Omaha and Lexington Bound - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Punches Ticket

The Louisville bench running to celebrate the
moment, and the line judge hoping he doesn't get
run over.

The Louisville Volleyball team punched their ticket to Omaha for the volleyball Final Four in dramatic fashion yesterday with a five set win over Oregon (25-23, 23-25, 13-25, 27-25, 15-6).

The Cards and Ducks both have a tendency to start matches slowly, and yesterday was an example.  Both teams felt a bit slow and not up to their usual standards.  It was an four point Oregon run from a tie game at six points that would really set the tone for much of the first set.  Once the Ducks got that lead, they would maintain it until Louisville would tie it at 20 points each.  Louisville wouldn't take the lead again until 23-22 on an Anna DeBeer kill.  Oregon would hold off one set point before giving Louisville the set win on a service error.

The second set looked like it would be Louisville's to win.  Opening with an Oregon hitting error and a pair of aces from Elena Scott, the Cards built it out into an 8-3 lead.  The Ducks pushed back to tie it at 10 and then the teams just traded punches for a while.  The biggest runs the rest of the set were a pair of three point runs by Oregon to end up with a two point lead.  Both teams sided out at 100% the rest of the way, which was a problem for Louisville since that meant they were bouncing between a one and two point deficit.

Elena Scott with 5 aces, along with Cece Rush
and Ayden Bartlett causing numerous out of
system plays for Oregon deserve to celebrate

And then the wheels fell off.  What can you say?  In the third set, Louisville just looked like the Keystone Cops.  Oregon ran off the first four points and then the Cards gifted them another four on errors.  A kill by Aiko Jones showed just a bit of life, but Oregon would push the opening lead of the third set to 10-1.  A couple of errors by Oregon, and a DeBeer kill would claw some back to get 11-5 but that would be as close as it got for the rest of the set.  A mini Louisville three point run would push the Louisville score up from "embarrassing" to merely "bad".  Credit a pair of Claire Chaussee kills, and another ace by Elena Scott.  Oregon would cruise to a 25-13 win in the set, and the Louisville crowd of over 8,700 paying tickets, and probably closer to 10,000 in overall attendance, were probably all feeling a bit of a sense of despair.

But the Cards weren't done, they were determined not to go down without a fight.  And a fight is what they would have.  The fourth set was an absolute slugfest.  Louisville can certainly be thankful for eight Oregon errors in the set to help, and after having seven errors in each of the second and third sets, Louisville was able to get their under control in the fourth with only four.  There were a lot of three point runs, on both sides of the net, making the scoreboard feel like a teeter-totter as the lead shifted back and fourth.

Anna DeBeer celebrates

The Hollywood ending came in the fifth set.  Phekran "PK" Kong started out the set with a kill that would be answered by Oregon with a pair.  A trade of errors brought the score to a competitive 3-2.  I don't know if the Cards decided they were tired of dealing with Oregon, or if Oregon was just plain tired, but a couple of DeBeer kills, an Amaya Tillman kill, and a couple of errors from the Ducks with Cece Rush at the serving line put Louisville on a five point run out to 7-3.  In a shorter 15 point fifth set, that's a pretty big deficit, and the Ducks would never really recover.  Oregon would pull a pair back but a service error by Oregon would give the serve back over to Louisville.  Ayden Bartlett subbed in to serve and her aggressive serving like Rush had done before, led to another big Cardinal run.  Full credit where it's due, while the aggressive serving put Oregon more out of system than they had been all match, DeBeer put four kills in the stats as part of it.  One more point for Oregon, followed by a Duck attack error and an Aiko Jones kill, and the Cardinals were set to return to their second straight Volleyball Final Four.

Oregon's speed play was a real challenge for the Cards.  But ultimately the stats show that Louisville was able to overcome that.  A good blocking team, Oregon did lose the blocking battle to Louisville 11-7.  And Louisville won the service battle, seven aces to three, with five of those going to Elena Scott.  I had the pleasure of having legendary Assumption and KIVA coach Ron Kordes sitting directly behind me, and at one point I heard him say in admiration of Mercy graduate Scott, "I was so glad when she graduated."

In addition to service aces, Scott unsurprisingly led the team in digs with 15.  On the offensive side the attack was mostly spread between our three main pin hitters, who were also Louisville's honorees for the All-Region team.  DeBeer led the way with 17 kills along with a solo block and a pair of shared blocks, and 10 digs for a double-double.  Meanwhile Claire Chaussee tallied 13 kills, a pair of overhand sets, which is very uncharacteristic of her, and just missed a double-double of her own with nine digs.  Aiko Jones claimed 12 kills on the right side, picked up the other pair of service aces, a solo and a shared blocked, and a pair of digs for a solid performance.  Amaya Tillman continued to show why she's so revered as a blocker in the NCAA with a pair of solo blocks and five shares, numbers that are impressive in general, but against the super quick Oregon play-style, are just amazing.  Add in eight kills for Tillman, and she, rather quietly, had another great night.

The dogpile after the victory and Louisville is
officially advancing to the Final Four

It was mentioned above, but a definite shout out to Cece Rush and Ayden Bartlett.  While their stats lines don't show much, their serving, particularly in the fifth set, was absolutely clutch in taking Oregon out of their system and giving the Cards a chance to transition to offense cleanly.

So Louisville advances to the Final Four, where waiting for them will be a very familiar foe in Pitt.  The Panthers were able to beat defending national champs Wisconsin in their own five set thriller in Madison, WI.  On the left side of the bracket, Texas was able to dispatch what was a familiar foe for them in Ohio State in four sets.  Finally, in another upset, San Diego outlasted Stanford on their home floor at Maples Pavilion in five sets to advance to San Diego's first ever Final Four.

The Semifinals will be on Thursday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.  Texas and San Diego will play the first match with a 7pm start time, and Louisville vs Pitt will follow with a scheduled 9:30pm start (all times Eastern).

(Photos by Jared Anderson)

Basketball Rivalry Game

After the big volleyball match yesterday, it is time to turn our attention back to Basketball.  The annual rivalry matchup between Louisville and Kentucky tips today at 1pm.

Kentucky arrives at this point in the season with a better record than Louisville, at 7-1, but they haven't met much stiff competition, yet.  Their loss came to Virginia Tech, who's certainly pretty good, and they have a win over Minnesota, who is a power five team, but...well, they're not great this year, it seems.  Otherwise, the Cats have beaten Radford, Morehead State, Coastal Carolina, Bellarmine, Dayton, and UNC Greensboro.

The main threat for the Cats is Jada Walker, averaging almost 15 and a half points per game, with Robyn Benton, who falls just short of the 15 ppg mark.  Both are threats from three point range, along with Blair Green who clocks in at just over 10 ppg.

It's a 1pm start time for this one, and it is on the flagship ESPN channel, a nice honor.

Will Louisville continue what we saw against SIUE or will they, meeting better competition, revert to the play we saw against Middle Tennessee?  There are still plenty of questions around this UofL team, and this game should start to answer those.  A poor showing today could herald a long season, but a quality outing should lift the spirits of fans and give hope that the team is finally fitting together and figuring out their roles.

Paulie, Sonja, and Jared are making the trip to Lexington so we should have some good pictures and recap for you tomorrow.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

A foursome teed off for the CCRHP yesterday with Case being a last minute cancellation due to family commitments.  Daryl, Jared, Paulie, and myself were all on the call and celebrating both volleyball and basketball success.

Recaps of volleyball vs Baylor, and basketball vs SIUE were fun, and some looking ahead to the Oregon match, with plenty of warnings about how tough that matchup was going to be, and basketball vs Kentucky today.  Along with the other typical shenanigans and good times.  Catch it at it's anchor.fm home at: https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Volleyball-Regionals-and-Basketball-Uncertainties-e1s26lv

or any of your favorite podcast directories, as always.

-- 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

VBall Downs Pitt -- Happy Thanksgiving -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Thanksgiving, Cards fans! Normally we take today off from posting any articles... buuut we have a good reason to post a story today.

Louisville Volleyball Remains Unbeaten, Downs Pittsburgh

#1 Louisville Volleyball had the attention of the entire volleyball world last night when they traveled up north for a match with #3 Pittsburgh. The match was a rematch from a five-set thriller when the two ACC rivals were ranked second and fourth, respectively, at LNFCU Arena.

This match certainly lived up to the hype as the Cards took down the Panthers 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21) at Fitzgerald Field House.

The two powerhouse programs through haymakers at each other all night, never giving the other a chance to get comfortable on the court.

Set One: 25-19

The Cards and Panthers traded points back-and-forth for the first half of the opening set all the way up to 14-14. Louisville managed to break through with a 5-0 run highlighted by the 'Anna Show' with Anna Stevenson logging a pair of kills and Anna DeBeer earning a kill and an ace in the run. A mini run of three straight Claire Chaussee kills gave the Cards a 23-16 cushion before a DeBeer kill claimed the first set victory.

Set Two: 25-19

Pitt found themselves ahead 5-2 following a 4-0 run early on. Louisville used their own small run to tie the score at five apiece after Stevenson earned her first two kills of the set. Louisville and Pitt would continue to fight back-and-forth up to a 13-13 tie. Similar to the first set, a mid-set run helped the Cards pull ahead. Two straight Chaussee kills, a Pitt error, and a kill by Amaya Tillman allowed Louisville to take a moment to breathe. Ready to extend their lead, another 4-0 run late in the set pushed the Louisville lead to 22-15. Pitt never got closer than within five the rest of the set as the Cards took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Set Three: 17-25

When playing the #3 team in the country on their Senior Night, you expect them to battle back. And that's what Pitt did. Much of the set involved Pitt building a one-to-two-point lead and Louisville having to play from behind. Up 18-16, the Panthers were ready to close the door on the third set, using a 6-0 run to go up 24-16. The run was disrupted by an Amaya Tillman kill, but the Cards could not muster up a rally and surrendered the set to the Panthers.

Set Four: 25-21

Allowing a home team to build momentum is never good, and Pittsburgh was ready to run with their momentum. Louisville held an early 4-1 lead, but things seemed to crash and burn right after. Pittsburgh got hot and went on a 9-0 run to build a commanding 10-4 lead. Anna Stevenson was able to put an end to their run with a kill. The two teams would traded points until Louisville went on a mini 3-0 run started by a Pitt service error and ending with an Ayden Bartlett service ace. Not ready to relinquish their lead Pittsburgh scored a quick point and went up 14-10. However, Louisville didn't become #1 by sitting down and quitting. A 5-0 Louisville run that featured a little help on some poor Pitt attacking, gave Louisville a one-point lead.

 Once again, UofL and Pitt traded points until they came to an 18-18 tie. A service error sparked a mini 3-0 Louisville run that ended in controversy. Pitt challenged a kill by Jones, stating that the kill was long. Replay appeared to agree with the Panthers, but the officiating crew stuck with their initial call before awarding an arguable make-up call the next point. Following the theme, it was another series of trading points until Louisville found themselves at match point and a 24-21 lead. It was only fitting that one of the best blocking teams in the country win the match on a block by Stevenson.

The sold out crowd of 3052 was silenced... well, there was a fairly decent Louisville fan base present celebrating, as the Louisville squad rushed to the middle of the court celebrating the big victory. The win secured the sole ACC title for Louisville as well as extended their undefeated season to 27-0.

Three Cardinals were in the double-digits in kills- Claire Chaussee (16), Anna DeBeer (15), and Anna Stevenson (12), with all three hitting north of .380. Nearly all of those kills were credited to Tori Dilfer's game-high 45 assists.

On the serving side, Louisville committed nine service errors as opposed to 10 from Pitt, but Louisville did come up with six aces. Aiko Jones and Ayden Bartlett each had two aces while Elena Scott and Anna DeBeer contributed one apiece.

Louisville's blocking wasn't the difference maker in this match per se (11-10 advantage), but the blocks came at opportune moments. Anna Stevenson was apart of seven blocks (five solo blocks). Aiko Jones was a part of five blocks and Amaya Tillman got in on four.

Louisville will wrap up their regular season at home against Notre Dame this Friday at 5:00 p.m., ET. The match is sold out.

Louisville is also guaranteed to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament a LNFCU Arena (sold out, but that could change based on the number of tickets each team receives) and they're in good position to host the NCAA Regionals at Freedom Hall. The Final Four will be held in Columbus, Ohio.

Happy Thanksgiving

We normally like to take today off to celebrate and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. A day off from work and Louisville women's sports is needed every once in a while. Don't forget that we cover 12 UofL women's teams throughout the year as well as try to stay up-to-date with Louisville Alums around the world in their various professional teams.

I think Jeff gave a wonderful Thanksgiving article back on Nov. 14 (it may be on the second page for most devices) and there's no way I can top that. But I do want to go ahead and give thanks.

First, I want to thank everyone that is a part of our Cardinal Couple Crew that allows us to continue to run smoothly (usually) and to stay up-to-date with so many Louisville happenings. Seriously, have you tried knowing everything about every Louisville women's team at the same time? It's definitely not a one-person job. Between our daily coverage, recent photos, personalized player and coach interviews, and a unique and one-of-a-kind podcast, it feels like we have a full army keeping this ship upright.

Secondly, I want to thank YOU. Whether you check out Cardinal Couple to see how one specific sport or player is doing, or you like to get caught up on all the happenings, or you want a unique perspective on many sports, or you enjoy a judgement-free zone to post your thoughts, we would not be able to function without our readers/fans/engagers.

Third, I would be remiss if I did not thank Louisville Athletics. Without Louisville Athletics we have no teams to cover and no purpose here. They bring us great joy (and the occasional frustration) and allows us to do what we love. Included in this would be the terrific Sports Information Directors who provide us with media credentials and all of the resources we need to do our job efficiently.

I am also thankful for the opportunity to continue to grow and share my photo abilities here. Cardinal Couple was the first place to bring me on for photos. Looking back at my early work, I appreciate that Paulie ttook a chance on me when he agreed to bring me on. Over time, my work has improved and I've been able to provide better quality work to share here.

On a non-UofL note, I am also thankful for my family. My parents and brother live no more than a couple minutes from me so I am able to see them regularly. Much of the rest of my family is nearby as well, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, so I get to see them too. Of course, I am absolutely blessed to have such a fantastic and amazing fiancé in Katy. She has been my biggest cheerleader and supporter and I have no idea where I would be without her.

From our Cardinal Couple family to You, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Go Cards!

Jared

Red Black Scrimmage -- WSoc Hosts Western Michigan -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

VOLLEYBALL RED VS BLACK SCRIMMAGE 

We are starting to get in the swing of things again with several fall sports having started or are about to start. Volleyball hosted their annual Red Black Scrimmage last night. Worldwide was in attendance last night. With the start of band rehearsals picking back up last night I was not able to make it out to L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Some of you may remember that prestigious music conference the group I'm in- the Louisville Winds- performed in up in Chicago back in December 2019. After nearly a year and a half of not playing together, we finally got back to playing again. And we already have been invited to another big music conference at the beginning of next year!

Worldwide had all sorts of positive comments on volleyball last night . One of the promising signs was Ayden Bartlett getting a lot of playing time in the libero spot. Elena Scott and Alexa Hendricks also spent some time in the odd-colored jersey. Tori Dilfer was the clear favorite to be the starting setter again, but Rachel DeMarcus also saw some action in the same position. We did find out that Paige Morningstar is planning to redshirt this season.

Scores of matches are of a secondary nature in Red & Black scrimmages. We do know Aiko Jones' squad won the first set 28-26 per Jeff.

 

CARDS WSOC VS. BRONCOS

Moving onto tonight, we have the first true regular season game of any sport for the 2021-2022 season. Women's soccer hosts Western Michigan at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium at 7:30 p.m. This match can be caught online on ACC Network Extra.

It's hard to preview the first game of the season because there is nothing to scout and base the opposition on. It's even more difficult because of the inconsistencies with last season and the pandemic.

Western Michigan finished last season 6-2-2, all in MAC play. They finished last season winning four straight matches. The Broncos scored 15 goals through 10 games, but did record a strong number of 55 saves.

Like the Cards, the Broncos have an experience goalkeeper in fifth-year senior Maggie Rogers. Rogers had an .861 save percentage last year. Fifth-year forward Bailey Korhorn led the team with five goals last year. Morgan Ottenson and Jenna Blackburn were a big part of the offense each contributed four assists to help power the offense.

Louisville has some experience on their side as well, with veteran keeper Gabby Kouzelos. She has a four-year starting centerback in Sarah Hernandez helping corral the back line. Taylor Kerwin, Maisie Whitsett, and Delaney Snyder have all been a big part of the team in recent years and enter their final year with the program. We did not see Snyder in the 2-0 exhibition win against Ball State last week, no information on her status yet for tonight. 

Snyder is expected to be a big part of the new offense, if she plays, with help from graduate transfer Mikayla Hampton. Ravin Alexander has converted to a forward and showed the impact she can make with her performance against Ball State. The Cards started five freshman n the exhibition we'll see if  that holds tonight. 

Louisville's schedule is rather unforgiving once conference play begins so we hope to see plenty of non-conference wins to slingshot the season out of the starting gate.

Paulie should be there and Sonya will accompany him. She made it out to the scrimmage on Saturday. Worldwide made it out for the scrimmage, and with free admission this year, we hope to see him at a few matches this year. In the past, Case had season tickets to soccer so it's a safe bet he will make it out there from time to time. Daryl will be running the video camera crew at the Bats game so she will not be in attendance. I plan to be back on the field taking pictures.

                                                    *****************************

Jeff Walz has a presser scheduled today at 2 p.m. (on-line) that Paulie and a few of us will monitor and we'll bring you that tomorrow, along with the recap of WSOC.  No earth-shaking news, as far as we know, upcoming from Walz, he hasn't done a presser in awhile and this is just planned as a "catch-up, how we're doing" event. . 

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared