#4 FH and #2 VolleyCards GAMEDAY -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Good morning readers, and thanks for checking back in with Cardinal Couple.  

The weather has seemed to have caught up with the season -- hoodie season!! Baseball has officially ended for the year.   

It's game-day for a couple UofL squads looking to stay atop of the national rankings.. Field Hockey on the road and Volleyball at home.  Let's look into those matchups. 

VOLLEYBALL

#2 Louisville vs Clemson

7:00PM
L&N Arena

After a four-game series on the road, the Cards are back at home this weekend looking to improve to 12-1 on the season as they welcome ACC foe Clemson to town Friday night.

 The Cards have swept their last 2 opponents in 3 sets. Claire Chaussee was named AVCA and ACC Player of the Week finished the weekend with 26 kills, one ace, eight digs, and two blocks.

The Tigers are 9-5 on the season after dropping two matches at home this past weekend to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.  As a team, Clemson is 14th in team assists (699) in the NCAA, 16th in kills (751) and 28th in service aces (98)
In the ACC, the Tigers hold the top spot in digs and total attacks as of earlier in the week. 

Against Virginia Tech, Junior Cate Long finished with a career-high 21 kills off 55 attacks surpassing her previous best of 15. She is second on the team with 15 aces and has had double digit kills in the previous four matches.

Sophomore libero Devan Taylor had a career-high 29 digs against Virginia Tech. She leads the team and the conference with 255 total digs and is 29th in the NCAA. 

Junior Camryn Hannah leads the conference in kills (220) and points (243.5), she is second in total attacks (485) and is third in kills per set (4.00) and points per set (4.43)  She’s tallied at least 20 attacks in 13 matches this season and had 11 matches with double-digit kills.

Louisville and Clemson have met ten times with the Cardinals leading the series 10-0. When they met in 2021, UofL swept the Tigers at Clemson.

This one will be available on the ACC Network Extra.

FIELD HOCKEY

#5 Louisville at #7 Virginia
3:00PM

ACCNX

The Cards secured a 2-0 victory over Indiana last Friday to bring an 8-1 record into this match. The win marked Louisville's second straight shutout and the third on the season. Friday's contest at Virginia marks the fifth time Louisville has face a ranked opponent - the Cards are 3-1 in those games with wins against then-No. 4 Michigan, No. 13 Princeton and No. 11 Penn State.

Virginia brings a 5-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in ACC play into the contest with the Cards.

UVA leads the overall series 9-8, with Louisville winning the regular-season meeting last year 1-0, but Virginia topped the Cardinals in a shootout in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.

Goalkeeper Sasha Elliott leads the ACC in saves per game (5.11) and save percentage (0.852). Her save percentage is second in the NCAA.

This will be the fifth ranked opponent for the Cavaliers in a row, going 2-2 over the previous 4 matches which including a 3-2 win over #13 St Josephs and a 3-0 win over #11 Syracuse. They moved up three spots in the polls as result.

Senior Cato Geusgens scored two goals against Syracuse. It was the third multi-goal game of her career and the first since her freshman season. 

Senior Laura Janssen leads the Cavaliers with seven goals this season. She ranks fourth in the ACC in goals per game (0.88) and 13th in the NCAA.  Janssen has seven goals in eight games this season and has scored in all but two games this season.

Virginia has four players ranked in the top-10 in the conference in assists per game. 

Freshman goalkeeper Jet Trimborn was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week, the first Cavalier to earn a conference Player of the Week honor this year.

It's a return to the unique Virginia Field Hockey blue turf. As they used to say in the old days, no need to adjust the color on your viewing device, yes, it's actually blue turf. Fraternity prank gone wrong? Clearance sale at Carpet World? We can't say for sure, but I bet the white ball really stands out on it. I expect a UK fan would be in heaven on this turf...

Lets wrap up the month of September on a high note! 

Go Cards!!

-Daryl 

Basketball TV Schedule Announced -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Basketball TV Schedule Announced

Louisville women's basketball announced its tv schedule. Of the 30 regular season games, 18 are slated to be on national television. Five of those games are slated for ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.

The Cards open up the season at home against Cincinnati, which will be viewable on ACC Network. When UofL takes on Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to close out November, ACC Network will be the host station again.

The Battle for the Bluegrass at Rupp Arena this year will command the ESPN spotlight. Remember the last sport that Louisville and Kentucky faced each other in? A certain UofL squad went to Memorial Coliseum and won in five sets on ESPN.

FS1 will be the host station when Louisville and DePaul square off right before Christmas.

Louisville opens conference play against Pitt, which you can catch on ACC Network. Most of the ACC schedule will be mixed between one of the ESPN channels, ACC Network, and the regional sports network. For UofL games, that often falls onto Bally Sports, a network that has caused plenty of controversy recently because of its limited access for a good chunk of the fan base.

NC State will be on ABC. North Carolina will be on ESPN2. The two-game split against Notre Dame will be on ESPN. I guess the Cards vs Irish rivalry continues to draw outside interest.

Although the non-tv schedule streaming options appear to be on ACC Network Extra, road games are beyond Louisville's control.

Louisville in the Bahamas has no tv or streaming listed at this time. The games at Middle Tennessee and Bellarmine (in Freedom Hall)) also don't have tv or streaming listed.

All tv game schedules are subject to change, but assuming Louisville continues to remain a top team, there should be no concern.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Women's Golf in Schooner Classic -- Mini WBB Ticket plans available -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

WOMEN'S GOLF FINISHES 12 IN SCHOONER CLASSIC

The Louisville women's golf team finished up play Monday in the Schooner Classic, out in Norman, OK and hosted by Oklahoma University. The Cards got a big effort from sophomore Carmen Griffiths and finished in 12th out of 16 squads with a total of +11 for the 54 hole match. . Griffiths led Louisville with a 8 under par 202 and finished in third place in the standings, after leading through 36 holes. 68, 65 and 69 was the breakdown off her three rounds.  

It was Griffiths career best total and single round scores, It was also her first time finishing in the top five of a tournament in the states. She's out of Aboyne, Scotland.

The event was won by Florida (-12 under par) by three strokes over TCU (-9 under par).

 

(Lauren Thibodeau)

The five Cards who participated were Griffiths, Gabbi Bentancourt (70-70-71=211) She tied for 27th. Lauren Thibodeau (77-72-71=220) T-66th, Mairead Martin (74-76-74=224) T-77th and Rylee Suttor 74-80-71=225) T-80th.

Other schools participating were Oklahoma St., Houston, Baylor, Oklahoma (two teams), Iowa St., Clemson, Tulsa, Va. Tech, North Texas, UTSA, Illinois, and Texas State. 

It's a younger group of Cardinals that started in the Schooner, with Sutton being the only senior of the five. Other golfers on the squad are Agustina Gomez Cisterna, Carly Haines, Ryann Honea, Molly Lyne and Hana Ryskova. 

The Cards return to action in the Blessings Tournament (Fayetteville, Ark) Oct  3-5.

WBB Mini-Plans

Louisville WBB has released a five-game mini plan available for purchase that costs $60 and includes Pitt (Jan.8th), NC St (Jan 22nd). UNC (Feb 5th), Clemson (Feb 12th) and Notre Dame (Feb 26th). All are Sunday games. Times haven't been made official yet. . 

It looks like it could be a decent outing for a family. A family of 4 could attend for $48, plus parking and beverages at the game. 

And, it includes some pretty decent ACC foes, including NC State, UNC and Notre Dame. 

You can still get season tickets as well. For more WBB ticket information, go to: 

www.gocards.com/wbbtickets

paulie

FH and VB Rankings -- Parker Named Mercy Lax Coach -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey and Volleyball Rankings

Field Hockey Ranked #4

The latest field hockey and volleyball rankings were released yesterday. For both Louisville squads, they did not move.

Louisville field hockey stayed put at #4 in the latest NFHCA polls. The Cards played a home match against Indiana on Friday- a 2-0 win- before having a rare Sunday off. Louisville commands an impressive 8-1 record with the sole blemish coming to North Carolina, who moved up from #2 to the top spot, flip-flopping with Northwestern.

Virginia (#7), Boston College (#15), Syracuse (#18), Wake Forest (#19), and Duke (#21) round out the rest of the ACC in the top 25. The ACC is the only conference with every team ranked. UConn and Old Dominion are the only non-ACC/Big Ten teams in the top 10.

Louisville begins a four-game road trip when they visit Virginia this Friday at 3:00 p.m. Three of those four opponents are currently ranked.

Volleyball Ranked #2

Louisville volleyball continues to sit comfortably at #2 in the AVCA poll. Texas has left no doubts in the top spot up to this point but the Cards have a strong hold on the silver right now. UofL opened ACC play over the weekend on the road by sweeping Miami and Florida State with the latter being aired on ESPN. The Cards' only loss is to #6 Ohio State.

Ranked wins this season include #4 San Diego, #5 Purdue#9 Stanford, #18 Kentucky, and #25 Western Kentucky. #11 Georgia Tech looms in the near future while #10 Pitt is a bit further down the road.

Louisville, Pitt, and Georgia Tech are the only ACC teams currently ranked, but Florida State has been hovering in the receiving votes category. The first three all started 2-0 in conference play. The only other ACC team to do so is Syracuse.

The Cards return home this weekend to host Clemson on Friday and Georgia Tech on Sunday.

Kirsten Parker Named Mercy Lacrosse Coach

A recent Louisville lacrosse alum is staying local. Kirsten Parker was named the head coach of lacrosse at Mercy High School in Louisville.

The Maryland native spent all four of her seasons with Louisville and appeared in 48 career games. During her tenure with Louisville, Parker recorded six goals, three assists, nine ground balls, and 19 draw controls.

MaxPreps recorded Mercy having a 5-11 record in 2022. They currently reside in District 2 with Fern Creek and Sacred Heart.

We look forward to the great things Parker will do at Mercy.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

A Volleyball Win and WSOC loss on Sunday -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 The Cardinals women's squad that toured Tallahassee triumphed but the squad that challenged in Charlottesville came up short in Sunday action. Let's look at both.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Louisville'[s women's soccer squad fought the good fight against #2 UVA to start out Sunday  action for Cardinals women's sports squads and a ACCNX viewing crowd saw the Kickin' Cards hang tough with the #2 Cavaliers for 73 minutes in a scoreless tussle. But, UVA got a free kick for Alexis Theoret and she sent it to the left corner of the goal, getting it by Cardinals goalkeeper Erryn Floyd for the only goal Virginia would need in this one. 

The Hoos did score a second time -- a Cardinals foul gave Haley Hopkins a shot at goal and she converted for what turned out to be the last score of the match...with 7:58 left on the scoreboard. 

Give the Cards credit for taking the fight to UVA in this one. The squads were pretty evenly matched up in shots, with Virginia holding just a 8-6 edge. The big difference is that UVA had two shots on goal and made them both. Louisville had no shots on goal.  

The Cards altered their starting lineup a bit fot this one, putting Erryn Floyd back in goalkeep to begin. Floyd had six starts early in the season but did not start in the Cards last two matches. No word on whether their was an injury to Olivia Pratapus (who has started the last two games), or it was just a coaching decision to re-insert Erryn back in the net.

 

Two huge swings in UVA's favor (beside the two goals) were fouls and corners. The Cards were cited for seven fouls, while Virginia received just three. There was an even wide discrepancy in corners, with the Cavaliers getting awarded eight corners, to just two for Louisville. 

When it comes down to it, like in a lot of other sports we cover, whoever scores the most in a contest wins. The Cards have scored 10 goals in nine matches, while giving up 11. Only two goals in the last five matches, though, isn't going in the right direction. You can thank Maisie Whitsett for those goals. It's time a few others besides her started finding the back of the net. You have to consider and realize that the last three have been against ACC foes, though, and two of them were Top 10 in DI foes. 

Louisville (4-3-2) returns home to host Pitt on Saturday, Oct 1st, at 7 p.m. The Panthers are 10-1 and have only fell (surprisingly) to James Madison. Pitt was #18 in the latest poll...

VOLLEYBALL

Chalk up another match win on the road for #2 Louisville Volleyball and get out the broom for this one as well, as the Cards down FSU 25-17, 25-20, 25-21 in quaint Tully Gym. I can remember when WBB played in Tully, but, the Noles still have a very good product in the gym now in FSU Volleyball, and the Cards got a bit of a test from the Noles today. 

Set One started out pretty close, with the Cards leading just 12-10 after an attack error by Claire (In The Air) Chaussee. Louisville proceeded to score seven of the next eight points, though, to blow this one wide open at 19-11, aided by two Aiko Jones service aces and kills from Chaussee and Amaya Tillman. The Cards got the final two points of the set on a FSU serving error and Chaussee kill. 25-17.  

(We found out that Claire also takes some pretty good photos. Look out, Jared...I bet she doesn't take as many selfies as you do and I may have to consult with the Cardinal Couple Chimps ADVISORY board to see if we want to explore our options with her...) 

Set Two started with the Cards jumping out to a 4-0 lead, and a PK Kong kill made it 9-4 Louisville. FSU still had a bunch of fight left in them, though, and they responded with six of the next eight point to climb within one point at 11-10. The Noles took a 16-15 lead, but the Cards rallied with the next seven points and buit a 22-16 lead. A Chaussee kill set the final set score at 25-20. 

(The Noles fans and pep band do the enjoyable "aaa-ooooh" Freddy Mercury chant during timeouts and in between sets and carry it off quite well. (If you're not sure what this is, watch the end of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody. Heck, watch the whole movie, it's very good and had some excellent Queen music in it. ) 

Here's the clip:  AAAAAA,OOOOH !

Set Three began in favor of the Noles and they built an early 7-4 lead after an Audrey Koeing kill. Koenig would end up with an impressive 14 kills for FSU. Louisville would eventually tie the set at 11 and take a 12-11 lead on a (guess who?) Chaussee kills. Claire had 12 match kills to lead Louisville. The Noles stayed close for awhile, and trailed by just one at 19-18 and 22-21 but the Cards scored the final three points off a Jones kills and two Chaussee kills to take set and match

Nena Mbonu was interviewed post match by the ESPN crew and our hats also come off to her for stepping in and performing so well in DeBeer's time off. 

ALSO...

 Spring sports Lacrosse and Softball were involved in exhibitions yesterday on campus. We know LAX defeated University of Indianapolis 10-3 and GV State 14-8 over at the L.L.S. 

No report yet on how softball did against Bellarmine. 

Have a great Monday

paulie

Sunday Foursome Tee Off - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Sunday Foursome

A foursome of Louisville women's sports are in action today.

Golf

Going in chronological order of start times here, the Women's Golf team will be the first in action today.  They played their first round yesterday in Norman, OK in the Schooner Classic.

The armchair weather geek in me always thinks of Norman, OK as the home of the National Severe Storm Laboratories, which is the organization within the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administraion) that issues National Weather Service severe thunderstorm and tornado watch boxes.

Hopefully the weather will remain clear and pleasant out on the links in Oklahoma for the duration of this event.  We haven't gotten any meaningful results so far, so nothing much to report on here, but we don't want to not give the golf squad their fair due.

Softball

Softball kicks off their fall schedule today.  Softball is, of course, a spring sport so this is exhibition play.

They'll start it off with that University just down the road.  No, not the blue ones, the scarlet and silver ones that are much closer.  Yes, Bellarmine pretty much drives up Eastern Parkway to visit Ulmer Stadium with a noon start.

Don't worry, we'll get to the kitties, the fall schedule includes home and home scheduling with them with first leg being here in Louisville on October 9th, and in Lexington on October 29th.

Fall play for softball is a lot of fun to catch.  Since it's exhibition, it's a bit lighter of an experience, but it's also a time to catch up with the development of the squad and get a first look at what the team should look like in the spring.

For Louisville, the big questions are going to be how are various players that were out with injuries in the spring recovering.  We're looking for the return of Gabby Holloway in the pitching circle.  We'll also be looking to see if Easton Lotus is back in playing shape as she was an infielder that showed a lot of promise early in the season last year before going down with an injury.

Soccer

At 2pm, the women's soccer squad is going to try to bounce back from a 5-1 loss to 7th ranked Florida State Thursday, though it's going to be a tall order as the next opponent is 2nd ranked Virginia.

This is the middle outing of a three game road trip that will finish up at Pitt next week.

ACC Network Extra has the coverage on the pitch from Charlottesville.  If you're not a fan of soccer, tune in just to hear the announcers say our goalkeeper's last name.  Because Pratapas is fun to say.  (pruh-TOP-us).  I've also found it interesting to see where Ravin Alexander and Karsyn Cherry are lining up.  Both are listed as forwards on the roster, but Alexander was playing in defense for much of the start of the season.  In the last game against FSU, Alexander was in the forward position, with Cherry in defense.  Both are a lot of fun to watch on the ball and are very offensively oriented, so lets see where they go.

Volleyball

Volleyball is the last team to get in action today.  This match is part of ESPN's very recent infatuation...maybe experimental, with volleyball.  After what was clearly an experiment for the four letter network of moving the Louisville vs Kentucky match up to the flagship network, ESPN was clearly happy with the results with over 300,000 watching that match on a Wednesday night.

As a result, quite a few other volleyball matches have been kicked upstairs to the flagship channel beginning with two today.  The double-header will get underway with 11th ranked Purdue vs unranked Iowa at 1pm EDT  (Purdue coming off of an mild upset over 8th ranked Minnesota).  2nd ranked Louisville vs unranked FSU will get underway at 3pm.  So let's hope for a three setter, or a quick four, by Purdue and Iowa.

Lets hope, again, for some good viewership numbers on ESPN for these two matches to help grow the game of volleyball.  It's a bit of a compliment that ESPN is picking volleyball in this ongoing experiment to put against NFL programming on FOX and CBS.  No one expects volleyball to get more viewers than NFL, but it's a case of not needing to outrun the bear, just outrun the other people running from the bear.  If ESPN can get the top viewership with volleyball behind NFL coverage, I suspect they'll be quite happy.

Florida State swept Notre Dame; 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 and is now 9-3 on the season.  Their losses are not bad losses, really.  With two coming to 15th ranked Florida, and 17th ranked Creighton.  The third loss is the worst loss, dropping a four set match to Cincinnati in Cincy.  The best win on FSU's schedule right now is probably a 3-1 decision over Dayton.  Notre Dame is maybe the next best, but so far the Irish are sub-.500 on the season, so it looks like another season of strugglebus in South Bend.

The biggest offensive threats for the Seminoles are Audrey Koenig and Emily Ryan.  Over the past few years we've gotten used to hearing Emma Clothier name called for FSU, and she's doing well, but is only 3rd on the kills list for the team.

I would typically expect a little stiffer competition from FSU than from Miami, but that has been a bit less consistent in the past couple of seasons.  And based on what we saw in sets two and three in Coral Gables, lets hope not, or hope that this Louisville team comes out with their top level play.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(Case, Paulie Jeff and Punkin' from the basement on a hill days)

And finally, after crazy conflicting schedules last week, the CCRHP was back on the air this week.  Case, Paulie, and myself got together to talk about the couple of weeks in Louisville women's sports.  We spent quite a bit of time on volleyball, including some discussion of the dynamics referenced above with ESPN scheduling it opposite the NFL.  We also covered soccer and field hockey and just generally had a good time as we always do.

Check it out at anchor.fm at: https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Volleyball-and-Field-Hockey-Continue-Winning-Ways-e1oa9la or your favorite podcast directory.

JMcA

FH Extends Streak Over IU; Volleyball Atop ACC -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Field Hockey Defeats IU 2-0

Louisville brought in the Hoosiers of Indiana University yesterday for the Battle of the Border and came out victorious in the affair for the 9th straight time. The Cards and Hoosiers have played 24 times total, with Louisville holding a 17-7 advantage, and this was the 11th annual matchup. For anyone keeping track at home, that means that Indiana started the series with two straight wins to pull the all-time record to 8-7 before Louisville broke it wide open.

Friday's match wasn't quite as lopsided as the overall series, as neither team was able to score in the first half. The opening of the first quarter was very even, with neither team making an impression until Louisville earned a penalty corner with about six minutes to play in the quarter. The first shot attempt by Julie Kouijzer was saved by the IU goalie but went for another penalty corner. This one resulted in a Katie Schneider shot that had to be saved by a defender. IU escaped pressure for a few minutes before Louisville's offense worked back into position. Kelsey McCrudden forced a save and Mattie Tabor was there for the rebound, but her shot went wide. Louisville's best chance of the quarter came with under a minute and a half to go when they were awarded a penalty stroke. It was a golden opportunity to take a lead into the first break, but Aimee Plumb's shot was saved. 0-0 after one.

The second quarter saw Indiana finally get in the action. They opened with a green card and would earn another later in the quarter but they also put together their first real offensive threat. After an Aimee Plumb corner was dealt with before a shot, IU put on a counter attack and earned their own corner just 40 seconds later. The ensuing shot was saved by Sasha Elliott to keep the clean sheet intact and to keep the game tied. Louisville again got the last chance to score before the end of the quarter with a penalty corner, but Kouijzer's shot was saved once more.

The repeated denials didn't deter the Cards, as they showed when they came out of the locker room after halftime. Louisville's offense was back on display within the first minute of the second half. In the first five minutes, Louisville would see two corners and put together four shots but would remain unable to score. They finally broke the tie 38 minutes into the match when Jane Ramsay scored her first career goal in open play. The goal came on a centered ball from Aimee Plumb, who had drawn attention after bringing the ball near the cage. Three minutes later, it was Ramsay again, following her career first goal with a career second goal in the same corner. This time, Louisville finally converted a corner on their seventh attempt of the match. Ramsay was the one that played the corner in, and Mia Duchars took the shot. Duchars was ultimately credited with the assist, as Ramsay deftly tipped the shot for a deflected goal. 

Heading into the fourth quarter with all of the momentum, Louisville looked poised to break the game wide open. They had, after all, made the first offensive move in every quarter prior. Such was not the case in the fourth. Though the sequence lasted just two minutes, IU put together five straight corners which resulted in six shots, but Louisville's defense and Elliott were up to the task. Of the six shots, Elliott needed to make only two saves, as the other four attempts were blocked. Granted, those blocks led to additional corners, but the point stands. Indiana had five good chances to cut into the Louisville lead and the Cards said, "No." Emilia Kaczmarczyk and Izzy Bianco would get shots from open play and a corner, respectively, but the flurry of corners was all IU could do. Louisville held on to win 2-0.

