Success - A Response...SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ruminations on the Meaning of "Success"

In yesterday's article, Case wrote a fantastic short essay about the nature of Success.  Ok, there was more to it than just a philosophical and epistemological discussion about what "Success" means, but it was definitely an article that made many of us pull up short and think about the meaning of the term.

I couldn't just let the topic go, though, so, on this lazy Sunday morning, I find myself ruminating about some of the ideas, and I'll also share where I agree and disagree with Case on what I would consider a successful season for each of the women's sports teams at UofL.

Sports fans seem to frequently define success as achievements specifically within sports for their team and/or the individuals of that team.  Towards the more reasonable end of the sports fandom spectrum, you'll find fans that see success not just in National Championships, but steps along the way.  It seems pretty rare, in my perception, to find many sports fans that look for success beyond that, and I think that's something of a shame.  Case mentioned Brian Brohm and Luke Hancock.  Brohm is in the coaching staff at Purdue where his brother is head coach, and Luke, after playing limited pro ball suffered a career ending injury and is now a financial advisor.

Of course, my sport of choice is Volleyball, so I'd like to highlight some of the spectrum of success that see coming out of that team over the past years.

Let's look at a few players, and let's start with some of the players that have gone on to play
professional volleyball.  The first that come to mind are Lola Arslanbeckova, and Erin Fairs.  Lola had several years of playing professional volleyball, mostly in Puerto Rico, but has since had a child and is spending some time being a mother.  Where does more success come from there?  I have no children of my own (I have a niece and a nephew, both of whom are absolutely delightful, and I find tremendous joy in being an uncle), but I surely tip my hat to those who chose to have children and raise them well.  That's a contract that's at least a couple of decades long.  Erin Fairs is about to start playing professional volleyball with her 4th team in Romania.  She has already spent time in Sweden, Puerto Rico, and Turkey and has seen a great deal of team success on those teams.  Is there non-sports professional life ahead for Erin?  I have no clue, but from the little I got to know her in her year with the Cardinals, I have little doubt that whatever is ahead for her, it will be able to be described as successful.

But what about some other volleyball players?  Emily Juhl was a great hitter and server for the Cardinals, but chose not to pursue a professional sports career.  Emily is enrolled in the UofL School of Dentistry, and has already had the opportunity to put her developing skills in that field to some charitable use.  You could disagree about how much success she had on the volleyball court at UofL, and what impact she had on the team, though I think, pretty clearly, it would be an disagreement about degree of success, rather than success vs failure.  Clearly, though, she is a success story in what she is doing with her life "post-sports".

Friday, I posted a fun article about Gabbie Wiley playing in a Mud Volleyball tournament back home in Hannibal, MO.  But let's talk a little bit more about Gabbie, not only is she tearing it up as a defensive and serving specialist, but she's been named to pretty much every honor roll list announced for the past couple of years, making (just on a quick check) the Athletic Director Honor Roll at UofL for multiple years, but also the ACC Honor Roll.  Let's remember that she's a pre-med student, while playing D1 varsity Volleyball.  This is not a light workload, by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't expect Gabbie to go play pro volleyball anywhere, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who knows this young woman, even to the limited degree that I know her, that would say she is and will be anything but a success.

SUCCESSFUL

Case touched on this idea yesterday, but I want to amplify it a bit.  Let's not just consider success as an on-the-court measure for UofL Sports.  Yes, it's awesome to talk about being the only school to have ever had a Heisman winner and a Golden Glove winner in the same year, and I have no doubt that Lamar Jackson and Brendan McKay will see success in the pro ranks of their respective sports, but lets look beyond that as well.  Let's look at Teddy Bridgewater, who has seen some professional success, but also embodies success just in who he is (just look at the loyalty and admiration he has engendered, even in the pros...where players are thought of even more as commodities to build value for the team - well compensated along the way, to be sure - to be discarded as soon as they are no longer useful).

As much as I love to rip the NCAA as an organization, there is one slogan they have that is good to remember.  "....Most will be going professional in something other than sports."  Let's not shortchange the success to be found there.

What About the Teams, Though?

OK, a couple of quick thoughts about what success will mean for the UofL Women's sports teams this year.

Soccer: Generally agree, here.  Also, I'm not as knowledgable about soccer, so defer quite a bit to Case and Paulie's judgements here.

Field Hockey: Generally agree, again.  Though 5 losses probably doesn't earn you a top 2 spot in the ACC in this sport.

Volleyball: Top 4 in the ACC would be a moderate success for me.  I think this team can win the conference, and I'd like to see them advance to the 2nd weekend of NCAA tournament play.

Basketball: I don't think anything short of a Final Four appearance will be considered a fully successful season for this sport anymore. Top 3 in conference, Elite Eight in NCAA is a good season, though.

Lacrosse: Top 3 in conference is probably good for top 5 in the nation in this sport.  I'd agree with that criteria, but bump up the tournament expectations to a Semi's appearance.

Softball: Top 3 in conference is probably pretty good (I doubt anyone takes FSU out of the top spot if they're half as good as they were this year), and I think a Super Regional appearance that goes 3 games would definitely crown a successful season.

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

We had a great time in the studio yesterday with Paulie, Worldwide, Case and Jared! A GREAT interview with Asia Taylor, a challenging quiz (for some) and our usual totally irrelevant, off the subject rants and diversions. DID YOU MISS IT?

Not to worry....the replay is HERE

-- JMcA

George, Fairs named AVCA All-Americans -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

HONORABLE MENTION FOR TWO VOLLEYBALL SENIORS

We've spoken many times here at Cardinal Couple on how valuable Katie George and Erin Fairs were to the 2015 Louisville Volleyball team. That was verified by the AVCA in their All-American selections...both George and Fairs were placed on the Honorable Mention squads. 

First, second and third teams had 14 players each and there were 64 that were placed as honorable mention...so Fairs and George were considered to be in the top 100 of Division I college volleyball athletes. 

Maybe we're a little biased here...but we're thinking George deserved to be on one of the top three teams. Still, the honor is a very deserving one for each. 

After all, George was the 2015 ACC Player of the Year and Setter of the year. She led the league in assists. There were five setters named in the three teams. Is Katie only the sixth best setter in the nation? We think she's higher than that.

Fairs was a punishing outside hitter for the Cards. She was all-conference during her time at South Florida in both the Big East and AAC. She was also all-conference during her one year at Louisville....making her the first player ever to be all-conference in three leagues. We could make an argument for Fairs being on one of the top three teams also...but only one ACC player made any of the top three teams (Paige Neuenfeldt - UNC). 


Stanford and Minnesota, on the other hand, had four players each on the top three teams. Just in case you wondered how things were going in the NCAA Tournament, the Final Four takes place tonight on ESPN 2 starting at 7 p.m. Kansas will face Nebraska in the first game and Texas takes on Minnesota in the second match. Kansas is a bit of a surprise in being part of the Final Four but they knocked off #1 ranked USC in the regional finals to earn the berth.

We certainly appreciated the hard work, dedication and fire that Erin and Katie brought to Louisville Volleyball.  The two stars will be a part of the 2016 Louisville Volleyball Banquet on Friday, January 8th at the PNC Club at Papa John's Stadium. You can E-mail Sarah Petkovic at sarah.petkovic@louisville.edu for more information on tickets. 

paulie
xxxxx

George, Fairs took two different paths, on two different paths but have arrived at same place -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

CARDINAL VOLLEYBALL SENIORS CONTRAST BUT CONGEAL ON COURT

Erin Fairs doesn't like to be in front of the television cameras. She's OK....in fact perfectly comfortable in front of a microphone for an audio interview, but when the lights go on...

"Something just happens to me" the graduate student transfer from Florida State admits. She'll finish her studies at UofL and pursue overseas professional volleyball and opportunities in her major of criminal justice. 

Katie George takes to cameras like a dolphin does to water. It's how she plans on earning the daily dollar after graduation. The senior from Assumption High School is already a reporter for WLKY CBS here in town and has a feature show called GIRL POWER. 

Imagine this scenario...reporter George interviewing C.S.I. Inspector Fairs on the details of a crime case. Maybe it could happen someday...

I had the chance to interview both yesterday at the Louisville Volleyball presser in the YUM! Practice Center on campus and found that different styles mesh perfectly.

George is the hard-working distributor...chasing down the digs and getting the ball to the terminators....Fairs and the other front line hitters on the Louisville Volleyball club. 

Erin knew of Katie when she was at South Florida...played them in the AAC and Big East. What did she think of her way back when?

"Me and my teammates were..like...she's so good...she's a leader and just to experience playing against her was so cool.  She's a good player and puts in the work to be one."

Katie's impressions of Erin when she was on the Bulls? 

" I remember thinking...she's going to break my fingers when I'd go up to try and block her! I'm so glad that she's on my team now and I can play with her and watch her try to break opponent's fingers." 

Thoughts on getting to host? 

Katie: I actually was surprised, pleasantly surprised that we got to host. After we lost to Syracuse, I didn't know what that meant for us. I was upset about the loss because my goals this season were to win an ACC Championship and get to the first and second round. Thinking that might not happen was an unpleasant feeling but then finding out and realizing we were going to host was a very pleasant feeling.

Erin: I wasn't suprised we got to host. I thought that the winner of the ACC should get a first and second round home site and we won the ACC. I was confident. 

Belmont is Louisville's first round opponent. They come in at 17-14 and won the OVC Tournament with wins over Morehead State, Tennessee Tech and Murray State. They had lost their previous three games entering the tournament...so they appear to be on a late season resurgence. 

Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) leads the offense recording a team high 414 kills so far this season, averaging 3.87 per set.

At the net redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) has recorded 79 total blocks while fellow middle, senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.), follows closely behind with 75 total blocks. From the back line Person leads the defense with 331 digs while sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) averages a team high 3.29 digs per set.

Redshirt sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) has dished out a total of 1074 assists, adding these to her total from last year and she has stepped onto the all-time leader board in the fifth place spot with 2,280 career assists.

It gets underway Friday night at Cardinal Arena. The distributor and the punisher. The beauty queen and the beast at the net. The reporter and the killer. Nashville vs. Louisville. 

Erin and Katie are two delightful women with brilliant smiles that are a joy and pleasure to interview. On the court, however, they turn into a search and destroy duo that has led Louisville to a 24-6 record. Let's hope they have six more attempts to perform their duties...

paulie
xxxxx

Saturday Cardinal Couple --Hoops win, Volleyball loss

Basketball Wins, Volleyball Loses

Basketball Defeats Marist

The first half looked like more of the same for the Women's Basketball squad against Marist. Competitive play overall, and close scores, but slowly slipping behind the opponent, punctuated by moments of, "What were you thinking?" Ultimately, though, the Cards would get it done by a score of 65-53.

26% shooting in the first half is not going to win any awards, but some consolation was to be found in 40% shooting from beyond the arc, and very good free throw shooting at 90%, 9 out of 10. Continuing another theme from earlier games, Marist had 10 turnovers, but UofL only scored 4 points off of those turnovers in the first half.

In the second half, things started to gel a little bit. Field Goal shooting was improved each quarter; 25%, 30%, 45%, and 65% in the 4th quarter. Point off of turnovers increased each quarter as well; 2, 2, 6, and 12 in the 4th quarter while the number of turnovers on Marist stayed roughly the same, 6, 4, 7, and 7.

Points leaders in the game for the Cards were Myisha Hines-Allen with 18, Briahanna Jackson with 14, and Mariya Moore with 11. Jackson and Moore both dished up some good assist numbers with 6 and 4 respectively. Also, proving once again that height isn't the only criteria for a basketball player, the rebound leader for the team was Briahanna Jackson, pulling down 8. On a side note, Cardinal Couple favorite Sydney Brackemyre got her first points as a Cardinal by sinking both of her free throws. We also saw Dakota Weatherford get her first minutes as a Cardinal, pulling down a rebound and yoinking a pair of steals off of Marist.

The victory over Marist and Purdue's victory over LSU means we get to pull out that classis UofL cheer tonight. Go! Cards! Beat! Purdue! The game will be at 7:30 and will also be streamed on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at7z22647qQ.

Volleyball Drops the Season Finale

Volleyball closed out the regular season at Syracuse, and the Orange were flying high, quite literally. The 'Cuse beat the Cards 25-23, 25-22, 25-15 in a match that features some of the worst play by the Cards since they played Kentucky.

The story of the game can be summed up in just a few stats. The Cards committed 9 service errors, and Syracuse outblocked the Cards 12-6.

Against such impressive blocking (an attribute to be expected from any Leonid Yelin coached team), the Cards only hit .145 for the match, although Syracuse didn't set any record for great hitting either at only .229.

Defensively, the Cards did reasonably well, with Molly Sauer showing why she was Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the ACC by digging up 22 shots. Janelle Jenkins dug a respectable 13, and Aniah Philo continues to be strong on defense with 9 digs.

Offensively, there's not much joy and excitement here. Erin Fairs and Aniah Philo both had 10 kills, but Erin did so quite inefficiently with only a .050 hitting percentage, while Aniah tallied a respectable, if not spectacular .227. Janelle Jenkins did contribute offensively as well, with 8 kills for .219 hitting. The middle was fairly quiet with 5 kills for Tess Clark for .250, and 6 for Maggie DeJong for .200.

The Cards now wait to see where they get placed in the NCAA tournament. The goal for the season had been to host first and second rounds matches at the KFC Yum! Center, and that goal is not likely to come to pass at this point with the loss to Syracuse. The Cards were already expecting to be on the bubble for hosting even if they won out the season. A bid to the tournament is almost assured. There's even still a chance of getting the ACC's automatic qualifier bid. The way this works out is that we are now tied in the ACC standings with UNC at 2 losses. If I understand the tie-breaker rules in the ACC correctly, UNC would get the AQ because they have the victory over us. However, UNC still has a match to play, this afternoon, against a middle-of-the-ACC-pack Duke team. This match is at Duke, so this is a very dangerous match for UNC. The match is on ESPN3 at 1pm.

-- JMcA

Volleyball, Basketball play today...Volleyball sweeps awards...-- Friday Cardinal Couple

NO BLACK FRIDAY FOR UofL SPORTS TODAY

While some of you are busily scooping up Black Friday deals at retail outlets today, the Louisville WBB and Volleyball programs are hoping to scoop up wins on this day after Thanksgiving. 

Both Louisville women's basketball and volleyball are on the road today for games. The Wide Net Cards are at Syracuse, Walz's charges are in Estero, FL. getting ready for the Gulf Coast Showcase 

SYRACUSE NO PUSHOVER FOR KORDES KREW

In their final game of the regular season, the Louisville Volleyball team faces Syracuse with huge implications on the line.

A win gives Louisville outright possession of the ACC Championship. Beating the 'Cuse would keep the Cards alive in the RPI for a possible 1st and 2nd round hosting for the NCAA Tournament.

The Cards nearly blew both opportunities Wednesday when they ran into a fired-up, nothing-to-lose Boston College team that took them to four sets 27-29, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24
in Chestnut Hill.

Against the Orangewomen, Louisville will face a 22-8, 13-6 squad that will be celebrating Senior Day and also trying to stay alive for NCAA Tournament considerations. The two schools met earlier in the ACC schedule at the KFC YUM! Center...the Cards taking a four set win. Erin Fairs had 16 kills in the win.

Game time is 1 p.m. No TV planned as far as I can tell.

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BASKETBALL FACING MARIST

Photo by Sandy Walker

Louisville women's basketball looks for their first win of the season against (0-4) Marist later today in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Cards may present viewers a shuffled lineup...due to defensive concerns by Jeff Walz. 

The teams (all eight of them) engaged in a Thanksgiving Banquet last night that Cardinal Couple correspondent Sandy Walker attended. We'll sample some of the audio she captured from it on our Saturday radio show THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR.

If the Cards somehow manage to lose this one today, it wouldn't be a first. Marist defeated them back in 2010 in Las Vegas 74-68. It would, however, be a surprise...

This one is supposed to be live on You Tube at 5 p.m. today. Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson will have the radio call on WKRD 790.

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VOLLEY CARDS RAKE IN THE HONORS!

Congratulations to Molly Sauer, Katie George and Anne Kordes for capturing all the ACC Volleyball Awards.

Sauer was selected Freshman of the Year and Defensive player of the Year. George received Player of the Year and Setter of the Year honors. Kordes Coach of the Year. 

Along with Sauer, Aniah Philo was named to the Freshman First Team. Erin Fairs joined George on the All ACC First team. 

paulie

Louisville Volleyball sweeps "pesky" Georgia Tech in Senior Day home finale -- Monday Cardinal Couple

CARDS TAKE RAMBLIN WRECK IN THREE SETS

ROXANNE MCVEY

After a teary, joyous and emotional pre-game Senior Day send-off to Mississippi St. transfer Roxanne McVey, South Florida transfer Erin Fairs and Louisville Assumption's Katie George on Sunday afternoon in the KFC YUM! Center...the VolleyCards got down to the business of playing volleyball.

They ran into "all they wanted" in the first two matches against a determined and pesky Georgia Tech squad. 28-26, 27-25 and 25-14 were the game scores...Louisville coming back from Georgia Tech (18-12, 9-9) game-point several times in the first two matches against the visitors from Atlanta.

The first set was a tight battle that featured ten tied scores and five lead changes. Knotted up at 24-24, 25-25 and 26-26, the Cards got their final three points on three kills from Fairs to get the win. 

In the second set, neither team held more than a two-point lead and there were 17 tied scores and 4 lead changes. Louisville came back from a 24-25 deficit to win on a Tess Clark block and two straight Maya McClendon kills. 

After the break, the Cards used a 10-2 run early in the third set to establish dominance and take the match.

Louisville (23-5, 17-1) now faces their final two games of the regular season...taking to the road for matches against Boston College on Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Syracuse on Friday at 1 p.m. The Cards hold a one game lead over North Carolina and two game lead over Florida State in the conference standings. 

Louisville Volleyball cages Clemson....WKU and Louisville today in WBB -- Saturday Cardinal Couple

CARDS STAY ATOP ACC WITH 3-0 SWEEP OF CLEMSON

Anne Kordes' Louisville Volleyball team improved to 16-1 in the ACC with a straight set sweep of the Clemson Tigers
25-20, 25-24, 25-19 Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center. Erin Fairs had 16 kills for the Cards...who are at 24-5 overall and ranked #17 in the nation.

Anything less than a dominating, straight-set sweep probably would have been disappointing against the cellar-dwellers of the ACC...a team the Cards handled in similar fashion down at Clemson earlier in the season. 

With the win, Louisville holds a one game lead over North Carolina and is two games ahead of Florida State with three games remaining in the regular season. 

Louiasville will face Georgia Tech Sunday at 2 p.m. and it will be senior day ceremonies for the VolleyCards.  Katie George, Roxanne McVey and Erin Fairs will go through pre-game recognition for their contributions to the team.

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CARDS VS. TOPPERS TODAY IN BOWLING GREEN

Louisville women's basketball (0-1) looks to get their first win of the season on the road at Western Kentucky this afternoon. The game is scheduled to tip at 3:30 p.m. and is part of a double-header that also features the Western Kentucky men's team facing Stony Brook in the opener. 

The Cards look to improve after an opening season loss in the KFC YUM! Center to California 75-71 last Sunday. The Cards got good efforts out of junior transfer Briahanna Jackson (21 points, six steals) and sophomore Mariya Moore (20 points, six threes) but were outrebounded by the Bears 50-27. 

WKU held a 15-point second period lead over Ball State on the road but couldn't sustain the momentum in the final half...falling 74-70 to those northern Cardinals. Freshman Kayla Smith had 14 points in her debut as a Hilltopper but Nathalie's Fontaine's 30 points led Ball State to the victory. The Toppers were outscored 31-18 in the final 10 minutes.

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AND NOW...LIVE FROM BOWLING GREEN...

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR show will be broadcast live from E.A. Diddle Arena on the WKU campus this morning at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM and at www.crescenthillradio.com

Worldwide and Pauie will be joined on the broadcast by Paige Sherrard...writer for SB Nation and Swish Appeal and the first lady of CARDINAL SPORTS ZONE. 

We'll discuss the upcoming game against WKU, loss to Cal and review and preview volleyball action. We also have audio from Anne Kordes and post-game Cal comments from Mariya Moore, Briahanna Jackson, Lindsey Gottlieb and Jeff Walz.  

It should be another stellar event in FM radio history, you can listen at the link below:

WE'RE IN BOWLING GREEN BUT NOT BOWLING OR WEARING GREEN

paulie 

Louisville women's basketball press conference with Jeff Walz -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

"WE'RE WORKING HARD AND WE'RE A WORK IN PROGRESS"

Jeff Walz met with members of the media Thursday afternoon at the KFC YUM! Center to discuss the upcoming season, the recent recruiting class commitments and whatever we wanted to discuss with him. CARDINAL COUPLE will play the interview in it's entirety on our Saturday radio show THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR AT 11 A.M.

