Cards Volleyball defeats UNC in Four Sets -- Field Hockey in NCAA Tournament -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS VB STAYS PERFECT

Louisville Volleyball didn't look like Louisville Volleyball normally does in the first set at North Carolina yesterday, but the Cards ended up winning the match after that first set stumble 14-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-17. 

Louisville is now 23-0 and 13-0 in ACC play. 

That target on the back was pretty huge in Set One and the TarHeels took it to a Cardinal team that seemed a bit slow in reacting and unable to generate much offense. UNC did hit .495 for the set, UofL .211 and the Cards were never in it, sad to say, in the set. Carolina saw it as a chance to get their biggest win of the season and were fired up. The 14-25 set loss was Louisville worst set loss of the season.  

Louisville did regroup, respond and retaliate in Set Two.  Louisville took an early lead and was buoyed by three consecutive Elena Scott service aces to take a 15-7 lead. The Cards were hitting better in the second set, going .407, while UNC plummeted to .036. UNC had only one block in the set. They went to halftime with a 25-11 second set win.

After the halftime break, the two squads to a 10-10 tie in Set Three, but Scott serving helped the Cards gain a 17-10 lead. That grew to 19-11, Carolina took a timeout to talk about it. Louisville stayed hot, though , and gained a 25-18 set win. 

In Set Four, the Cards continued their winning momentum. They grabbed a 12-7 lead and pushed that to 17-11. UNC had seen enough, called their final timeout, but were probably dismayed that Jeff McAdams wasn't there to lead the C-A-R-D-S cheer. Or, fired up? They went on a run that pulled them within three at 20-17. UNC would not register a point the rest of the way, though, and UofL gets out of Chapel Hill with a 25-17 fourth set win. 

For Louisville, Anna DeBeer registered 11 kills and Anna Stevenson ended up with 10, plus seven blocks. 

The Cards come home to face dangerous Georgia Tech on Friday and we're guessing Louisville will be #1 in the land for that one, since Texas lost to Baylor. Louisville is the only unbeaten team in DI now. That target gets a little bigger, but UofL keeps taking opponent's best shots and still coming out on top. 

FIELD HOCKEY TO BEGIN NCAA TOURNAMENT VS. HARVARD

The Field Hockey Cards found out last night during the NCAA Selection Show that they would be opening in Michigan against Harvard. Many thought that Louisville would receive an opening round hosting opportunity, based on their 16-3 record, but, the Cards loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament must have influenced the bracketing and selections by the NCAA Committee. . 

Louisville will face Harvard on Friday at 2:30 in Ann Arbor. Harvard won the Ivy League and boasted a record of 15-1. 

If the Cards get past Harvard, they'd face either Michigan, Miami (OH), or Maine in second round action.

Four ACC squads made the 18-team Tournament. Virginia, UNC and Syracuse join the Cards in the dance. The Big 10 placed six teams in the field. 

Maybe it's good the Cards get a chance to play an early game on the site of the Final Four in Ann Arbor....but the "slight" by the NCAA in not extending the Cards one of the four early hosting bids is glaring. Rutgers, who won the Big 10, got an opening-at-home slot, along with Iowa, Michigan and Penn State. 

We'll let you know about TV or Internet accessibility for the Cards opener later this week. 

We're in, we're dancing and we'll take 'em on wherever they send us, right? .

(today's PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON) 

Have a marvelous Monday!

paulie