Field Hockey Scores Double O.T. Win at Syracuse -- Volleyball downs Virginia -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIELD HOCKEY CARDS ESCAPE AT SYRACUSE 3-2

Justine Sowry has said it time and time again. Her #10 ranked Field Hockey squad refuses to quit. For the third straight match, the Cards went into an overtime situation and won their second game in a row with a 3-2 double-overtime thriller at #15 Syracuse.

Louisville got the early lead nine minutes into action when Meche Pastor sent a cross to Katie Schneider in the box and the San Diego sophomore sent the ball into the net. That lead held until the Cuse responded on a penalty corner --their only of the half -- and Roos Weers drove a shot past the Louisville defense. 

The squads went into halftime with that 1-1 tie. Louisville had a 5-1 shot advantage and 2-1 corner edge. 

With 26 minutes left in the second half, Syracuse took the lead on another penalty corner and it was Roos Weers again with the scoring shot. Louisville needed an answer and finally got one with eight minutes left, after a review that upheld an awarded penalty corner to the Cards. Bethany Russ's initial shot was deflected but Alli Bitting was there for the bounce and stuck the ball into the net for the equalizer. 

Regulation ended with that 2-2 tie and the teams went to the 7v7 sudden victory, 10 minutes format. The Cards had two corner chances and out-shot the Orange 2-1 in the first overtime session but could not get a score. 

In the second extra session, Louisville finally got a chance with 39 second left on the clock. UofL had a penalty corner, this time it was Bitting who supplied Meche Pastor with the scoring opportunity feed and the Melbourne, Australia red-shirt sophomore made good on her attempt to give the Cards the win. She ran to the bench with hands in the air, a joyous celebration. Roos Weers threw her stick and penalty corner mask down in disgust. 

Louisville (12-4) continues the road trip with a stop at Albany on Sunday. 


VOLLEYBALL CAPTURES CAVALIERS MATCH IN FIVE

While Field Hockey was dealing with a pesky Orange squad, Louisville Volleyball was battling a determined Virginia Cavalier unit four states south in Charlottesville. The Cavs pushed the Cards to five set but UofL emerged victorious 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 15-2.

That old bugaboo -- service errors -- came back to see the Cards in the first set (Louisville produced four of them) and the home squad went on a nice run to bust open a close 16-13 game to win by seven -- getting their final point when Molly Sauer plunked a service attempt into the net. 

Game two was a back and forth chess match after Virginia managed to tie it at 14 all. From 18-18, the Cards managed to grab a 23-22 advantage and then got scores from Emily Scott and Mia Stander to grab the set. Sauer atoned for her earlier service woes with a couple of service aces in the set. 

After the break, Louisville went from a 9-7 lead to gain a 23-13 advantage behind the efforts of Piper Roe and Melanie McHenry. The Wahoo Volleyballers weren't quite ready to switch sides of the court yet, though...and ran off five unanswered point. Coach Dani sensed the need to have a chat with her squad, got a time out and the Cards emerged and turned the "Speedway Slammer" loose on UVA...McHenry getting the final two kills. 

"Vince, can you promise us we'll beat Virginia in something
if we give you this job?" 

The Cards couldn't sustain the momentum in the fourth game and trailed throughout. 11-6 turned into a 18-10 advantage for the Charlottesville jumpers and they went on to take a seven-point win. 

The deciding fifth set was all Louisville, all the time....don't go changing that dial. It was UVA's turn to hit incorrectly and seven hitting errors help the Cards go from an early 3-0 lead to a 10-2 advantage. UVA tried to regroup with a timeout but, if anything, it energized Louisville instead and the Cards took the final five points for the "double glance, did I read that right?" 15-2 match winner.

Louisville (16-4, 9-0) heads to their biggest match of the season next, on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...where they'll tangle with the undefeated Pitt Panthers in the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. Our Worldwide Jeff McAdams plans on buzzing the event in his electric car and he'll preview the event today on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. 


RADIO, RADIO...OH, HAVE YOU HEARD RADIO?

The same two knuckleheads who brought fear and terror to Mellwood Avenue last week (Paulie and Jeff) are back at it again this morning, and they bringing in the closer as well, good friend and frequent guest Daryl Foust. We're never quite sure what we're going to get when Daryl dances through the door, and that makes the broadcast all that much more fun and improvisational. 

We expect we'll hear about her new job with the ACC Network and we'll attempt to cover Field Hockey, WSOC, Volleyball, both Soccer's and try to toss in a little women's and men's hoops for seasoning. It should be a fun and busy morning. 

Give us a whirl, eh?  Head to WCHQ FM to explore your listening and viewing options or dial us up at 100.9 FM locally. 


paulie
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