Louisville Volleyball: Breakout Players and The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Breakouts?

It's a lazy Sunday morning, and the first event on the Cards Athletic calendar is still almost two weeks away.  Jared pronounced his expected breakout players on Wednesday, but do remember, this is the guy that predicted two goals per game average for Minout Mink in Field Hockey a couple of years ago.

Case also did some digging into Soccer a bit more deeply recently, so let's take a look at how the Volleyball roster is shaping up.

First off, Jared predicted Piper Roe as his breakout player for Volleyball, and that's not a bad choice, but looking at the roster at gocards.com, we've got four middles listed, two of which, Emily Scott along with Roe, saw action as Cardinals last year.  Anna Stevenson is joining as a 6'1" transfer from Auburn as a Junior.  She put up 1.15 blocks/set in 2018 down in Alabama.

Also, we have Amaya Tillman joining as a freshman, and the little bit of video I've seen of her play is quite impressive.  So the field is crowded in the middle.  Of course, a typical Volleyball lineup will include two middles, so there is definitely opportunity for Roe to make her mark known.  My selection will probably be Tillman, however.

For pin hitting, we only have a single opposite hitter listed, although it's not that much of a challenge for left sides to shift over to the right side and swing.  Aiko Jones has an opportunity as that specialist opposite, however.  Jones took a red-shirt last year, to give her some time to develop her game, she has amazing athleticism, but the question of the pre-season is how much refinement can she bring to her play.  She's been working hard, and has a great attitude.

For pin hitting overall, however, I have to look to Claire Chaussee.  We know she has power, both at the pin and from back the serving line, however there is a real need to bring some control to it.  If she can tighten it up just a little bit, perhaps sacrificing just a little bit of that power to do it, this could be a major breakout year for her.  If she does, look for us to be talking about Chaussee as the next Melanie McHenry.

And, of course, McHenry will have a great year, but her breakout was really the first weekend of play her freshman year at Bowling Green State when she won the MVP of the weekend, so she'll just be continuing to build on her excellence here in her finale season.  Nena Mbonu is coming in as a freshman, and is just a really big question mark right now.  There's athleticism there, but what comes to fruition from it?  How ready is she for D1 level of play?  We'll get a glimpse on the 17th.

I've been saying for months that the setting position is Tori Dilfer's position to lose.  A transfer from TCU who will be in her sophomore season with us, played on the US Collegiate National Team that went to the WUGs and she definitely has skills.  Early reports, however, point to this being more competitive than I was expecting, with Shannon Shields, an incoming freshman, receiving lots of kudos.  Either could potentially have what we could consider breakout seasons.

Lastly, in defense, I have no reason to believe anyone other than Alexis Hamilton will don the libero jersey, but for breakout performance, I think I would point to Mia Stander.  She got pressed into action last year, a bit sooner than she was really expecting, I believe, thanks to various injuries and performed well as a true freshman.

Molly Sauer graduated, Kelly O'Neal is not listed on the roster at all this year after dealing with back problems and missing nearly the whole season last year.  With more D1 level preparation, this could be a great year for Stander.  The competition here, is Akela Yuhl, who has also contributed well at times, and an incoming freshman Alexa Hendricks.  Again, as an incoming freshman, Hendricks will be a bit of a question mark, but comes from a good background, matriculating to UofL from the KIVA/Assumption High School pipeline that has sent so many excellent Defensive players on to play for so many schools over the years.

OK, I hear you all saying that I'm dodging by looking at positions and you want a single breakout performance prediction for the year.  I'm still going to caveat this a bit, but, here we go.

Claire Chaussee will get the most attention for breakout play, but my personal expectation of
breakout performance credit will go to Mia Stander.  Chaussee will get more attention overall because she's an offensive player, and offense always gets more attention that defense, pretty much in any sport, but I believe the short-stuff (5'3") defender from Atlanta will have the biggest improvement in play and contributions to making this team a better team.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Was it a breakout performance for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour?  Eh, well, we had fun, even with just Paulie and I in the studio.  I ended up scoring a respectable 80 on the quiz after a hot first half, and a disappointing second half.  We will be working on our concentration exercises as we start gearing up for the beginning of the fall season.

We discussed the new KFC YUM! CENTER logo, Louisville women's soccer, Volleyball and much more before the quiz and after. 

You can check out yesterday's edition on Facebook Live at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/636259420217676/

-- 

JMcA

Christmas Approaches - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Christmas Wishlist

It's that time of year when Cardinal Couple thoughts turn to metaphorical gifts to get the UofL women's sports programs and a wish for you, the reader.

So let's get right to it, and please...let's hear your wish-list items in the comments. Here are mine:

The "three wise men" enjoy some holiday cheer

First off, for you readers...take some time to relax, reflect and revel.

For WBB...a good rest and period of relaxation with your family and friends back home during this holiday season.  Any workaday employee knows that occasional breaks and vacations are critical for maintaining peak functioning in a role.  The women's basketball squad, one of the few squads actually in action in this time of year gets a lengthy break in their schedule and will get to spend 5 or 6 days home with family and friends, a near eternity in basketball scheduling.  Use that time wisely, enjoy it, maintain your conditioning, and be grateful for the support structures that you have there.  Most of the other programs are out of season, but the same notions apply.  Use that off-season time wisely, take a bit of a break, but don't get completely out of your habits and practices that help you perform at your best.


Second, and this is similar to the first, on my wish-list is the gift of healing.  During the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour yesterday, I shared a bit of news from the Volleyball front, but the discussion evolved from there into a discussion about some of the injuries that the team had sustained this year.  The off season is a chance to heal those up and be able to come back, hopefully in the spring, but certainly in the fall, fully healed up and ready to play.

Next, I want to put one specifically on my list for Volleyball.  I suspect the coaching staff is looking for a transfer or two in the off-season to bolster the ranks of this squad for the coming year.  Specifically, it looks to me like the squad will be in need of a setter, and some boosts on right side hitting.  The signed freshman class has players coming in that are adept at playing these positions, but perhaps a graduate student transfer or two to plug the immediate holes and give these freshman some time to get up to speed would be helpful.  We saw, this year, that freshmen can sometimes come in and immediately find "the college gear" of play (Emily Scott, and Mia Stander particularly come to mind, here), but putting that level of expectation on incoming freshmen is not ideal to my mind as a fan.

And I'd like to put a couple of wish-list items for some individuals.

First, for Asia Durr, more ACC Player of the Weeks honors (I'm pretty sure she's gonna get this one), the ACC Player of the Year honor, and dare we even hope for overall Player of the Year honors?

For Jess Laemmle, I wish more scoring opportunities taken.  I always love games where everyone gets to play and everyone scores.  Jess, to her credit, is a role player and plays that role to perfection.  She is unselfish, she is supremely supportive of her teammates, and frankly she's just inspiring to have around.  The lone Attack Yorkie on the squad this year, and surely all-around fan favorite, I have no complaints about her play whatsoever, I just hope she gets the gift of a little confidence to shoot the ball herself.  Everyone loves you, Jess, we want to see you get some points up there, though!


What about you, dear reader?  What gifts do you wish to see these players get?  We'll talk next week about resolutions for the coming year, about what you would like to see them do and accomplish.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Jared and Worldwide escort Paulie to the studio

Three of the knuckleheads were on the air yesterday, as Paulie, Jared, and myself made it to the magnificent, media, musical mansion on Mellwood....the wonderous and wonderful home of WCHQ.  We had a great studio guest -- Jared's girlfriend Katy -- who took a viewer's role.

You can check out the Facebook Live stream at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2290967671136636/

We talked a lot of basketball, covering the NKU and Central Michigan game for the women.  I shared a tidbit of news about volleyball, and we discussed, briefly the latest shock out of the athletic department as a whole, the firing of Todd Sharp.  Join us, won't you?

-- 

JMcA

Irish Find Luck on Senior Night -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Volleyball Cards Fall Just Short in 5 Sets

It just wasn't meant to be for Louisville as they saw their chance at another conference title officially shot down with a five set stunner on the road against Notre Dame. The Irish were celebrating four seniors, and used that emotion to motivate them to a roller coaster of a five set win. After dropping the first set in extra points, Louisville jumped out to a 2-1 lead, winning the third set by 6 and appearing to have some momentum. Notre Dame refused to sit idly by, though, and went on a tear of their own to win the fourth set by 9. Tied match heading into a fifth set.

Notre Dame came out in the fifth and completely dominated early, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the set. The Cards were able to recover a bit, and won three straight points to stave off match points for Notre Dame, but it wasn't enough as the Irish won the fifth 15-11. The Cards hit just .042 in the final stanza, bringing their average for the match down to just .169. Notre Dame hit only .179 in the match and had only one fewer serving error than the Cards, but they strung points together when they needed to and it won them the match. 

As Melanie McHenry goes, this team goes, and that was literally true last night as McHenry hit only .169 to match the team. She led all hitters in the match with 20 kills but added 10 errors to reduce her overall effectiveness. McHenry did contribute 2 block assists to a total 13 team blocks, but her effort wasn't quite enough. The team struggled as a whole, being out hit and out blocked by a team against they should have seen success. I get that it is hard to win on the road, but the Cards have shown their ability to do just that over the last two years and this was a match they should have been able to finish out. 

Louisville was led defensively, obviously, by Molly Sauer, but it was clear that the Irish intended to keep Sauer out of the play. She finished with only 23 digs compared to Mia Stander's 22. Piper Roe and Wilma Rivera led the way for the net battle with 10 and 7 block assists, respectively. Rivera's seven matched the highest volume from two players for Notre Dame, but, once again, it just wasn't enough.

Louisville will take on Georgia Tech in the season finale after a week long break. The Cards return to Cardinal Arena on Friday the 23rd for a showdown with the Yellow Jackets. A win against GT probably doesn't do much to solidify Louisville's hopes for an NCAA tournament bid, but a loss against GT would almost certainly do those hopes harm. Louisville had a disappointing end to last season, and it would be a shame to see the season end the way it has after a tough late season stumble. Louisville's four conference losses have all come in the last eight matches, and I can assure you that Coach Dani Busboom Kelly does not intend for the motivation to completely leave the locker room before this season is officially over. Look for the Cards to rebound against GT next week and hopefully parlay that into some playoff aspirations.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

With Jared banking and Paulie tailgating, you'll get the rare opportunity to hear Jeff and me run the radio show for the entire hour by ourselves. If you like hearing about volleyball and soccer, then boy do we have the show for you! If you are a basketballer, then I'm sure we can find something that is right up your alley, as well. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour this morning at 11 AM on WCHQ. WCHQ is available at 100.9 LPFM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ app, and on Facebook Live.

 www.wchqfm.com


Donation Month

Yes, it is Donation Month at Cardinal Couple. We could use your help in our 2019 planning. If you enjoy what you read here, on a daily basis, please chip in and help us bring the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports.

We cover so many sports, but, we do realize that a lot of you come hete to read our "takes" on UofL WBB. We try to give you the best coverage, as we have done in the past, and will be there to report on the action. Please donate what you can.

We humbly thank you! 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Volleyball Weathers the Storm -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Beat Hurricanes 3-1

With an unexpected late scratch of their offensive leader, Melanie McHenry, due to illness, the Cardinals found themselves in uncharted territory last night against the Miami Hurricanes. Louisville struggled mightily to find their hitting rhythm in a losing first set effort as they hit only .048 in a 21-25 set. From there, the Cards put on a reverse sweep led by Claire Chaussee and Amanda Green, despite a 25-14 error deficit in the final three sets. Not only did the Cards win three straight sets after the first, but the only times they trailed over the last three sets were at 1-0 and 2-1 in the third set. Miami kept the fourth and final set close, tying it at 22, but unlike against Syracuse last weekend, Louisville was able to close out the final few points in the fourth to avoid a fifth set. 

Two big ways that the Cards got around low hitting percentages were winning a frenzied blocking battle and dominating the serving game. Miami finished the match with 12 blocks, but the Cards tacked on one more to win the battle with 13. It doesn't seem like a big difference, but a point is a point and when it gets the ball back into your hands, good things can happen for your team, especially given the service battle. Louisville finished with 9 service errors, yes, but they also put down 8 service aces. A -1 in the serving game isn't great, but when compared to the -7 (1 ace, 8 errors) that Miami put up, Louisville came out smelling like a rose. The blocking Cards were led by Green, who had 4 solo blocks, and Emily Scott and Megan Sloan, who had 5 and 4 block assists, respectively. Serving was led by Molly Sauer, who had three aces and no errors. Akela Yuhl and Mia Stander each had two aces, but Yuhl chipped in 3 errors of her own. Still, not bad for the sophomore making her first start.

As mentioned previously, the offense was led by Chaussee and Green. Each had 16 kills and Chaussee finished with a nearly .400 hitting percentage to go along with it. High volume, high efficiency hitting wins matches. Green's hitting percentage was a bit lower, but she added on the 4 solo blocks and 10 digs to cement herself as player of the game. Green has been having a semi-quietly fantastic season that is somewhat overshadowed by what McHenry does game in and game out. Credit to Amanda for seeing her opportunity to show out and seizing it at the perfect time. The Cards needed someone to fill in for the absence of a huge all-around piece, and they got it from multiple players last night. 

Defense saw Molly Sauer, Green, Yuhl, and Stander combine for 70 of the 79 receiving attempts with only one receiving error. Sauer, Yuhl, and Stander also added 30 digs to keep Louisville's offense with opportunities to score. Wilma Rivera did former setter of the year things with 46 assists on 54 kills, 2 block assists, and an ace.

For a team that has, perhaps, struggled with some confidence issues this season, losing a star late could have been enough to throw off the entire team. Keep in mind that Miami is not a bad squad, as they sat at 13-6 (9-3) before last night's match. It should be a huge boost to the Cards to know that, while Melanie McHenry is a fantastic player, the entire match doesn't have to play through her. Coming to this understanding could help McHenry, as well, as increased confidence throughout the offense can reduce the pressure on her and open up the front line even more by teams not being able to key in their blocks as much. That said, Louisville will hope for a speedy recovery for McHenry as the Florida State Seminoles come to town tomorrow for a 1PM matchup in Cardinal Arena. The Noles sit at 15-8 and have struggled a bit on the road, but they are coming off of a road win over Notre Dame so their confidence will be high. Tune in to ACC Network Extra or head down to Floyd Street to catch the matchup, the second to last of the regular season in Cardinal Arena.

Postgame with Dani Busboom Kelly

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

After a long absence, I'll finally be making my return to the studio this morning alongside Paulie plus Paige Sherrard and Datyl Foust. Jared and Jeff sit out today with other obligations, but we'll do our best to hold down the volleyball discussions without our experts. Paulie has plenty to talk about from his adventures at the Yum! Center and basketball season is right around the corner. Tune into WCHQ FM at 11AM to hear all the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports. The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is available at 100.9 FM, wchqfm.com, the WCHQ app, or on Facebook live. Links are at the right side of the site!

November is Donation Month

If you're already getting tired of seeing the donation month discussion, well... I don't know what to tell you. Strap in, because there's quite a bit of month left. Cardinal Couple is brought to you by a group that does this for no financial gain. We cover the women's athletics at UofL because they deserve the coverage. However, this coverage isn't free. There are administrative fees to consider, as well as costs to ensure we can cover games that aren't just at UofL's home sites. If you are a frequenter of the site, or if you're new and enjoy what we do here, please consider donating to keep this operation up and running. It is a personal joy to be able to work with this team and I know what it takes behind the scenes. If you are able, any and all donations would be greatly appreciated!

Checks to: 

CARDINAL COUPLE

P.O. BOX 91521

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Donate through PAY PAL:

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Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Pictures in today's article provided by Jared Anderson. Check out his site for more from last night and beyond.