Successful Sunday for WSOC, FH and VB !! -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Three squads. Three different venues. Three wins yesterday for Louisville women's athletic squads.

With a combined record of 26-5 this fall, Louisville Field Hockey, Women's Soccer and Volleyball are, to use an old phrase, "spanning the globe bringing you the constant variety of sports, the thrill of victory and the human drama of athletic competition". 

(Props to Jim McKay for an opening sequence to a show that I always enjoyed. I wonder whatever happened to that skier who "lost it"?) 


Let's take a look at where, when, and how the three got their "W"'s on Sunday. 



WSOC FLIES PAST EAGLES 2-1


We'll start in the northeast, to the scenic Boston area we go, where the Louisville women's soccer squad -- ranked 22nd nationally -- faced ACC foe Boston College and clipped the Eagles wings 2-1.

An early start (noon) for this one, something the Cards seem to be good at, having began their Friday match against Syracuse at 10 a.m.

The Cards came out firing in Beantown and Maisie Whitsett tested the B.C. defense and goalkeeper twice in the first ten minutes of the action. She was denied on both attempts to score, but set the precedent for how to attack the Eagles. 14 minutes into the contest Nadege L'Esperance started an attacking set and sent the ball to Allison Whitfied. She, in turn, set up Emina Ekic in the middle of the box with a cross and the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015-16 booted the ball over the goalkeepers head and into the net. 1-0 Cards

You know how Emina rolls, she's always looking to be part of the party, and she was part of the attack a bit later when she saw Delaney Snyder sprinting into the box with 13 minutes left in the first half. An epic Ekic pass found the streaking Snyder and her shot into the lower left side gave UofL a 2-0 advantage. 

B.C. held the 13-4 advantage in shots and a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks after 45 minutes but the score read 2-0 Louisville at the half. Gabby "the goalie" Kouzelos didn't have time to catch up on any texting in the first half, occupying herself with three saves. 

Brooklyn Rivers gave Eagles fans a scare early in the second half with a well-placed shot in frame that was barely denied by B.C. keeper. With 25 minutes to go, Gabby was called on again to deny a B.C. opportunity and she performed a miraculous save on a shot that looked to be a sure score for the Eagles. The home team was able to get on the board with two minutes to play...getting a dubious "penalty kick" awarded to them but the Cardinals were able to maintain possession after that and improved to 9-1 with the win.

A road trip the roster will probably not forget anytime soon, with a team wide illness, early start times and two ACC wins.  

Louisville WSOC comes home  for their next outing to face Wake Forest Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.


FIELD HOCKEY BLANKS THE FRIARS

Another venue, another win for the Flock. Cooking the Friars 2-0.


The penalty corners were in the Cards favor 11-2 in Providence and, by divine providence, the "Pastor" connected on one and Carter Ayars found success on a second one to give UofL Field Hockey all the scores they needed in the win over P.C. 

Hisses to Providence College for wanting to charge viewers for this event on-line. Fortunately, ol' Paulie found a way around that and watched the feed. 

Meche Pastor ended up on the shooting end of the penalty corner sequence with about three minutes left in the second quarter and, after the set by Ayars, drilled one deep into the net for the 1-0 Cardinal advantage.  Meche was also involved in the other penalty corner that yielded a goal. With about four minutes to go, her shot was deflected by Ayars successfully into the goal for the second and final score. 

Hollyn Barr seeing all 90 minutes between the pipes for the Cards but a light day for her, relatively speaking, with just two Friar shots in the four quarters and none of them on goal. The Cards had an 11-2 advantage on corner attempts and the win was the third shutout of the season for Justine Sowry's squad.

A road trip finally ends after five weeks for UofL. A road trip for the #6 Cards that took them to five states for six opponents and five wins. 

A rarity for Louisville Field Hockey (8-1-1) next.  A Friday with a night game. The #6 Cards will host #21 Wake Forest under the lights at Trager Stadium on Oct 4th. A 6 p.m. start. 

Go check the lights, Stanley. 

A revenge game? Yeah, you betcha...it was the loss to WFU in the ACC Tournament last year that, at least in my thinking, put the Cards on the wrong side of the fence for the NCAA Tournament. 

The Pastor and her congregation battle the Demon Deaconess. Bring your rosary beads and Bible. 


VOLLEYBALL COMPLETE SWEEP OF THE CAROLINAS WITH 3-1 WIN OVER UNC.

After a five set thriller Friday night in Louisville's contest against NC State, you hoped it would be a bit of an easier "go" against the 3-8 UNC squad on Sunday.



No easy time or walk in the park for the VolleyCards yesterday, though, in the "arena formerly known as Cardinal" (to quote our quirky and snarky com-padre Worldwide Jeff) but a win, nevertheless. A 3-1 set advantage over the TarHeels. (Maybe a "walk after the park" given the parking conditions for Volleyball on Floyd Street).

