More on Volleyball, Louisville FH update -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

More on Volleyball and Their Opponent

Can the Cards steal a couple
in Austin? 

Louisville Volleyball prepares for its fifth Sweet Sixteen appearance in program history, meaning we
will see a fifth black banner raised in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena next fall.

The Cards late regular season woes came following an injury to the lone senior in Melanie McHenry.  She has been and will remain out for the rest of the tournament so the Cards will look to continue their postseason success without her.  The good news?  Assuming we lose no one to the transfer portal we will see the exact same team next year and they will have some much needed tournament experience.

The Cards prepare to face Texas in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday at 4:00 p.m., ET.  If you're in attendance you'll be looking at 3:00 p.m., local time in Austin.

The last time Louisville faced Texas in the NCAA Tournament the team in Orange came out  on top 3-0.  The most recent meeting between the two was in October 2012, where the Cards fell at home 3-2.  The Cards are 0-3 all-time against Texas.

What about Texas?

Paulie gave you a brief rundown of the Longhorns yesterday, especially regarding their height.  They have nine players standing between 6'1 and 6'5.  The Cards do have eight players 6'1 or above, but seven of those eight stand no taller than the 6'2 mark.

Texas comes in as the 2-seed.  Baylor is the lone team seeded higher.  The Longhorns went 21-3 in the regular season.  Like the ACC, the Big 12 did not play a conference tournament.  The three losses came to now 3-seed Stanford (3-2), Rice (3-2), and now 1-seed Baylor (3-2).  All three losses came on the road and to NCAA Tournament teams.

The 21 wins feature plenty of high caliber teams.  They have wins over Baylor, Iowa State (2x), Texas A&M, Oklahoma (2x), BYU, and Minnesota.  They surrendered just seven sets in their 21 regular season wins.

In the NCAA Tournament, Texas defeated Albany 3-0 in the first round and had a tough fight against
UC Santa Barbara 3-2 in the second round.

Postseason is where the Longhorns thrive.  They have been to the NCAA Tournament 35 times where they are 97-33 all-time and have never lost in the opening round.  Texas has been to 31 Sweet Sixteens and have made that trip in 15 of the last 16 years, joining Penn State as the only two schools to accomplish that feat.

The Longhorns have two national championships in 1988 and 2012.  The 2012 championship happened down at the KFC Yum! Center where the Longhorns downed Oregon in straight sets.  The Oregon band in the semifinals and finals was none other than your Cardinal Pride Pep Band, hired by Oregon to save travel expenses.

We suspected such nonsense existed and we now have proof

Note: I am 0-2 in national championships in the band.  The 2012 volleyball championship and the 2013 women's basketball championship in New Orleans.

You may hear a familiar tune from the Texas band.  One of their fight songs, "The eyes of Texas", is played to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad".

"The Eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the livelong day.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away."

Sounds a little stalkerish to me so I prefer my "Fight, UofL!" and "All Hail UofL!"

...for we are with you UofL!


Three All-Americans for Field Hockey


Meche Pastor, Alli Bitting and Carter Ayars received All-American status and I can't think of three more deserving than them for the prestigious honor.

Pastor and Bitting return for next season, Ayars has graduated. Louisville Field Hockey went 16-6 in 2019, a new record for wins in a season, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament, before that heart-breaking loss to Boston College.

Meche, the wizard with the ball, from Buenos Aires was a first team selection. Alli was named to the second team and Carter the third team. They were three of the 48 named to the All-American list and it is the second year the Cards have had three on the All-American squad.

Justine Sowry on the players and the season:

"This was a historic year for our program, as we hosted a round of the NCAA Tournament and then advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time. The success was a culmination of the team's collective effort and to have Carter, Alli and Meche recognized for their roles they played in our achievements is absolutely amazing. I am so proud to have been part of this season."

And, it was an amazing season. The Cards return a ton of talent and should, once again, be a prime contender to challenge for the ACC title. The task for them, as well as the rest of the ACC Field Hockey DI contingent, is to find a way to beat UNC. The Heels are back-to-back NCAA Champions and haven't lost a match in two years.



Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared