It is rare that we have to report on two Cardinal losses in one day, but Sunday's action was one of those days. An improbable and shocking loss for the kickin' Cards in the quarterfinals of the ACC WSOC Tournament at Lynn Stadium to NC ST and a five-set fall to Syracuse VB in Syracuse. Here's the disappointing details:
OVERTIME GOAL SHOCKS CARDS
2-1 WolfPack in this shocking turn of events and circumstances.
The Cards were awarded a corner kick with 3:56 left in the golden goal overtime format.This is usually a good thing.
Things went from good to bad, though.
NC State senior Tziarra King tracked down the failed attempt and found herself with a wide open path to the goal at the other end of the pitch at Lynn. The Wolfpack star rapidly advanced down the field on the "jailbreak" and ultimately got a shot off that sailed past on-rushing UofL goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos to end the match. NC State had won and will advance to the ACC semifinals to meet #1 seed North Carolina.
Stunned, shocked, surprised and saddened by this unexpected turn-of-events, the Cardinals watched in disbelief as the WolfPack players stormed the field to celebrate the goal and win.
It was just that kind of day.
After a scoreless first half, NC State scored first (or should I say was awarded a goal) when their corner attempt with nine minutes gone in the second half bounced off the back of a Louisville player's head and dropped into the goal. You don't see "own goals" very often. The Cards did rally with 11 minutes left in regulation when Brooklynn Rivers benefited from a NC State foul and was awarded a penalty kick opportunity --a one-on-one duel against the goalkeeper. The Cardinal senior won that matchup...finding the back of the net to tie the affair.
Louisville will now wait for the NCAA Tournament draw on Monday, Nov 11th. to see if they will host a first-round match or head to the road. The Cards finish the regular season and conference tournament play with a 12-4-2 record, falling to NC State twice and UNC and Virginia once.
(PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON)
THEY SAID IT:
We kept the post-game interview with Coach Karen Ferguson Dayes short. No one wants to do an interview after a heart-breaking loss and we appreciate her even doing one at all.
LINK: COACH FERGUSON DAYES AFTER NC STATE LOSS
VOLLEYBALL FALLS IN FIVE AT SYRACUSE
The Cards started well in the first set against Leonid Yelin's squad, jumping out to an early 5-2 lead and held a 18-13 advantage before the Orange rallied back to make it 20-19 after a couple of kills from Syracuse standout Polina Shemanova. Louisville rallied behind Amaya Tillman's two kills to outscore SU 5-4 the rest of the set. Aiko Jones provided the winning kill for Louisville's 25-23 set victory.
Set two went back and forth, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage. The Cards had the Orange at set-point at 25-24 but the home team went on a closing 4-1 run to get the win. Shemanova ended the set with a kill to give the Orange at 28-26 win.
It was UofL's turn to get out to an early lead in set four. The Cards jumped out to a 13-5 advantage but Jones appeared to roll and ankle several plays before that and left the contest. Without her, the Cards saw Syracuse rally to make it 16-12. Louisville maintained the lead, though...a kill by Claire Chaussee put Louisville up 23-20 and Emily Scott's kill gave the Cards the fourth set 25-21.
In the fifth set, Syracuse jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage and had little trouble in securing a 15-6 win.
Now at 15-6, Dani Busboom Kelly's squad continues the road trip with a southern swing -- facing Miami on Friday and FSU Sunday. The extent of Jones injury is unknown at this time. She had 18 kills and 10 digs before leaving the contest. The Cards can ill afford another injury to another key player and we're hoping the talented red-shirt freshman can be on the court for the Canes and Noles.
WBB PRESSER
Walz discussed the WKU squad and their strengths and revealed Tuesday's starting lineup plus discussed the anticipated rotation pattern for the deep and talented Cards.
He also announced that freshmen Ramani Parker and Nyah Green will redshirt this season and the reasoning behind it.
LINK: JEFF WALZ PRESSER Monday 11/4/19
paulie
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Man, I hate to see double losses and Jones getting hurt was a blow.
ReplyDeleteThe at final play in soccer's loss was stunning. I know King is fast but where was the Cardinal's back line and defense?
Curtis "Confused and disappointed" Franklin
Aiko Jones did return in the match, seemingly no worse for wear, so seemingly insignificant beyond some short term discomfort.
DeletePaulie, were you surprised by the Green and Parker redshirts? I can understand the reasoning behind it, but just hope that Green and Parker are truly OK with it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was a bit, especially Green. Walz's rhetoric toward it does make sense. Playing time most likely would have been minimal and why not learn, practice and observe while still maintaining your four-year eligibility.
DeleteGreen has gone to Twitter to embrace the decision. I don't follow Parker, so I can't say for sure about her, but when you are looking at Dixon, Dunham, Shook, Lockhart and Diop all in front of you, maybe she realized that a year of playing on the scout team, getting a lot of practice minutes that way and getting to know her teammates better would be beneficial to her.
That being said, who can fully understand the mind of 18 year old freshmen student-athletes? I'm not raising my hand on that question. THe transfer portal gets more additions each year laced with players who think there are brighter pastures for them. I don't believe either are candidates for transfer, though.
If the Cards end up with Hailey Van Lith, though, that could be the start of a new chapter in this episode.
Paulie
Do u know what radio station will be broadcasting the womens game tonight
ReplyDelete