23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 were the set scores...Melanie McHenry with 18 kills and Emily Scott, plus Anna STEVENSON with six blocks each. 

The VolleyCards will eventually get the "setter-to-middles" scenario worked out and it'll be a joyous day in the L&N Federal Credit Union arena when they do. 

Cardinal errors ended up being the deciding factor in the first set. At 23-22, with UNC holding the advantage, two UofL miscues in a row gave the set to the Chapel Hill visitors.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair for most of the way. A 4-0 UNC run gave them a 17-15 edge before UofL called a time-out, regrouped and put together a 6-0 run to take a 21-17 advantage. The Cards maintained the four-point edge and evened the match at 1-1 with the 25-21 win.

Louisville came out energized after the half and grabbed a 11-6 edge early. UNC roared back with a 9-4 run, though, to tie the contest at 15-15. That evolved into a 20-20 and 23-23 tie.  It was UNC's turn to commit a few miscues, though, and two straight errors put this one into the win column for the Cards 25-23. 

Close sets? Sure, let's have another one in the fourth session.

 Back and forth this one went and the score was 20-20 when Dani Busboom Kelly's squad finally said "enough of this foolishness" and scored five of the next seven points to take set and match. Aiko Jones a huge part of the final set, recording seven kills for the victorious Cardinals.  

Huge moments throughout the match and mega-props to freshman outside-hitter Amber Stivrins. I'll vote in favor of seeing more court time for the Scottsdale (AZ) sensation. 

Next up, the Cards (9-3) will also play a Friday night affair on Floyd Street, engaging the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m.

Jared Anderson found a bit of time to leave his smartphone alone and snap a few photos of the action. We feature those in today's article. 


Have a marvelous Monday! 


paulie
xxxxx

Golf In Progress; Soccer, Field Hockey, and Volleyball Queued Up - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Golf in Oklahoma

The golf team is in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains.  I guess it could be worse, you can adjust your shot for the wind, but in Spain, the rain stays mainly in the plains, so that would be much worse. I've never been to Spain, but I kind of like the music. There you go, from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Lerner and Loewe to Hoyt Axton, all in one paragraph. 

Anyway, back to the task at hand.  The Schooner Classic is the event in Norman, OK (which is also the home of NOAAs National Severe Storms Laboratory, to give more importance to the discussion of rain and wind), and Cards stand in 10th place currently, which is a drop from the 6th place position they held after Friday's action.

Delaney Shah did her part for yesterdays round, shooting a 4 under par for the round yesterday on the par 70 course.  The 4 under part was the 2nd best round of golf in the tournament so far, and it brings Shah into a tied with Lauren Hartlage in 18th place.

We discussed the golf squad yesterday on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  The report from Coach Whitney Young was that the team, by and large, needed to catch up to Lauren Hartlage and they'd do quite well.  I offered the cautious observation (not having followed our golf squad closely) that occasionally some of the other players do considerablybetter than Hartlage, but they don't do so at all consistently.  Yesterday's results, I think, lend some credence to that observation with Delaney Shah considerably bettering Hartlage's score for the day, but only just catching up to Hartlage's consistency in the overall event.

The Schooner Classic (baring rains or high winds, and there is a bit of a chance for rain in the forecast for Norman, today, though not very great), will conclude today. Maybe "Boomer Sooner" residents would share that rain with the residents of our "sun shines bright" state, which is in drought conditions. 

Soccer, Field Hockey, and Volleyball Today

Soccer comes off a good win in Syracuse, but on shorter rest than expected after a team illness of suspected food poisoning delayed Thursday's game to Friday morning.  You can check out Case's excellent coverage of that in yesterday's edition, of course, if you haven't read it yet.

They are in Chestnut Hill (or is it Newton, we never really know up there) in Boston to take on pretty dern good BC team.  The Eagles are 8-1-1 with their only loss coming in a scorefest against FSU in Tallahassee by a score of 5-4.  The draw came against Providence, with a 1-1 score after regulation and overtime periods.

Field Hockey is also in New England at the aforementioned Providence in Rhode Island.  The Friars are 5-3 on the season, though not with the strong strength of schedule that the Cards have played.  They do have a win over a not-inconsequential Temple squad.  They also have a 5-4 OT win over Maine.

Of course, having mentioned the Maine and Temple Field Hockey teams, I think it's fair game to shoot another glare at Kent State for their awful decision making in cutting the neutral site game between the Owls and Black Bear in order to set up fireworks for a football game an hour and a half later.

Volleyball will also be in action today, with 1 p.m. first serve against North Carolina.  UNC was picked to finish 5th in the ACC, nothing shabby there, but so far, they haven't looked to live up to those expectations, with an overall record of 3-8 on the season.  With losses to UNLV, Miami (OH), Michigan State, and VCU, they seem to be underachieving for the year so far.  Earlier losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota are certainly excusable, and dropping a decision against Cal can even be everlooked if you squint hard enough.


 UNC's conference opener, Friday, was against Notre Dame, and while the Tarheels were swept in that one, they were close sets, 25-23, 26-24, 25-20.  There are very few teams in the ACC this year which can just be ignored, but as long as the Cards squad shows up and plays the game we know they're capable of, this one should fall in the win column for the home team.  First serve is 1 p.m. at L&N Arena nee Cardinal Arena, on campus.

Tennis is also apparently in action in Indiana this weekend, but I have seen exactly nothing in updates about that squad, so I have no information to report there at all.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

There were challenges for yesterday's edition of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.

Case, Paulie, and I were in studio.  After Case spent much of Friday at the Louder than Life Festival, and I spent much of the week nursing a bit of a head cold, you'll have to excuse us if the show sounded like Paulie carrying on a conversation with a couple of frogs.

I think we did have some really good discussions about the news of the week, and managed to cover the active week in results and other big news.

Check out the Facebook Live recording for recaps of Volleyball, Soccer, and Field Hockey, a bit of a discussion about the Golf squad, as mentioned above, and some analysis and consideration of the news that the Elizabeths, Bologun and Dixon, both transferring in to the squad, were issued waivers by the NCAA and will be eligible to play this year.

LINK:  https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/523374471542669/

-- 

JMcA

Cards Sweep Friday -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Soccer Rebounds from UNC Loss, Beats 'Cuse 3-0

After suffering their first loss of the season last Saturday night, the Louisville women's soccer team hit the road for the first time since the opening game of the season. This weekend, the Cards headed to the northeast to take on Syracuse and Boston College to open their conference road schedule. The Cards faced their first hiccup before ever stepping foot on the field in Syracuse. Thursday evening, prior to the scheduled 6PM kick, an e-mail was sent out explaining that the team was suffering from a team-wide illness and that the game would be postponed to Friday morning. Though Syracuse has struggled this year, a team full of players recovering from food poisoning (the presumed culprit) did not inspire a ton of confidence for a strong effort.

Louisville proved me wrong. The Cards rolled out the primary starting lineup, showing that even if everyone wasn't fully recovered, thy were certainly going to go for it. Delaney Snyder got Louisville into business with their first goal less than two minutes into the game. Louisville had taken control of the game early, already earning a free kick deep in the offensive third, but the goal came on a bit of buildup play, with a through ball finding Snyder just barely onside (she looked off to me but the camera angle wasn't good). Snyder dribbled across the top of the box and deftly sent a ground ball into the opposite side of the net. Cards led 1-0.

Later in the half, it was a pair of subs that played add on. Louisville subbed quite a bit yesterday, perhaps showing that not everyone was fully recovered from their illness the night before. In this moment, it was Maisie Whitsett and Corinne Dente doing work for the Cards. In a similar situation to Snyder's goal, Dente found herself getting behind on a through ball from Whitsett. Just like Snyder, she settled herself and found the back of the net. It was Dente's first career collegiate goal (news flash to the Syracuse announcers and the women's soccer twitter, a freshman's first goal of the season is going to be their first career goal), and I get the feeling it won't be the last.

Louisville's final goal came much later in the second half, as Emina Ekic was determined to restart her points streak. Prior to the North Carolina game, Ekic had scored a point in every game except for the Ohio State game. That's a pretty impressive streak, and as long as she is finding ways to affect the offense, Louisville will continue to earn opportunities. Ekic's goal in this one was unstoppable, as her 76th minute shot rose to the upper left corner and was completely out of reach. Ekic's ability to score, assist, and draw fouls is what makes her a Hermann Award watch list player and it's what drives this team. It may be a little early to look at that award list, but with just a month left in the regular season, it will be time for the list to shrink soon. Ekic affects the game in so many ways, including those that show up on the stat sheet, but for those recordable stats, Emina's best is probably points per game. With five goals and four assists through nine games, Ekic currently sits tied for 67th at 1.56 points per game. That mark happens to be tied for fifth in the conference. Ekic is not likely to appear at the top of the list nationally, but she's only a few points behind the top points earner in arguably the top conference in the country. She's doing alright.

Louisville is back in action with what is a quicker turnaround than normal due to the schedule shift. The Cards will take on Boston College tomorrow at noon in Chestnut Hill. The game, like most, will be available on ACC Network Extra. Tune in to see if the Cards can continue to get back to their winning ways and earn their way back to the top half of the conference table. The Cards and Eagles are currently tied at 3 points, with BC sitting at 8-1-1 on the season compared to Louisville's 8-1-0. It should be a good match.

