allows a setter the ability to set up an outside or middle hitter a "kill" or spike opportunity against the defense on the other side of the net. 

Now graduated Caitlin Welch was an excellent passer. It has been a process for the Wide Net Cards to find a suitable replacement. Katie George, who is usually responsible for that crucial second hit or set for the Cards, has to be credited for tracking down a lot of less-than-perfect passes...but the easier that the initial hit is to track down makes for an easier and more effective distribution to the net players. 

Just as an errant snap in a football team's offense in football makes the quarterback, punter or placekick holders' job more difficult...a wayward or errant pass in volleyball puts the attack at a decided disadvantage. 

In a 27-25, 13-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-12 loss to the Cavs yesterday the Cards got "aced" nine times. The loss dropped Louisville to 14-9 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. 

Make sure and catch Worldwide's podcast yesterday for a review of both the Syracuse and Virginia games...great commentary and analysis from a devout student of the sport... 

paulie
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