DeBeer and Maldonado-Diaz Lead Cards to Win
Cal is... not very good. The Bears were 8-4 entering yesterday's match but that came after an exhibition loss to UC Davis to start the year. Cal hasn't beaten a Power 4 team yet this season and they've lost those matches by a total set score of 15-1 (including last night). I say all that just to get the point across that this win was big for Louisville in that it was a massive trap game, but not in the sense that it accomplished all that much. But hey, you've gotta win the games you play.
Despite the big set scores, Louisville didn't look particularly crisp offensively. They ultimately finished the match with 15 errors, five per set, and only hit 0.172 as a team. That was, of course, much better than Cal's -0.29 but still. Anna DeBeer and Sofia Maldonado-Diaz were both leaders offensively, as each put down eight kills and managed three service aces. Only Nayelis Cabello hit higher than either one as she hit 1.000 by going 1-for-1.
Cal also only had six service errors, but they had just five aces. Louisville was strong defensively, as evidenced by Cal's final hitting percentage. The Golden Bears had just two hitters over 0.000 on the day. Louisville dominated the block, as well, putting up 13 total compared to Cal's four. Even more impressive than the total number of blocks is how well Louisville was reading Cal's offense. Of those 13 blocks, only one was solo, meaning multiple Cardinals were on hand for pretty much every attack attempt by Cal.
Louisville played 12 players in the match, a stark contrast to Cal's seven, and that was without a normal member of the rotation as PK sat this match out. Whether PK's absence is something to be concerned about or a precautionary rest ahead of Sunday's match is unclear. The Cards will turn their attention from L&N Arena to the KFC Yum! Center for tomorrow. Louisville brings in Stanford for yet another top-ten matchup, this time top-five. Stanford dropped one spot last week from 2 to 3, but that was a result of Nebraska going from 5 to 2 more than anything to say about Stanford. The Cardinal are 9-1 this year after their win over Notre Dame and they share a common loss and two common wins with Louisville. Each team has beaten UK and Wisconsin 3-1 and each has lost to Nebraska 3-0.
Tomorrow's match looks to be another big one, and it will be nice for everyone to be able to stay dry. The event gets underway at 3PM and the match will be carried on ESPN.
Field Hockey Postponed
As the heavy winds and unrelenting rain came through yesterday, Louisville field hockey postponed its match with Boston College for player safety purposes. That match got underway at 9:30 this morning and we'll keep you updated on the results.
Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast
We're a group of three again this week as Daryl tries to avoid trenchfoot at Louder Than Life and Jared begrudgingly leaves his leaky house for a trip to South Bend. We'll have plenty to talk about (and in the case of WSOC, plenty to avoid), though, so be sure to join us. 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
Spotify: Link
Apple Podcasts: Link
Google Podcasts: Link
Overcast (free account required): Link
Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link
RadioPublic: Link
Until next time, Go Cards!
Case
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave your comments here. We ask you be respectful of other posts, no matter how ridiculous they may seem to you. After all, it is CARDINAL COUPLE.
Any attempts to advertise a product or other website here in the comments section without the prior consent of CARDINAL COUPLE will result in a bill rendered for advertising services and possible legal action. We're serious. No more bots.
Now, have your take...