Field Hockey is Huge After Half Against BC

Continuing their trend of playing teams right around the same time as soccer, Louisville field hockey was in Massachusetts yesterday to take on the Eagles of Boston College. The Cards currently find themselves ranked sixth, and since they were playing in a conference game, you can be sure they were in a ranked matchup. This time around, Boston College is ranked 17th, right on the fringe of what might make the tournament this season. In a road match against a tough team, Louisville showed a bit of fight, despite going down early.

The Cards actually made two comebacks in this game, trailing 1-0 for nearly 25 minutes and then 2-1 for just over two minutes. The two teams scored four combined goals in the third quarter in under five minutes, in what was a wild swing for the fans in the stadium. Louisville's goals came from Bethany Russ, already her 8th this year, Margot Lawn (3), and Madison Walsh (4). All three were goals scored by taking advantage of big opportunities. Russ scored on a reserve shot after her shot was illegally blocked. Lawn did what makes everyone happy by converting a corner. Her shot was technically not on the corner, but was a rebound after the initial corner attack. However, since it was all one play, I'm counting it. Finally, Walsh's goal was an open play goal, as she knocked in a goal after her shot was originally saved. 

All three Louisville goals show different skill sets and different abilities to get on goal. A diverse scoring offense is key to not getting stymied by a strong team that can limit specific areas. Also important was the mental fortitude shown by Louisville to come back twice as I mentioned earlier. The Cards didn't give up throughout the first half, and put their halftime coaching to the test by getting a quick goal. After conceding quickly to trail again, a weaker team might get a bit deflated. Louisville instead scored a pair of goals in a pair of minutes to flip the script. 

Louisville's defense should also get a shout. Giving up two goals is not great, but when your team scores three, your only job is to give up fewer than three. Remember that this was a road game against a good team, and one of the goals came on a corner which are always challenging to defend. Perhaps surprisingly, Hollyn Barr went the distance in goal for the Cards, earning one save to go with her two goals allowed. If this was the test to see if she would be taking a stranglehold on the goalkeeping position, I can't say she locked it down. We'll see if Sam Minrath sees her way back into the net soon.

Louisville remains on the road for their next match and, like women's soccer, they'll stay in the northeast. Field hockey will take on the Providence Friars tomorrow at 1PM. This one won't be on ACCNX, but there is a watch link listed that takes you to a video player. Not sure if it's free or paid, but be sure to tune in to watch another good Louisville team.

Volleyball Goes Five in Win Over NC State

For the second match in a row, the Louisville volleyball team needed a fifth set to secure a win, as they did so last night in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena over the Wolfpack of NC State. Like field hockey, volleyball earned their win with multiple comebacks, losing the first and third sets and getting strong victories in the second and fourth to force a decider. 

After starting pretty hot, Louisville's hitting actually trailed off consistently through the third, fourth, and fifth sets. Fortunately for the Cards, so did NC State's. Louisville finished the match with a respectable, but not lovable, 0.254 hitting percentage compared to the Wolfpack's 0.150. The Cards earned more aces (5-4) and dominated in blocks, outblocking the Wolfpack 15-6. Anna Stevenson led the way on blocks, with 2 solo and 5 assisted. Emily Scott had a solo and five assists as well, and even Tori Dilfer got in on the block party with 5 assisted blocks. Dilfer also earned a career high in assists as she picked up 54 of the team's 61 assists in the match.

Leading the way offensively was a familiar name, as Melanie McHenry crushed 29 kills on 61 attempts with just 8 errors for a cool 0.344. I'm thinking she's back. Aiko Jones and Emily Scott effectively tied McHenry as they picked up a combined 29 kills with 7 errors on 68 attempts with 0.308 and 0.345 hitting percentages, respectively. 

Though perhaps not the cleanest win for the Cards against a struggling NC State team that is now 5-8 on the season, no one can complain about a victory in the conference opener. Louisville will have their hands full as they try to keep pace with Pittsburgh and Florida State in the title race, and every win counts. The Cards will be back in action, just like everyone else, tomorrow at 1PM against North Carolina. This match is at home, so if you can make it out, head on over to the Arena Formerly Known as Cardinal. As a home match, it will also be available on ACC Network Extra. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We're back in the studio once more for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this week. Jared is banking and Daryl wants to get to Louder than Life when the gates open, so Paulie, Jeff, and I will man the mics. Jeff may be there in name only, though, as he fights voice issues, and I'll try not to sound like a frog after the first night of LtL yesterday. We'll have plenty of game action throughout the week to talk about as well as important women's basketball news to cover. Tune in to WCHQ FM at 11 AM to listen along. WCHQ is available at 100.9FM, the WCHQ App, wchqfm.com, or on Facebook Live.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

WBB Eligibility News -- Weekend Scheduling and Schedule Change -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

E and Liz Are Eligible!