Here are some excerpts from Walz's comments:

Question: Give us a state of the Cardinal as you are 72 hours from the opener:

WALZ: " Well, we could use another 72 hours on top of the 72 we have. You know...we're working hard, we're a work in progress but there's no question about it. We're extremely talented. Now it's a matter of getting that talent to play together. We do miss our senior leadership from last year. Jude, Shawnta, Sherrone, Sara and Bria. Those may not have been the kids scoring all the points but they did the little things behind the scenes. We're trying to find that right now. We're trying to find whose going to step up when things aren't going well and who will get things back together. Once we can establish who those people are going to be, then I think you'll really see us start to make some progress."

Question: Do you envision playing more bodies more minutes as you begin this season? 

WALZ: " We're going to have to put our best out there. It really going to come down to where it could be game-by-game...We're going to have to figure out who can get the entire picture and put that forward."

Question (from Paulie): You've said in the past it's not so much who starts a game but it's who finishes a close game. Do you have five players in mind for that yet? 

WALZ: No. You, me...Jody (Demling). Matt with one leg back there (radio play-by-play announcer Matt Andrews...who was sporting a hard cast around his right foot) Us four could be a start.

He's still got it, ladies and gentleman. That rapier, slightly sarcastic but teasing wit. ( I personally think we need a little more height...but scanning the room the only other tall guy I saw was Courier-Journal photographer Scott Utterback...and he's gonna have to drop the camera in order to go low post and create some space for me to work around the foul line and drive to the hoop.) 

Talent. Young but off-the-charts. Seven of these girls have never experienced the building-shaking pre-game ceremonies or felt the spotlight on them as they get introduced by Sean Moth. How will they react when the first couple of shots don't fall? When it seems the refs won't give you a call...and Coach is screaming at you to get involved?

No one asked me...but I've seen a trend with them where Cortnee Walton and Myisha Hines-Allen are doing the on-court coaching, exorting and on-the-fly adjustments. Briahanna Jackson is too...and her speed and quickness serves as a great example of teaching by demonstration and not lecture. If there is a list for leadership candidates, you could certainly do worse that these three. 

B.J is also the favorite player of Coach Walz's daughter Lola. That's gotta mean something, right?  

Walz also had glowing reports on the five signees for 2016. Kylee Shook is a shooter at 6'5" who will rival any of his current three-point threats and a shot alterer. Sydney Zambrotta a pure scorer. Jazmine Jones so athletic, so versatile and game-aware. Ciera Johnson that strong, inside-the-paint dominator who can also run the floor. Bionca Dunham is one that Walz sees a lot of Candyce Bingham in someone who can also run the floor, score, rebound and intimidate smaller guards.

The future indeed looks bright. As does this year. Cal will come into town after a game tonight against Austin Peay in Clarksville, TN. If you want to do your own scout of the Bears...the contest will be available on the OVC Digital Network. It's accessible at the Austin Peay sports website and it's free. LINK BELOW: 

CAL VS AUSTIN PEAY WBB


I'll plan on watching it. That is...if I have time. I've got to get ready to start Sunday afternoon and my conditioning is just slightly better than that of a bear just out of hibernation. Getting from the bed to the bathroom is cardio, right? 

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FEROCIOUS FLORIDA WEEKEND FOR VOLLEYBALL

Anne Kordes may have the Volleyball team in the Land of Sunshine...but they're probably not lounging by poolside in swimwear and wearing sunglasses. The VolleyCards face dangerous Miami tonight in Coral Gables. Miami (17-7, 10-4) has the reigning ACC Volleyball Player of the Week in Olga Strantzali who leads the team in kills (288) and in services aces (44). 

#22 Louisville handled the Canes earlier this season with a 3-1 triumph. After losing the first set, the Cards came back to win the remainder of the games...led by Erin Fairs' 24 kills. The Cards still sit atop the ACC Volleyball standings with just one loss and one game up on North Carolina and FSU. 

This one will be available on ESPN3. A 7 p.m. start time. Clear the calendar and bring Bill The Goat in from the shed, mama! We got some watchin' to do tonite!  

paulie
xxxxx

Monday Cardinal Couple - Volleyball recap, Field Hockey Selection

Volleyball Sunday Recap

After an over-the-top-exciting match against Pitt on Friday, the VolleyCards got a bit of a breather yesterday against a middle-of-the-pack Virginia Tech team. The Cards got the sweep 25-21, 25-19, 25-19.

The first set was a good contest, and while there were only two lead changes, there were seven ties, and VT had the game tied at 18. The Cards got a bit of separation to end the set with the help of a couple of Hokie errors.

The second and third sets were all Cards, with UofL leading the whole way in both sets. A bit of a scary moment in the second set at 11-3 when VT outside hitter Lindsey Owens went down with an ankle injury. A major component to VT's play, the loss of Owens didn't help matters. While she did return to start the third set, it was only momentarily as she was clearly still in pain and wasn't able to play the rest of the match. The Cards were able to get significant separation in both sets and took the opportunity to play some players that don't usually get much playing time.

In the second set, freshman Jasmine Bennett came in for Maggie DeJong and immediately scored a kill, Kali Eaken then subbed in for Katie George. With a younger line-up on the court for UofL, VT was able to make a bit of a comeback, but not enough to put the game in jeopardy. Ashley Pettibone also made an appearance and got her first kill as a Card to finish out the second set.

The third set was similar. At 20-13, the crowd got to see Morgan Miller's play at setter and a bit more from Jasmine Bennett, who entered at 21-14. Again, with the lower experience levels on the court for UofL, VT was able to make a bit of a comeback, but again, the Cards were able to finish the set and match.

Tess Clark, who has been relatively quiet in recent matches, came on strong with .667 hitting with 8 kills on 12 attempts. The bulk of the offense came from Erin Fairs with 13 (.310), Maya McClendon on an error-free 12 for a whopping .500, and Janelle Jenkins with 11 (.320). Jasmine Bennett also ends up with a pretty nice stat line, on limited play, with an error-free 3 kills out of 6 attempts, which is an impressive .500. Erin Fairs picked up two service aces and two big solo blocks. Dependable as ever, Molly Sauer adds 16 digs to her total. Overall, the Cards hit a pretty dern good .378, although VT ended up .279, which certainly isn't terrible, particularly when they were on the losing side of the final tally.

The Cards head out on the road again, for what is certainly the toughest conference weekend of the season, with a visit Friday at 7pm to Miami, and on Sunday at 2pm at Florida State in Tallahassee. As we get deep into the season, a quick look at the ACC standings underscores the importance of this upcoming weekend. While the Cards are sitting as masters of their own destiny in 1st place, FSU is hot on their heels only a game out in 2nd. Miami has demonstrated why they are considered one of the better teams in the conference by sitting, tied for 4th with Pitt, only 3 games out.

Field Hockey Selection

Field Hockey will start off their NCAA tournament run with a challenge facing defending champions, and undefeated, UConn in Storrs. The game will take place on November 14th at 11:30am.

If the Cards can get it done against the Huskies, they will likely face Boston College, who UofL already holds a victory over, for a chance to get into the semifinals. The Eagles' first round opponent is Albany.

To further underscore the impressive achievements of ACC Field Hockey, all seven ACC Field Hockey playing teams got into the NCAA tournament. Also, while we've been saying that it's a 19-team tournament, it turns out that this year it's only an 18-team field. Of the four seeded teams, three are ACC teams, with Syracuse, UNC, and Virginia taking the first three seeds, and UConn getting the fourth.

Syracuse will face the winner of the Kent State/UMass play-in game, UNC gets the winner of Fairfield/Boston U., Virginia will play Delaware. The other ACC-involved matchups are a rematch of an early season game in Duke vs Stanford, and Wake Forest vs Michigan. The only game (excluding play-ins) not involving the ACC is Maryland vs Princeton.

Here's the team reaction: FH NCAA ANNOUNCEMENT


RADIO

Did you miss the latest broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR? No need to beat yourself up over it or fall into a lethargic state. We have the SoundCloud rebroadcast of most of it below. We're also currently looking for someone to remind the show engineer to make sure it's being recorded at the start. 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 1/2 HOUR 11/7/15


JMcA