Louisville's 1/8 effort on corners looks a little better next to IU's 0/6, but goodness it's still rough. The Cards have struggled with corner conversion for years, but it is at least encouraging that they have been forcing saves rather than missing or not getting shot attempts. Of the eight corners in yesterday's match, only one resulted in no shot and only one shot was off frame. Though you'd like to score on more than one of the other six attempts, rebounds can often come down to a bit of chance, so giving yourself opportunities by taking good shots is nice.

Louisville's offense has started to pick up after a sluggish start. The Cards have now had eight different players score on their way to 20 goals. Jane Ramsay became the fifth player of the season to record multiple goals. Defensively, Louisville has held up as well. The Cards are outscoring opponents 20-8 and have three shutouts in nine matches. Sasha Elliott has a 0.89 goals against average, which is tough to complain about. Her 0.852 save percentage leads the ACC.

Jared was able to to get Coach Justine Sowry and the player of the match Jane Ramsay to brave the rain after the match to give their thoughts. Louisville is back in action next Friday against Virginia as they open a four game road stretch.

JUSTINE SOWRY POSTGAME

JANE RAMSAY POSTGAME

Cards Sweep Canes in Coral Gables

So it's just the first match of conference play, but still: Louisville is atop the ACC standings. We hope to be saying that for the rest of this season, but you can't do that without winning the first match. Louisville didn't expect to have much trouble with Miami, as the Canes were just 7-4 entering the match, and Anna DeBeer was resting in this one after tweaking her leg last week. There were rumors that she would be able to play through the pain if necessary, but she sat nevertheless. 

From the jump, it looked like Louisville would cruise. The Cards forced Miami to take their first timeout at 5-1 and then stretched that lead to 9-1. Miami finally scored again on an Elena Scott service error that ended a 8-0 run for Louisville which consisted of two Scott aces and six errors by Miami (two blocks). The joy was short lived for Miami, as their two straight points were answered by another 8-0 run from the Cards, again forcing a timeout in the middle of the run when it was 16-3. This time, Louisville showed their offense, as the eight points came from an ace, two hitting errors (one block), a lift, and four kills by the Cards. A couple of service errors gave up free points, but Miami's offense seemed to spark a bit towards the end of the set as Louisville closed it out 25-12 with Miami on a 5-2 run. Louisville hit 0.526 in the first and Miami was -0.083. An 8-1 advantage in errors is hard to duplicate.

Miami brought out a capacity crowd in the James L. Knight Sports Complex, and the Canes weren't looking to disappoint them. Despite Louisville's thumping first set, Miami came out ready in the second. The teams traded points for the first 20 points, reaching a 10-10 tie without either team gaining more than a two point advantage. Surprisingly, Louisville was the first to blink. After tying it at ten, Louisville gave up four straight points on a kill, a lift, and two attacking errors. They got two of those points back before Aiko Jones hit her second service error of the set and Miami responded with an ace to make the score 16-12. Coach Dani Busboom Kelly wanted to talk about it. Louisville came out of the timeout winning the next two points and then began trading serves with Miami once more. This time, though, Miami was holding onto a three point advantage. Louisville needed to close the gap or they'd lose the race to 25. 

Close the gap they did. At 16-19, Nena Mbonu (filling in for Anna DeBeer) came through with a kill to give the Cards the serve just as she was rotated out. Ayden Bartlett came in and took over the serve. She won the next four points, including an ace, and Louisville had flipped the advantage 21-19. The teams traded points a bit more before Miami tied it at 23. Unable to capitalize, the Canes erred on the serve to give Louisville set point. Louisville couldn't close it out on the first opportunity, but back to back kills at 24-all gave Louisville the 26-24 second set victory. 

If you expected Louisville to have taken Miami's best shot and survived, you wouldn't be quite right. The two teams came out after halftime and picked up right back where they left off. I'm sure the Cards would have loved for Miami to just roll over down 2-0 but that didn't happen. They opened with an off sequence kill and an ace, seeming to have everything going their way, but Miami shut it down after just two points won. Miami had the upper hand in the next few exchanges, trading two points for one twice in a row before an error gave Louisville a 6-5 lead. Unrattled, the Canes became the first team of the set to win three straight points to retake the lead and stretch it to 8-6. The entire set was back and forth, with Louisville winning three points in a row to take a 13-12 lead but neither team scoring three in a row for nearly the remainder of the set. As they traded punches, Louisville slowly extended their lead, finally seeing a Miami error give them a 23-20 lead. They got a bit ahead of themselves, though, as a Miami kill and two Louisville errors brought the set back to even. Louisville finally buckled down, and Claire Chausee's 14th kill of the match gave Louisville match point. Fittingly, Miami erred to give Louisville the win.

After a blazing start, Louisville's hitting cooled to a 0.329 for the match. That's still pretty good, as 14 total errors in the second and third sets still didn't see Louisville hit below 0.258 in either one. Miami recovered a bit from their negative first set, but they finished with just an 0.078 hitting percentage. Louisville was able to block decently, but they only finished with nine on the night. They did have a four point advantage on blocks, though, and they held a 5-2 advantage in the third set. Louisville was outblocked in the second set 3-1, which was the one Miami came closest to winning. Gee, I wonder if that says anything.

Claire Chaussee was fantastic again, and she picked up the slack with DeBeer out. Chausee finished with 14 kills and hit 0.292. She wasn't involved in any blocks and had an error in both serve and receive, but she did what she was out there to do. There wasn't much slack to pick up, either, as Nena Mbonu stepped in seamlessly. Mbonu hit 0.636 from the outside with eight kills and just one error on 11 attempts. She added two block assists for good measure. Amaya Tillman continued to play well in the middle, turning 12 attempts into seven kills and just one error. She had a solo block and five block assists to lead the team. Aiko Jones poured in eight kills as well, though her efficiency was a bit lower. She had three block assists (PK and Raquel Lazaro also had three apiece to finish Louisville's blocking number), but she really struggled from the serving line. Jones had one of Louisville's six aces but she also had four of their ten errors. Though the Cards would still have been negative from the line without her serves, that needs to be cleaned up.

Louisville will continue their Florida road trip on Sunday when they take on the Seminoles of Florida State. FSU is 6-0 at home and 9-3 overall. This match will be part of a volleyball double-header on ESPN, so be sure to tune in. The folks over at the House of Mouse must have liked what they saw from ratings last week when the Cards took on Kentucky, but let's hope that they aren't discouraged by a potential reduction in viewing when they are counterprogramming NFL Sunday. Louisville and FSU are set to get underway at 3PM.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

I'm finally back in the booth this week, and we'll have three on the call to cover the week that was. Daryl is rocking out with fellow Loudmouths over at the fairgrounds and Jared will be a few streets over at Cardinal Stadium for a noon kickoff. Paulie, Jeff, and I should have plenty to discuss, though, so be sure to tune in for a great show. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WSOC Falls to FSU -- FH Hosts Indiana -- Vball Visits Miami -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Another Trip Around the Sun

Another year older and wiser. The older part I can certainly believe, but the wiser part seems farfetched. I celebrated an enjoyable 28th birthday yesterday that was capped off by a visit to Brazeiros Brazilian Steakhouse, a first for me. I won't say no to red meat! The food coma afterwards was a different story.

Sorry, no selfies. I was too busy practicing folk and knife execution. 

Jimmy Buffet and Martina McBride sang a little ditty about birthdays. Here it is for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaKqwvGa6Bw

Women's Soccer Falls at Florida State

Louisville women's soccer began a three-match road slate by visiting #7 Florida State last night. Unfortunately, for Louisville, it was not a pretty match, with the Seminoles claiming a 5-1 victory.

Just 88 seconds into the match, FSU found the back of the net. The Seminoles were awarded a penalty kick and they would not be denied. 11 minutes later, Florida State would add a second goal.

Louisville would not be shut out thanks to a Maisie Whitsett goal in the 32nd minute. The Cards were awarded a penalty kick with the super-senior chosen to take the kick. Whitsett aimed to her left. The FSU keeper dove the same way, but was too slow to stop Whitsett's rocket, her fourth score this year.

The Cards went into the half down 2-1, but it was all Florida State the second half. Another quick score less than five minutes into the match helped the Noles build a 3-1 cushion. Another Florida State goal eight minutes later extended their lead. Barely a minute after their fourth goal, FSU added a fifth.

Jenna Nighswonger scored twice and assisted on two others for Florida State, who outshot the Cards 17-4.

Louisville falls to 4-2-2 on the year with a 1-1-0 record in the ACC. They return to action on Sunday when they visit #2 Virginia at 2:00 p.m.

Field Hockey Hosts Indiana

A few fall sports are on campus this weekend, but the only women's sport playing at home is Louisville field hockey. #4 Louisville stays at Trager for the second straight weekend and hosts Indiana today at 6:00 p.m. This one will be on ACC Network Extra.

The Cards come into the match with a 7-1 record after falling to North Carolina and whooping Fairfield recently. The loss to UNC did not knock the Cards down in the rankings.

Indiana brings a 6-3 record into the match. They're 0-2 against ranked opponents with losses to Liberty and Iowa. The 6-3 start is similar to the 2021 season, where the Hoosiers had a decent non-conference record before getting chewed apart in conference play to finish 10-10.

IU is fresh off a 2-0 victory against Longwood at home. Sydney Keld logged both scores to give her three goals on the year, a mark that is tied for second on the team with Anna Mozeleski. Jemima Cookson has been their top scorer with six goals and 13 total points.

Indiana has limited opponents to 15 goals this year, much to the credit of keeper Arabella Loveridge. The sophomore keeper has 32 saves for a .681 save percentage while logging every minute in goal this season.

 I plan to be in attendance to catch this one.

Volleyball Visits Miami

Riding a hot streak and now up to #2 in the country, Louisville volleyball begins ACC play on the road in the Sunshine State. The first stop on the tour is in Coral Gables, where Miami awaits them.

Miami had a hot start to the year by winning their first six matches. Since then, they've gone 1-4 with losses to UIC, #25 UCF, South Carolina, and #21 Oregon. The Hurricanes went from being just outside the top-25 do dropping way down.

Anglea Grieve has been the go-to outside hitter this year with 126 total kills (3.23 kills/set). Peyman Yardimici and Flormarie Heredia Colon has also been strong on the outside with 113 and 111 kills, respectively. Miami is a strong serving team with 66 aces and four players in the double-digits.

Savannah Vach has been one of the star players as their setter. With 430 total assists, the senior is averaging more than 10 per set. Blocking has been a committee approach for the Canes. Six players have been involved with anywhere from 14-26 blocks and a as a team Miami is out-blocking opponents 96-81

This 7:00 p.m. start time is slated for ACC Network Extra.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

2022 UofL Hall of Fame Class -- Volleyball Back on ESPN -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame Class Announced

(Louisville's first Jazz, and a great one)

Eight Cardinal alums were named to the 2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame, five men and three women. Jazz Covington (women's basketball), Nicole Youman (field hockey), D'Ana McCarty (women's track and field), Chris Dominguez (baseball), Eric Whitlatch (men's swimming), Tony Belt (men's track and field), Andre Black (men's track and field), and Dr Raymond Shea (football staff/administration) are the announced honorees.

Jazz Covington (2003-2007) is one of Louisville women's basketball's top scorers in program history. Her 1,805 points, 14.4 ppg, 942 rebounds, 7.4 rpg, and 33 double-doubles all rank in the top 10 in their respective categories. She won multiple Big East and Conference USA awards.

D'Ana McCarty (2007-2011) is a two-time NCAA Champion for Louisville, where she took home the 2009 and 2010 weight throw titles. McCarty became the first female athlete at Louisville to win a national title. She took multiple Big East titles, both indoor and outdoor, and still holds the Big East indoor weight throw title 12 years later.

Nicole Youman (2007-2010) was one of the first Louisville field hockey players to earn All-American accolades. Her 52 career assists is still a Louisville record. Her 142 career points and 45 career goals rank second and third all-time, respectively. Youman was arguably the best player in the Big East her senior year.

I was in middle and high school for most of these Cardinals' collegiate careers and was even in elementary school for part of Covington's career. Although I never got to see any of them play in person their legacies live on and have helped build three incredible Louisville programs.

Volleyball Back on ESPN

As Abba said, "Take a chance on me." ESPN did that when Louisville volleyball visited Kentucky recently. The ratings came out with an estimated 302,000 watching the match on TV. The ratings were good enough that the Cards have had two more matches this season slated for the main ESPN channel.

For a sport that's had four regular season games aired on ESPN in 25 years, adding two more this season to make that a total of six in 25 years and Louisville being a part of three of those is outstanding! Not only do the players and coaching staff deserve credit, but the Louisville fan base showing their overwhelming support deserves credit.

When #2 Louisville visits Florida State on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3:00 p.m., you'll be able to catch this on ESPN. The other primetime match for the Cards will be when they host Georgia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1:00 p.m.

The Cards start the road trip in Coral Gables at Miami tomorrow night, I'll have more on that tomorrow since I'll be filling in for Daryl, who apparently has become a professional music festival attendee. 

Let's hope to keep up that 302,000 viewers to view Noles and Cards or surpass it!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared