LOUISVILLE VOLLEYBALL ESCAPES SOUTH BEND WITH WIN
The action was fast and furious last night in South Bend, IN on the Notre Dame campus as Louisville Volleyball came back to win the fifth set and take a 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10 over the Irish.
Melanie McHenry's 20 kills led the way for the Cards ...who also got 13 kills from Tess Clark in the victory...which kept Louisville in third place in the ACC race...1/2 game behind NC State and Pittsburgh. The Cards are 15-6 on the season and 9-2 in conference.Louisville had a rough start in game one...falling behind UND 9-2 early. Four early attack errors were costly to the Cards. They fought back, though, and a Jasmine Bennett kill drew the visitors back within one at 12-11. Louisville would tie the match at 13-13 and take a 17-15 lead on a Tess Clark steamer...capping off a 15-6 Cards run. The Irish took a timeout when UofL increased the lead to 20-17 and the Cards reciprocated with a action-stopper whe UNC drew with two at 23-21. A McHenry kill and Irish hitting error put this one in the "W" column for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad 25-22.
The second set was a close affair early, with the teams tied at 5-5 and 7-7. Louisville grabbed a 14-12 lead after an errant Notre Dame kill attempt and pushed that out to 17-12 after the home team committed a blocking error. The "Damers" came back, though and got within three at 19-16...necessitating a Cardinal stoppage of action to talk it over. The strategy paid off as the Cards finished the set on a 5-1 run to win by eight.
The Cards started the fourth set slowly and fell behind 6-0. Another UofL timeout to control the barrage but the Irish were still en fuego. Two McHenry kills got the Cards within five at 10-5...but the Cards would get no closer the rest of the way...falling by the same score as the third set....25-18. Louisville had lost their earlier momentum and the Irish were fired up and seemingly riding the wave...appearing ready to take the final set and the match.
It didn't happen.
A clutch win by the Cards on the road. Louisville returns home to the friendly confines of Cardinal Arena to face league co-leaders Pittsburgh on Friday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for this one (go to TICKETMASTER to review what's left seating wise) and the match will be shown on the ACC Network Extra if you're unable to attend.
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DO OR DIE TIME FOR LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER
The scenario is pretty simple for Karen Ferguson Dayes' kickers tonight in Raleigh, NC against the NC State Wolfpack. A Cardinal win assures them a berth in the ACC women's soccer tournament. A tie makes an appearance dicey and a loss could eliminate UofL from the post-regular season action and end their season. The Cards are tied for eighth place in the ACC standings with Clemson at 3-4-2 in league competition. They own a season-win over the Tigers...so they would take any tie-breaker scenario...but Boston College lurks behind the duo with a 3-5-1 record (10 points) and owns a regular season win over the Cards 2-0.The B.C. Eagles have a trip to last place Pitt tonight and Clemson entertains sixth-place Florida State tonight in their "boiled peanut" territory.
Louisville has their work cut out for them against the Wolfpack. NC State is tied for fourth in the ACC and is on a four-game win streak. Louisville comes into the contest after two straight, double-overtime 0-0 ties.
Difficult..yes, but not impossible. With the efficiency of the Cards defense lately, one has to think that if the Cards can manage at least one goal, they'll secure their entry in the ACC Tournament.
Good luck "Kick and Score" Cards tonight in the regular season finale. This one will be available on the ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.
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CONGRATS TO ERIN !
University of Louisville field hockey alum Erin McCrudden has been selected to the USA Field Hockey roster for the FIH Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final as announced by U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Janneka Schopma on Oct. 16th. Erin, who ended her senior season for the Cards in 2016, was one of 18 players selected to travel to Auckland, NZ
While playing for UofL, McCrudden earned 2016 second team All-American honors. She led the ACC and was second in the nation her senior season with 18 assists. Always a fun interview...the Yorktown Heights, N.Y. native played basketball, field hockey and soccer in high school and figured she'd play basketball in college until "she stopped growing" and ended up 'five-foot something'.
Erin-go-stick!
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FINALLY...
I'm 99% sure I wasn't at the Bama vs. Vols football game (unless a 3rd dimension transference of body occured) but the guy sitting between the two standing guys kinda looks like a short-haired, slighty fatter version of me.
Uh, oh. U got some 'splaining' to do, Paulie...
paulie
xxxxx
Great win by Volleyball last night and nice write up Paulie. Notre Dame had the "mo" and made it tough on Louisville but Dani has built a team that doesn't give up! Love that!
ReplyDeleteNick O.
A tough way for women's soccer to end the season. They've never been in the ACC Tournament and when was the last time they played in the NCAA Tournament? 2013, when they had Charlyn Corral and Christine Exeter? And lost to Illinois State? In old Cardinal Park?
ReplyDeleteI love soccer at UofL and the wonderful job Ken Lolla has done but I think it's time Karen Ferguson Dayes starts looking for a new job.
Donald
Brooks, KY
I gotta respectfully disagree here. The ACC is a much tougher WSOC conference than the BIG East or AAC was. Louisville has a strong class of freshmen (Kouzelos, Dewey, L'Esperance, Rouse, Ekic, Kervin, Batson, Everett and Anderson) plus a very skilled sophomore class (Nelson, Hodzic, Ferraro, McKinney, Feola, Florek, Rivers and Whitfield). The juniors have contributed and there are only five seniors on the roster...five good one, mind you...in Bjerke, Price, Dickerman, Bell and Cohen.
DeleteCoach KFD is rebuilding and has a strong nucleus returning. Throw out the inexplicable loss to Boston College and the Cards are in the ACC Tournament.
KFD has also changed the culture and the attitude on the team...for the better. This is a truly united team and works toward one goal as a unit, not harping on individual stats, performances and numbers.
Nowhere near ready to toss KFD under the bus. I expct next year to be a great one for UofL WSOC and they WILL be a force to reckon with in the ACC. Injuries and other circumstances really hurt the Cards lineup this year and the freshmen were really relied on. That experience WILL pay off.
Go Cards,
Paulie
Cards are #67 in the RPI. Maybe they still have a chance of sneaking in the NCAA Tourney. On the bubble? After all, they were 9-7-2 which was a win better than last year. Staying optimistic.
ReplyDeleteBlue Lou