The news we've been waiting for over the last six months has finally been officially released.  When I say "it feels like forever and a day" I'm not entirely wrong.

Liz Dixon and Elizabeth Balogun have both been ruled eligible for the upcoming season.  The duo come from a messy situation at Georgia Tech and have three years of eligibility remaining.

Balogun is a 6'1'' guard and was named ACC Freshman of the Year last year.  She led the Yellow Jackets in scoring and post six 20-point games.  She is a three-point threat. Her clearance gives UofL a very strong option from "the deep". 

Dixon is a 6'5" forward and was named to the All-ACC Freshman team.  She led the team in rebounds with 192 and was third on the team in scoring.

"They are incredible young women, both on and off the court, and they already have a year of experience in the ACC, which is a huge plus.  Adding them really helps our depth," said Jeff Walz.

The duo will play a big role in helping fill the shoes of departed Asia Durr, Arica Carter, and Sam Fuehring.

I'll leave some space for Paulie to add his expertise on the great news.




(EDITOR COMMENTS) This addition of a very capable guard and strong inside presence makes the Walz fortress even stronger and gives the Cards incredible depth inside and out on the court. If this doesn't make the Cards the pre-season favorite to win the ACC, then there are a lot of either blind or jealous voters out there. 

E and Liz are huge additions and will help fill the gaps nicely that the graduation of "the terrific three" created. 

I'll watch with interest on how the coaching staff uses the ocean of talent now on the roster. Scoring, rebounding, depth and defense are now present over on the left side of the Floyd Street practice facility. The building should probably be re-named" Fort Knox - North", because Walz has a wealth of valuable riches inside the structure. 

Paulie
xxxxx

Women's Soccer Postpones

No soccer to report on as the game scheduled for last night did not happen.  An unfortunate incident involving several Louisville players came up as they found themselves ill.  Luckily, nothing seems to be severe but it was enough to rule the team unable to play.

They rescheduled for this morning at 10:00 a.m.  Let's hope everyone is good to go for the match.

Syracuse is 2-4-1 on the year and the Cards are expected to walk away with three points in the end.

Louisville leads the series all-time 5-0-1.  Last year, Brooklynn Rivers scored with nine seconds remaining in regulation to get the win, 1-0.

A sequence of the game winner from last year.....

Weekend Scheduling

Friday

As previously mentioned, women's soccer will play this morning at 10:00.  It will be aired on ACC Network Extra.

Women's Tennis heads north to Bloomington to compete in the Indiana Invitational Hoosier Classic.  The teams participating include Louisville, Indiana, Western Michigan, Xavier, Wright State, Cincinnati, Marquette, Miami (OH), Bowling Green, and Middle Tennessee.  Singles begins at 10:00 with doubles starting around 2:30.

Women's Golf heads out to Big 12 country to participate in the Schooner Fall Classic.  They'll go up against #2 Texas, #13 Florida State, #19 Illinois, #25 Alabama, Oklahoma, Baylor, Clemson, Houston, Miami, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, TCU, Texas A&M, and Texas State.  A neat thing about this event is that it is one of the only collegiate women's golf tournaments to be televised on national tv- Fox Sports Southwest and Fox College Sports Central.

Field Hockey will go up against Boston College at 4:00 p.m., in Chestnut Hill.  The #6 Cards look to bounce back after falling to top-ranked UNC last week.

Volleyball is home in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena to kick off conference play.  They'll take on NC State at 7:00.  Catch myself and Worldwide at the match.  No Ms. Wuf in attendance to accompany her 5-7 squad.

Men's Soccer also plays NC State but they kick off at 7:30 at Lynn Stadium.

Not listed on the master schedule but worth mentioning is Louisville Live- a basketball hype event hosted at Fourth Street Live!, that features both the men's and women's basketball teams.  It's similar to the Big Blue Madness hosted by Matthew Mitchell and John Calipari.  I like ours better.  Sorry, Guv.

Saturday

Women's Tennis moves onto Day Two of the Indiana Invitational Hoosier Classic and it will go all day.

Women's Golf will continue play in the Schooner Fall Classic.

Softball travels to Lexington for a double header against Kentucky in some fall ball action.  They start at noon.

Sunday

Women's Tennis will wrap up play in Bloomington, IN.

Women's Golf wraps up play in Norman, OK.

Women's Soccer has an early kickoff in Boston College, kicking off at noon- a quick turnaround from Friday morning's match.

Field Hockey steps out of conference play for a match at Providence.  Sitting at 4-3, Providence has been having a down year.

Volleyball hosts North Carolina at 1:00.  The Tar Heels are currently 3-7 on the year.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

Interview with Kasa Robinson -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

KASA ROBINSON INTERVIEW

A chance to interview one of the sophomores who came into the program last season and made an immediate impact on the 2018-19 Louisville women's basketball squad. 

Mykasa "Kasa" Robinson is known for her speed, defensive abilities and overall hustle. She's also a joke teller, as you'll hear in our exclusive interview with her. A smile that comes very easily and naturally, devoted to her faith and a young woman who chose the Cards over Michigan State, Kentucky, Ohio State, Dayton, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and her older sister's school -- Colorado. 

Cardinal fans will remember her performance from last year when she entered the North Carolina State game with about five minutes left in the first half and the Cards trailing 32-22. She and the team when on a 22-2 run the remainder of the half to take a 44-34 lead to the locker room. She brought the spark and the defense Louisville needed. 

Kasa talks about her sister, Alexis, who just played her senior season at Colorado and discusses this season for the Cards. She also shares one of her most embarrassing moments on the court. 

We discussed a great many things in the interview linked up below. W hope you enjoy it !

LINK:  KASA ROBINSON INTERVIEW


( A SPECIAL THANKS TO NICK EVANS, LOUISVILLE WBB SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR FOR ARRANGING THIS INTERVIEW AND PHOTO OF KASA BESTING PAULIE ) 


Have a tremedous Thursday !

paulie
xxxxx

WBB ACC Slate Announced -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Basketball Announces ACC Schedule

Ah, basketball season is near upon us.  Just over two months until the Cards kick off the season against Western Kentucky.

Yesterday, Louisville announced the 18-game conference schedule for the 2019-2020 season.

The biggest change is the expansion of conference play by upping the schedule from 16 games to 18 games.  After UofL beat UConn last season Jeff Walz was asked if the two rivals would face each other again.  Not willing to give up his now one bye week instead of the old two weeks he said that they would have to play before the New Year to make it happen, hinting at the importance of his sole bye week would be.

A full and talented roster.  Although the loss of Sam Fuehring, Asia Durr and Arica Carter is significant,  the Cards should have multiple options this season at each spot on the court -- compared to a rather thin bench of just five "able-to-go" players last year. It could be a roster of 16, depending on the eligibility clearance of Georgia Tech transfers of Elizabeth Balogun and Liz Dixon.

After facing UT Martin on the road on Dec.19th, UofL will have 10 days in between games and the start of the ACC slate.


THE ACC SLATE

Conference play begins right before the end of the calendar year as Syracuse comes into town on Dec. 29.

They hit the road immediately after for a Jan. 2 game against Clemson.

Louisville returns home on Jan. 5 to take on Duke.

Jan. 9 will be a road game against Miami.

Continuing the back-and-forth trend, the Cards return home once again on Jan. 12 for a game against Wake Forest.

Their first multi-game road trip will be in mid-January as they travel to Boston College on Jan. 16 and North Carolina on Jan. 19.

Louisville has a mini home-stand near the end of the month with games against Virginia and Pitt on Jan. 23 and Jan. 26, respectively.

Finishing off the month, Louisville heads to South Bend in a showdown against Notre Dame on Jan. 30.

Florida State comes to town on Feb. 6.

The Cards hit the road for another multi-game road trip on Feb. 9 and Feb. 13 against Syracuse and NC State.

The Irish of Notre Dame visit the KFC Yum! Center on Feb. 16 for a rematch from two and a half weeks earlier in the season.

The final road trip will be at Georgia Tech and Pitt on Feb. 20 and Feb. 23.

Louisville ends the regular season at home against Boston College on Feb. 27 and Senior Day against Virginia Tech on March 1. ACC Tournament play in Greensboro, NC starts March 4th. Hopefully the Cards won't take the court until March 6th.

-- The Cards face Boston College, Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse twice.  In the past they have faced two teams twice a year.

-- 14 of the 18 games will be televised nationally or on a regional tv network.  The other four games (@ Clemson Jan. 2, vs Wake Forest Jan. 12, @ Boston College Jan. 16, @ Pitt Feb. 25) will be aired on ACC Network Extra.

-- Louisville went 14-2 in conference play last year with the losses coming against Notre Dame and Miami.  Since joining the conference Louisville is 68-12 (.850).

You can always get your latest UofL WBB news and coverage right here at Cardinal Couple.

Although we cover all of UofL's women's sports, women's basketball tends to be our most popular sport among readers and viewers.  We will have live in person coverage for all home games and will try to even make it out to a few road games as well (hint: possibly Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, ACC Tournament, among others).

Stay tuned as Paulie continues to interview our different women's basketball players. The upcoming Thursday interview is with sophomore guard from Ashland, KY Mykasa "Kasa" Robinson. 




Rankings


Despite their only game this week being a loss to top-ranked North Carolina, Louisville Field Hockey
moved up one spot in the polls to #6.

Women's Soccer also had just one game this past week, coincidentally also against the Tar Heels.  Still, the Cards made it into the rankings at #22 in the Coaches Poll.

Volleyball suffered a three-set loss at Kentucky before winning a five-set thriller at Cincinnati.  Unfortunately, they took a step back and fell out of the Top 25.  They are at #26 though!

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

ESPNW'S CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS -- WOMEN'S GOLF FUNDRAISER -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

ESPN'S CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS COMES TO LOUISVILLE

Last night, on campus in the Student Activities Center Ballroom, the University of Louisville was host to ESPN CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS. The enrichment program is designed for women student-athletes and has a main purpose of preparing them for success after graduation.

An overflowing crowd for the event heard several speakers who began around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

ESPN has teamed up with different athletic departments over the past few years for the event and it was UofL's turn last night to host the ongoing activity. 

The event was moderated by ESPN'S Sarah Spain. Sarah is a ESPN sports reporter who serves as a ESPNW columnist, ESPN radio host and SportsCenter reporter.

The panelists were excellent. 

Jenna Ahern, UofL field hockey great who also founded and is CEO of Guardian Owl Digital, Dr. Lecia Brown, who excelled at track and volleyball at UofL and is currently a research and developer for pharmaceutical giant GSK, Kelly McClain, another Cardinal Volleyball star who now is a vice-president in Wealth Management at Fifth/Third Bank and Amy Rosenfeld, senior producer for ESPN. 

Vince Tyra and Dr. Neeli Bendaputi also spoke to the attendees. 

The panel discussion, which started around 7 p.m., was one of the highlights of the evening. Plenty of student-athletes from all women's sports programs at UofL were in attendance for last night's seminar. 

Life beyond graduation can be a daunting thing. Anyone who has ever had any doubts about it, though, got some very sound and usable advice from a blue-ribbon panel of women who have met the challenge and excelled. We refer to those who give their all to sports on the Belknap Campus as athletes...but the preface "student" is just as an important description to what they are and that should never be forgotten. 


TEE IT UP

Looking for a little Friday afternoon fun? A chance to play the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville? Well, then...you need to be a part of the Louisville women's golf fundraiser !!

It's a 5-person scramble, where each foursome is paired with a current or former UofL golfer. 

As a donor, alumni or friend of Cardinal Golf, you are crucial to their success and we highly recommend you join them for a fun afternoon to celebrate one of the Cards best seasons and squads.

Save the date October 4th. for the event !!  

Registration begins at 3 p.m., tee off at 3:30 p.m and ends with a Card Carnival followed by a dinner and awards. 

Fundraiser packages: 

L PACKAGE ($50) -- A single dinner package and admission to Card Carnival

BLACK PACKAGE ($100)  -- Tee gift and a hole sponsorship

RED PACKAGE ($200) -- One entry in Gold Scramble, Dinner and admission to Card Carnival...plus tee gift. 

LOUISVILLE FIRST PACKAGE ($800). A golf scramble foursome, dinner, admission to Card Carnival for four...plus hole sponsorship and tee gift. 



Higher $$$ amounts also available, check with director of operations for Louisville golf Erin Horn :

Call 502.852.4572 or e-mail to:  erin@GoCards.com


There is also a "There in Spirit" donation category, where you can send any amount. Help celebrate Lauren Hartlage's senior season !!  

Come out to the ULGC for an afternoon of golf !!



Make your checks payable to: 

University of Louisville women's golf 

Send them to: 

UofL Women's Golf
1670 S. Floyd Street
Louisville, KY  40208

You can also contribute by credit card, a secure payment available on line at: 

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/uofl/EN/link/buy/details/19wgfund



(WE HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT THERE!) 

Call Erin Horn, director of operations for Louisville Golf, at 502.852.4572 or e-mail: erin@GoCards.com  for more information or details. 

Have a terrific Tuesday!

paulie
xxxxx

Volleyball survives in five at Cincy -- Women's Golf at Franklin -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS OVERCOME JORDAN THOMPSON'S 41 KILLS TO WIN

It was a spike-fest in Cincinnati yesterday, the Louisville Volleyball team winning in five sets 25-18, 27-29, 25-23, 24-26 and 15-13 against a unwilling-to-quit Bearcat squad. 

Louisville (7-3) weathered the ferocious attack of Cincy senior Jordan Thompson and her 41 kills, countered with a career-high 30 kills from Melanie McHenry and took the battle of I-71 in their final non-conference match of the regular season. 

One wondered how UofL would bounce back from the three-set drubbing in Lexington Friday night from UK. The Cards appeared to have shaken that defeat off in the first set, pushing a 13-11 lead to 19-11 behind the steady serving of Aiko Jones. The Bearcats would get no closer than seven the rest of the first set and McHenry's six kills led Louisville to the 25-18 set win. 

UC wasn't ready to toss in the towel, however. 

The Thompson-led Bearcats kept UC close in set two, took a 11-10 lead and led 23-22 before a Cardinal timeout. No one had amassed more than a three-point lead in the set and the Cards held a 25-24 lead before UC scored twice and eventually grabbed the victory 29-27 behind Thompson's powerful arm. 

The Cardinal emerged from the break very strong and dominated early third set action at 7-3 before the Queen City spikers forced their way back to a 12-12 tie. A 5-2 run pushed Louisville back into the lead after a Cardinal timeout. UC, though, battled back to even things up at 18-18. Tori Dilfer's service ace gave UofL some breathing room at 21-19 and McHenry kills were responsible for the Cards 23rd and 24th points. A UC hitting error end the wild third set at 25-23 in favor of Coach Dani Busboom's Cards.

Once again, the Bearcats weren't ready to surrender. 

Cincinnati was the aggressor in set four and forged to an early 11-8 advantage before the Cards got a timeout and returned to the floor. UofL steadied the ship at 11-11 and completed the 7-0 run to soar to a 15-11 edge. It was the Bearcats turn to snap off a streak and they did just that to tie the set at 18-18. UC would continue the assault behind Thompson and she got them to set-point with two straight kills at 22-24. The Cards responded with a Jones kill to even it up at 24-24, but UC called on Thompson again...she delivered a kill and the Cards had a hitting error to give the Bearcats the 26-24 set win. 

To the fifth set we go. 

Using Thompson's incredible swing, the Bearcats battled Louisville with intensity and the teams were knotted at 12-12 before McHenry delivered a kill for a Cardinal edge at 13-12. UC committed a hitting error to give the Cards a two point lead, but here came Thompson again, with a resounding kill, to make it 14-13. It was Emily Scott providing the winner for UofL, delivering a kill that UC couldn't respond to...the Bearcats helplessly watching a dig attempt fall silently to the floor in open space. 


The frenzied crowd of around 1000 sat in shocked belief, trying to come to grips with the tough defeat. 

Cards win! 15-13.

A fifth set that could have gone either way. The "Five in Fifth" (referring to UC's Fifth-Third Arena) ended up falling in Louisville's "W" column but the Cards may have faced the best individual effort from an opponent they'll see all season and have to feel fortunate to head home victors in this classic.  

NUMBERS OF NOTE

Louisville Kills: (64) McHenry 30, Jones 16, Nena Mbonu 8
Cincy kills: (76) Thompson 41, Maria Mallon 13, Damjana Cabakapa 9

Louisville Blocks:  Anna Stevenson 7, Emily Scott 5, Tori Dilfer 4
The Cards dominated in the block stat 16-3. 

FOR THE RECORD BOOKS

Thompson's 41 kills came within four of tying an NCAA record for a 25-point match setting. The 41 were her second-highest of her career, she totaled 44 against Wichita State last year.  Thompson set a record number of kills by an individual against the Cardinals. 

McHenry set a personal record with her 30 kills. 


If the Cards back defensive line woke up last night from nightmares of seeing #23 Jordan Thompson hovering over their beds getting ready to slam one down...it would be unsurprising. She put on a performance that Michael Jordan would have approved of. 

Expecting our Volleyball guru Jeff McAdams will chime in later on the match, he was in Cincinnati watching the action. Whether he got any game action photos or not remains to be seen. He's usually too busy cheering. 

The VolleyCards come home to start ACC play next weekend when they host NC State on Sept. 27th at 7 p.m. and North Carolina on Sept. 29th at 1 p.m. 



WOMEN'S GOLF FINISHES NINTH IN TENNESSEE

Lauren Hartlage led the Cards on the Vanderbilt Legends Club - North Course for the third straight day in the Mason Rudolph Championships with a 1-over-par 73.

The Cards finished ninth out of 15 in the tournament. 

Hartlage finished the Franklin, Tennessee event tied for 14th. She recorded a 54 hole score of 218. 

Mairead Martin toured the 54 holes with a 223. Lauren "Tibby" Thibodeau completed the three days one back of Martin at 224. One back of Thibodeau was Hana Ryskova and Delaney Shah tied for 56th place at 228.

Have a marvelous Monday!


paulie
xxxxx