Volleyball Wins ACC Title -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Sweeps UNC for Title

Louisville Volleyball completed the spring portion of their regular season yesterday and, in doing so, claimed their third ACC title since joining the league in 2014. The title is their second outright, after they shared the crown with Pittsburgh in 2017. The title gives Louisville the automatic qualifying bid for the ACC in the upcoming truncated NCAA tournament which will feature only 48 teams. The Cards are ranked in the top-15, but were not mentioned in the most recent top-ten power rankings. Louisville will learn their fate during the NCAA's selection show on Sunday at 4PM. The selection show will air on ESPNU. 

As for yesterday's match, Louisville came out attacking early, as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead before UNC began to claw back. The Tarheels would get closest at 7-9 before Louisville went on a run to stretch their lead. Ultimately, the Cards would use a few point spurts, outscoring the Heels about 4-1 en route to a 25-15 first game victory. It wasn't all good for the Cards in the first game, as Ayden Bartlett went down with an apparent knee injury. This gave Cici Rush and Claire Chaussee a bit more playing time as the two would appear in all three sets following the injury. 

The second game was much tighter. Louisville was again able to pull out to a 12-8 lead, but UNC was not so easily deterred this time. The Heels pulled back level and the two teams traded points into the 20s. UNC grabbed a game point at 24-23, but Louisville was able to fight it off with a huge block by Amaya Tillman. After a couple of more trades, Louisville finally won the game at 28-26. The second game was Louisville's best attacking game, yet ended up being the closest of the three. The close loss gave UNC a big motivational boost heading into the third game.

The Tarheels came out hot, zipping out to a 7-1 lead. Louisville held strong, though, and three straight errors (two blocks) brought Louisville right back into the game. After a few more traded points and a tie at 11, UNC took a 12-11 lead for their last lead of the match. From there, Louisville went on an 8-1 run to snag a 19-12 lead, which UNC could not overcome. The Cards cruised from there to a 25-18 victory. 

On the whole, Louisville had an encouraging match in their final regular season action before the NCAA tournament. They hit for .288 and held North Carolina to just .080 hitting. The Tarheels did outblock the Cards at 9-8, though Louisville's were a bit more timely. The stat that still needs cleaning up has been persistent for Louisville throughout the season, and that is on the service side. The Cards finished with six aces compared to ten errors. The Heels finished with four and four. Louisville will need to clean that up to ensure advancement in the NCAA tournament. 

Stanford vs Arizona for the Title

It's a shocking all PAC-12 final in the NCAA Women's Tournament after a pair of buzzer beaters missed for South Carolina and Arizona led wire-to-wire against UCONN. No Cardinal Couple Pick'em Brackets selected this title matchup.

The first game of the night saw a pair of teams desperate to get through, as South Carolina fought back from multiple large deficits against Stanford. The Cardinal held the lead for most of the game and were the beneficiaries of a few helpful non-calls. The two worst offenses came when a blatant kicked ball was missed and led to a runout that gave Stanford a five point lead with under two minutes to go. A couple of plays later saw a full shove in the back go uncalled which prevented a South Carolina layup. On that possession, the Gamecocks were probably better served by not getting that call, as the out of bounds play resulted in a three pointer. 

Despite the calls seeming to all go against USC, they can't cry foul too much, as they still had multiple chances to win. They led by one with under 45 seconds to go but quickly ceded the lead. A turnover on the drive to the basket with 13 seconds left set up a foul fest to end it. With two fouls to give, USC had a couple of chances to steal out of bounds rather than send Stanford to the line. They did just that, stealing and driving with five seconds left. A layup attempt fell off the rim and fell to Aliyah Boston who had just enough time to catch and shoot as the buzzer went off. The ball clanked off the back iron and Stanford escaped.

In the nightcap, Arizona struck early and often. The Wildcats scored the first basket of the game, a three pointer, and never looked back. UCONN closed the gap to 9-8 with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter before a 7-2 run gave Arizona a 16-10 first quarter victory. They would go on to win the second quarter by four and carried a ten point lead into the half. The third quarter saw the most scoring for both teams, and it was also the only quarter UCONN would win. The Huskies scored 21 in the third, beating the Wildcats by one in the segment. It wouldn't be enough to spark a big run, though, as Arizona got their one point back in the fourth quarter, winning by ten in a game that was never really in doubt.

The title game on Sunday will be the third matchup between Stanford and Arizona. The Cardinal won the first two games by 27 and 14 points. The Wildcats will look to continue the trend of cutting that deficit and make it a closer game. Stanford reaches their first title game since 2010-11 and is seeking their first championship since 1991-92. Prior to this year, Arizona had reached the Sweet 16 just once and had not made the tournament since 2005. If you're looking for a Cinderella, you'll have to pull for a team with the same name as the team down the road.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

What a week it has been! From the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 to the volleyball ACC title, Cardinal Couple has been there for it all. We'll do our best to break it all down in this week's Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. With softball and lacrosse being on the road, we should have a full house for the first time in awhile. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at 11AM for the live show, or check out the podcast or rebroadcast following the show's airing. As always, we look forward to bringing you the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Stanford 78 - Louisville 63 -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 STANFORD SECOND HALF SURGE SINKS CARDS

A tale of two halves last night in the AlamoDome. 

The University of Louisville women's basketball squad was operating on all eight cylinders in the first half and getting great defense against the Stanford Cardinal.  Dana Evans and Kianna Smith were leading the Cards to a 21-13 first quarter advantage and the Cards had pushed that lead to 38-26 at the half. The Cardinal defense had limited Tara VanDerveer's squad to 10-of 36 shooting and the Cardinal was one for nine from three point range. It a was all any Cardinals WBB fan could ask for and hope for -- those first twenty minutes. 

Basketball is a 40 minute game, though, and the PAC 12, #1 seed in the Alamo Region assumed control in the final quarter.  

They were greatly benefitted from a student-athlete who never saw the floor in the first half. Post Ashten Prechtel hit all six of her shots, totaled 16 points and led the Cardinal in a rally that saw them cut the Louisville lead to  50-48 after three quarters and obliterate the Cards in the final quarter 30-13 for the 15-point win. 

Stanford put four in double figures, Prechtel was joined by Lexie Hull's 21 points, Kiana Williams' 14 and Haley Jones 10. Stanford shot 20-32 in the second half, made six out of eight three point attempts and won the rebounding battle 45-37. 

What Jeff Walz said post game was true. The Stanford height and length wore Louisville down and Prechtel turned the game around for the Trees. 

It ends the 2020-21 season for Louisville. It ends a stellar collegiate stay for Dana Evans, the senior guard led Louisville with 24 points, the only UofL player to reach double figures. Evans confirmed in post game remarks what we all knew -- that she was headed to the WNBA Draft and added that her time at Louisville was everything she could have asked for, except a National Championship. 

A fire alarm continually going off and a recorded announcement to vacate the facility was an annoying rival of attention during Jeff Walz's post-game remarks. And, vacate the building, the bubble and San Antonio the Cards will, as Stanford advances to play South Carolina in the Final Four. 

A painful loss and one that's hard to write about. But, I remain very proud of the Louisville squad and the 26-44 record they compiled. An ACC Regular Season Championship and bringing joy and excitement in this COVID-crazy basketball season. Evans departs, but all the other Cards return (as far as we know -- the transfer portal being what it is, it's hard to say just what will happen) and Walz has a strong nucleus to begin the 2021-22 season in the Smiths, Van Lith, Robinson, Dixon, Cochran, Balogun, Konno and two top-notch freshmen headed to the 'Ville in Payton Verhulst and Sydni Schetnan. Plus, potential transfer portal additions. 

At the end, as the Cards huddled on the court post-game, Walz pointed to the other end of the floor where Stanford was celebrating. He told them to look at the celebration, and asked the squad if that's what they wanted to be doing this time next year.  Louisville fans would like that just fine. Tomorrow's wishes begin today -- hopefully and eventually in front of a packed KFC YUM Center and no worries about distancing, masks and continuous sanitizing of surroundings. 

A season to remember and I'll let you write your own final epitaph for your thoughts on a season like no other.

Let me know in the comments section.  Reflect, remember, reminisce  and rejoice if you want on a very good season that ended too soon. 

As for me, I'll long remember the dedication, joy, hard work, excitement, love and effort Dana Evans gave us Cards fans. There will never be another Dana Evans, just like there will never be another Asia, Shoni, Angel, Myisha or Jaz for this program. The question is -- who's next to capture the hearts, love and minds of Louisville women's basketball.  The future is bright for Louisville women's basketball, great things lie ahead. You win as a team, you lose as a team and this team brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. 

Thank you, Dana. You made covering this season a joy for this old guy. Best of luck in the WNBA. 

THE FRED REPORT

This Fred's expression probably mirrors
the feeling of a lot of UofL WBB fans 
this morning over that second half. 

FREE THROWS -- Once again, a wide disparity in teams getting to the charity stripe. The Cards couldn't get a call from  a referee crew they'd never seen before. Stanford went 11-17 from the line, Louisville 1-4. Six total Stanford fouls in 40 minutes, 17 called on UofL. Dana Evans and Kasa Robinson the only Cards to reach the stripe. No letter for 25%, the discrepancy is appalling and shameful. 

REBOUNDING -- Stanford controlled the boards in the second half and that eventually sank the Cards. 45-37 in favor of the Trees, it was 23-22 in favor of Louisville after 20 minutes. I've said here before that speed and quickness can overcome height -- sadly, I was proved wrong last night. No letter. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The numbers aren't all that bad for Louisville. 40.6% from the floor, just 10 turnovers and 10-19 from three point range. 63 points wouild normally translate into a Louisville win, but the Cards were defeat in two areas -- second chance points, which went in favor to Stanford 23-8 and points-in-the paint -- a 38-24 Stanford advantage. I'll give us a small-case "e" here, that first half was spectacular for Louisville, but Stanford's height and a super sub finally got the better of the Cards

DEFENSE -- Once aain, a tale of two halves. After a great UofL defensive effort in the firstt 20, where Stanford shot just 27.7%, they rallied for 20-32 shooting for 62.5% in the final twenty minutes. The fourth quarter was fatal for UofL, allowing 30 points and 10-13 Stanford shooting. No letter. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  _-_-e-_ 

So, we now turn to the rest of the spring schedule here at Cardinal Couple. We hope you'll stay with us as we explore and laud the pursuits of Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Field Hockey and more.

We'll not abandon basketball completely -- monitoring and reporting on the off-season developments of Cardinals WBB as news comes up, but exciting things lie ahead for many other Louisville women's athletic squads and we'll be here to bring them to you. 

We appreciate you, the reader. YOU are Cardinal Couple. 

paulie

NCAA Tournament -- Lacrosse Rankings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville Named 2-Seed in NCAA Tournament

Unlike the men's side, where Louisville fans had to sweat out if the Cards would go dancing (spoiler: they're not), the women's team was waiting to see what seed they would end up being. The Cards were announced as a 2-seed, making them one of the top eight teams.

The Cards are in the Alamo Region, which has Stanford as its 1-seed. The other top teams in the region include 3-seed Georgia and 4-seed Arkansas.

Louisville is one of eight ACC teams to find themselves dancing. No other conference had more than seven teams. The list of ACC teams includes 1-seed NC State, 2-seed Louisville, 5-seed Georgia Tech, 7-seed North Carolina, 7-seed Virginia Tech, 8-seed Syracuse, 9-seed Florida State, and 9-seed Wake Forest. Notre Dame did not make the cut. They were the third team of the first four out joining Houston, DePaul, and Oklahoma.

The SEC had seven teams announced highlighted by 1-seed South Carolina and 2-seed Texas A&M. The Big Ten also had seven teams in with Maryland as the top team as a 2-seed. The Pac-12 has six teams dancing with Stanford being a 1-seed and the top overall seed. The Big 12 has five teams in with 2-seed Baylor as their top team. UConn is the other 1-seed.

Our friends to the east down I-64 are also dancing. Kentucky was named a 4-seed in the River Walk Region with UConn being the 1-seed.

Let's take a moment to look at more teams in the Alamo Region and some potential match-ups the Cards may have.

Louisville will open the tournament against 15-seed Marist. Marist College is a private liberal arts college based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They're located about halfway between New York City and Albany. Enrollment is roughly 6,600 students.

Marist went 18-3 overall and used a 13-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record to win the regular season. The Red Foxes went on to win the MAAC Tournament by defeating Saint Peters 69-30 in the championship to earn an automatic qualifying bid. Feel free to share this paragraph with a certain CJ writer who asked Coach Walz what Marist's mascot is.

Marist is averaging 63.6 points per game and shot .416 from the field on the year. The Red Foxes profited off turnovers this season by forcing 13.7 turnovers per game and converting that into 15.3 points off turnovers. They allow 50.1 ppg. 

Their head coach is Brian Giorgis. Giorgis has been at Marist since 2002 and has dominated the MAAC since then. He is 461-166 overall at the helm. This is the Red Foxes' 12th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. Giorgis is also believed to be the first coach in men's or women's basketball to reach 400 wins as both a high school coach and college coach. Coach Walz mentioned he's also a big lover of Diet Coke and usually keeps a cup of it under his chair during games.

Assuming Louisville wins their first round game they'll go up against the winner of 7-seed Northwestern and 10-seed UCF. Northwestern is based out of Evanston, Ill., and was an at-large bid out of the Big Ten with a 15-8 record. The Wildcats fell to Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals. UCF is based out of Orlando, Fla., went 16-4 and was an at-large bid out of the AAC. They fell to South Florida in the AAC Championship.

The favorite in the Alamo Region is 1-seed Stanford. The Cardinal (no "S") went 25-2 overall this year with a 19-2 mark in the Pac-12. Stanford won their conference in the regular season and tournament to earn the automatic bid.

A potential dark horse would be 11-seed South Dakota. The Coyotes- not to be confused with South Dakota State Jackrabbits- went 19-5 on the year and went 12-2 in the Summit League to take the regular season title. South Dakota then went on to went their conference tournament winning by an average margin of 24 points.

The Cards and Red Foxes will play on Monday, March 22 at 8:00 p.m. ESPN will have the coverage. 

We will have plenty more NCAA Tournament coverage for the next several days and ongoing for a few weeks.

Jeff Walz and Dana Evans had a presser after the Selection Show and you can check those out here: 

JEFF WALZ 3/15/21 PRESSER

DANA EVANS 3/15/21 PRESSER

CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Pick Em

64 teams. 63 games. Do you research, flip your coin, pick your favorite mascot, whatever helps you pick your teams. Just make sure to get your entries submitted before Monday/ March 21 at noon.

Each correct pick equals one point. There are not more points for later rounds.

COVID-19 raises the question of what would happen if a team has to bow out due to positive tests. After a bit of discussion between the Cardinal Couple staff we have come to a conclusion. If a team loses because they have to forfeit it will count as a loss. If a team advances because their opponent has to forfeit then it will count as a victory.

For example, Male High School and Manual High School are set to play but Manual cannot play due to a positive COVID-19 case and Male advances. If you picked Manual, it will just count as a loss. If you picked Male, you will be awarded a point on your bracket.

Feel free to add your comments directly to our daily articles or email us at eupherjared@gmail.com and cardinalcouple@twc.com.

Lacrosse Moves Up in Rankings

Another win helped Louisville lacrosse continue moving up the polls. They are now #15 in the IL Poll. US Lacrosse Magazine put the Cards at #17 and IWLCA has them listed as #19.

Louisville is 4-2 on the year and is on a two-game win streak and have won three of their last four matches.

The Cards host #1 North Carolina on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. You can catch this one on ACC Network.

We have gotten word of some cool news that Louisville Lacrosse will be playing the match at Football's Cardinal Stadium.  Paulie has a interview planned with Lax head coach Scott Teeter later today about the historic event and will run it in his Wednesday article. 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Reliving Past UNC and FSU Games -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Reliving Past UNC and FSU Games

With no games for a few days because of positive COVID-19 cases within the Louisville program we sit back and patiently wait to see our Cards in action again.

The North Carolina and Florida State games have been postponed with a slight chance of cancellation. So, instead we will revisit recent games between the Cards and these foes.

North Carolina, who Louisville was scheduled to play this past Sunday, has not been to the KFC Yum! Center since Jan. 3, 2019. The Cards and Heels played in Chapel Hill on Jan. 19 last season with Louisville hanging on down the stretch for a 74-67 win. The prior season, which I will highlight, was just as close with a 73-66 score.

Here are some photos from that 73-66 win in 2019:

The Cards and Seminoles have played a little more often with those last two games ending in Florida State's favor. FSU topped the Cards by two in the ACC semifinals last season. During the regular season, the Cards lost at home by eight. That will be the game I highlight below. The two foes have split the prior two meetings before that.

Here are photos from the Feb. 6, 2020 loss:

UofL and FSU will get a chance to play in Tallahassee on Jan. 10, 2021 so I won't feel as bad about their first game getting cancelled if that ends up being the case..

On a side note, it's crazy the difference a year makes in terms of photography. The UNC game photos are from January 2019 and the FSU game photos are from February 2020. I am certainly glad my photos have gotten better over time as I continue to grow and develop as a photographer.

I'm sure the rest of the crew here at Cardinal Couple is equally as grateful that they have better quality photos to post. We'll call it part of Paulie's magic he works most days for us.

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There has not been an announcement made yet about the home game against Miami as Louisville, Miami, and the ACC continue to figure that out and if the game will be possible  Miami looked pretty good in holding on to knock off UNC yesterday 67-63. North Carolina might be lamenting they are in ACC part of their schedule already, they went 5-0 in non-conference action but are 0-2 in the league now. 

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San Antonio for a "bubble" NCAA Tournament?  The Texas city has emerged as a potential site for ALL of the NCAA Tournament games this spring. The 2021 NCAA Final Four was scheduled there already. Trying to work out the logistics, venues, scheduling and hotel stays for over 60 teams for an extended time is a challenge, make no mistake about it. The city is "in talks" with the NCAA about hosting the entire event. I'd be interested in your thoughts about this. Leave them in the comments section.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared