Volleyball Assembles -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Roster, Where Are They

Raquel Lázaro arrived on campus this past week to begin her stint with UofL Volleyball.  With her arrival, I believe that the full 2022 Fall Volleyball roster is now on campus.  The roster listed on the gocards.com site hasn't been updated with any changes since the end of the 2021 season, so we're putting together updates seen on various social media accounts, thus the uncertainty.

A Slight Wedding Detour

Well, that's not quite right because right at the moment a pretty significant chunk of the volleyball squad is in Laurens South Carolina where they celebrated the nuptials of Anna Stevenson and Duncan Hall last night.  Duncan Hall was a part of the UofL Baseball team and the two met when a bunch of the baseball players came to one of the volleyball matches.  This is hardly the first relationship matchup between UofL Baseball and Volleyball, nor, I'm quite certain, will it be the last.

We love to see Cardinals making a life together with other Cardinals, and we wish the best to the happy couple.

But now, back to the roster.

Returning

Let's do a quick rundown of who is returning from the previous squad.  Starting with Defensive Specialists.  Ceci Rush, Ayden Bartlett, and Alexa Hendricks are all returning.

Most of the setters listed on the roster have departed, with only Paige Morningstar, a red-shirt last year, returning to the squad this year.

At Middle Blocker, the now married Anna Stevenson, and high jumper Emily Scott have both moved on with Amaya Tillman, Cara Cresse, and Phekran Kong returning.

Only one pin hitter will not be returning from the 2021 team, and that's not due to graduation.  Brooke Smith has transferred to Dayton, where of course, we wish her the best.  That means that...get ahold of this lineup...Nena Mbonu, Claire Chaussee, Anna DeBeer, and Aiko Jones are all returning.

New To The Volleyball Team

Most of the VBall newcomers, with Mayor Greg
Fischer.  (l to r) Sydni Schetnan, Nina Moorer,
Alexis Finnvold, Elle Glock, and Raquel Lázaro

So who are the new folks joining?  First, Sydni Schetnan will be joining the volleyball squad after getting only limited playing time with Basketball last season.  This was the plan from the start for Schetnan, to be a two sport athlete.  She is still listed on the Basketball roster as well, but again, it hasn't been updated since the last season ended.  We have some indications that she won't be playing basketball again this year, but these decisions can be fluid right up until the last minute.

Two transfers have come to campus, both from the University of Southern California, and both setters.  Elle Glock arrived in January and the aforementioned Raqual Lázaro who arrived on campus this week after playing some summer ball with the Spanish National Team.

UofL has three incoming signed freshman, at least two of which I know are on campus, and I believe all three are.

Alexis Finnvold will be joining the setter corp, a six footer from Boca Raton, Florida.  Hannah Sherman, listed at 6'1", is a middle blocker from Silver Springs, Maryland.  And Nina Moorer is a 6'0" outside hitter from Missouri City, Texas.

So, as we've been saying, we've got a great core team returning, with a leavening of some great new players joining the squad.  This could be another great year for UofL Volleyball.

NWSL and WNBA Check-in

Time for our quick check-in with our pros in the NWSL and WNBA.

Racing Louisville FC played San Diego on Friday.  Emina Ekic was, literally, a last minute sub for Alex Chidiac.  Ekic is credited with one minute played and no other stats for the game.  Allison Whitfield was available, but did not play.

Yesterday wasn't the greatest game for Dana Evans.  She played for just over 11 minutes, made one basket on five attempts, going oh-fer in three attempts from beyond the arc.  Add in a rebound to round out her stat line.

A good night on Friday for Emily Engstler with the Fever.  Three baskets, with two of them beyond the arc, along with three rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes is a decent outing.

Also Friday, Jazmine Jones with the Connecticut Suns got a pair of baskets in six attempts.  Two were beyond the arc, which, let's face it, was never Jones' strength.  She played 13 minutes.

On the other side of that one, AD with the Atlanta Dream got four field goals in 25 minutes with none beyond the arc.  Chalk up a perfect four free throws, and nice additional stats with a trio of rebounds and a trio of assists for them.

Cards in action in all four of today's games.  The Suns with Jones are at 1pm on ABC against Las Vegas.  Myisha Hines-Allen and the Washington Mystics take on Minnesota on NBC Sports and Facebook streaming at 3pm.  AD and the Dream head out to Phoenix for a 6pm game available on "Amazon Video" which I presume is Amazon Prime.  And also at 6pm, Engstler and the Fever out in Seattle on CBS Sports and Indiana Fever's Facebook streaming.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

And finally, four of a kind on CCRHP this week.  Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself on the call this week as we discuss NIL and how it is interacting with gender equity, and we predict some breakout players for fall teams.

Check out the fun at anchor.fm podcast home or any of your favorite podcast directories, and, you can also click the Cardinal Bird at the top of the article to listen. 

https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Progress-in-Equity-and-Expected-Breakout-Stars-for-Fall-Sports-e1lac3l

JMcA