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. 

Volleyball Competes but Falls Short Against Wisconsin

Fairs and Jenkins Show the Way

Thirteenth ranked Wisconsin visited the KFC Yum! Center as part of the Big Ten/ACC challenge and left with two victories in hand.

The first was against North Carolina Friday evening, the second was against our Cardinals last night in a 3-1 match (25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 25-19)

The Cardinal wide netters have now dropped three matches of their five so far this season, but before you get too down on the Kordes Krew, do keep in mind that all three losses have been against teams that are typically in the upper echelons of the national volleyball scene.

There were stretches of brilliance from the Louisville squad, including pretty much the whole victorious second set, that is very encouraging for success for much of the rest of the season. The Cards had as much as an 11-6 lead in the first set before the Badgers were able to reign it back in.

The second set started well for the Cards, getting out to a 4-1 lead, UW put a bit of run together and got to a one point lead at 4-5 before UofL re-engaged and ran it out to a 22-12 lead. They seemed to run out of gas a bit, though, finally putting the set away at 25-17.

The third set was a tight one most of the way with a tie game at 11-11 with the Badgers slowly gaining some separation for a 25-21 win.

The last set started well with Molly Sauer at the service line running out to a 5-0 lead. The Cards would get to a 7-1 lead before the shell-shocked Badgers put a run together to tie it up 7-7. It was back and forth for a bit, getting to a UW lead at 11-10 before they ran the lead up to 20-12. UofL would rally to make the game reasonably close, but couldn't close the whole gap with UW taking the set, and match, 25-19.

Leading the way statistically, Erin Fairs put down 16 kills on 36 attempts for a .278 hitting percentage with Janelle Jenkins following with 12 on 38 attempts for a .184 percentage (keep in mind that Janelle is hitting mostly from the right side, which tends to result in a bit lower percentages). Jenkins also kept the Cards afloat in the back row with 13 digs, which is behind only libero Molly Sauer (14), and defensive specialist Roxanne McVey (15). Freshman Aniah Philo, who is listed as an outside hitter has been pressed into duties more along the lines of a defensive specialist and contributed 9 digs. Philo did get to swing on a few rotations, giving Erin Fairs a bit of a breather, and connected on two with six attempts. An error dropped her percentage to .167.

Overall the hitting numbers aren't particularly impressive for either team as both team's defenses made their presence known. Wisconsin hit for .240 overall in the four sets, which includes a .432 in the first set, while UofL swung for a .178 percentage, including a .441 in the second set.

In the middle, Tess Clark and Maggie DeJong connected on seven and five swings respectively, both had 17 attempts. Tess did have quite a bit of impact on the defensive side of the equation, getting in on five of the eight team blocks. Jenkins had a part of three, while setter Katie George and Erin Fairs got a hand on one each. Fairs also had a solo block, and Maggie DeJong and 5'9" Maya McClendon each got solo blocks as well.

The VolleyCards will be back in action Friday at Cardinal Arena, the only weekend of play at Cardinal Arena this season, against Utah with a 7:30 start time. Come early if you want to see the Seton Hall Pirates vs the Ohio Bobcats. Saturday sees the rest of the action in the Active Ankle Challenge with UofL vs Seton Hall at 10am (early start time!), and then in the nightcap vs Ohio at 7:30. There will be a game following UofL's at around noon between Ohio and Utah, and then one before the nightcap between Seton Hall and Utah at 5:30.

Volleyball preview -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball Update

As spring sports have wrapped up, I've started to field some questions about what the Volleyball team is going to look like this fall.  We talked a bit about the schedule that was posted a few weeks ago (far earlier than usual, for Volleyball...some credit goes to the ACC for being on the ball for that, I suspect), but the roster has now been updated, and there are some changes, not all completely expected, but none too terribly shocking either, I don't believe.

First off, last year we had an effective roster of 13 people. The website lists 15, but we had one mid-season departure from the team and Javoni Faucette sat out the whole season because of injuries.  This year, we're looking at a roster of at least 16, and to my knowledge, everyone is completely healthy.  I also hear of another likely transfer that isn't yet official and thus isn't listed, and likely won't be added, presumably, until after she arrives on campus for the summer.

We graduated two; Tara Gowan, an outside hitter; and Courtney Robison, a defensive specialist.  Javoni Faucette has apparently not been able to fully recover from her injuries and is not returning, and Brooke Betts has decided to pursue the sport elsewhere.  That leaves a returning core of ten players.  Outside hitters Laura Blab, Maya McClendon, and Janelle Jenkins will be returning (Jenkins has occasionally played at middle when needed).  Our phenomenal duo of middle blockers, Tess Clark and Maggie DeJong will also be returning.  At setter, we have the services of both Katie George and Lindsay Palmer again, though should Katie win Miss USA in July, its unlikely she will return to play volleyball, in my estimation.  On defense, the trio of Roxanne McVey, Gabbie Wiley, and Eleni Georgiafandis will still be providing a solid core, Lindsay Palmer can be counted on to fill in on defense as well, when Katie is setting.

There were two transfers that joined the team in January that we've spoken about some before.  Both outside hitters - Ashley Pettibone transferred from Golden West College and will be a sophomore, and Erin Fairs comes to us from USF and will be a senior.  I don't expect to see Ashley on the court a tremendous amount this year, but count on Erin to be a major component of what looks to be a fairly potent, if not terribly tall, offense.  Erin also will likely play full rotation, so expect to see her digging and passing as well as providing an offensive outlet as a back-row attacker.

There are four incoming freshmen.  First is Molly Sauer, a hometown favorite, coming to UofL from Assumption and KIVA, Molly is listed as a Libero and will bolster the defensive core that we have returning.  The roster has Molly, Roxanne, and Eleni all listed as Libero, with Gabbie as a DS, but I would expect Molly to be the one that ends up wearing the different colored jersey.

Next among the freshmen are a pair from Texas. Aniah Philo is from Rockwall, TX, in the Dallas area.  Morgan Miller comes to us from Magnolia, TX (and is remarkably difficult to google due to at least two other notable Morgan Miller's, including one who is a volleyball player, and another who has had some success in the beauty pageant world from Magnolia, AR).  Magnolia is outside of Houston, and incidentally, this is the same hometown as Roxanne McVey, though they did attend different high schools.  Aniah is an Outside Hitter, and Morgan is listed as both a setter and a right side hitter.  While I haven't seen either play, as the only player listed as a right side hitter, I would think it likely that Morgan would get some playing time in that position.

Lastly, Jasmine Bennett comes to us from McCracken County High School in the Paducah area.  Jasmine is the daughter of Winston Bennett and will be wearing jersey number 25 like her father did during his basketball career.  I have not had the opportunity to see Jasmine play, but I would be surprised, as a middle blocker, if she can crack into significant playing time over Tess or Maggie this year.

Baseball Hosts

As always, while its not really in our core mission, I would be remiss in not noting the results of the NCAA Baseball Selection show.  We knew already that Louisville had been selected as a host site for the Baseball Regionals, but the selection show revealed that we will be the overall 3 seed in the tournament, which means that we will also host a SuperRegional...presuming, of course, that we emerge victorious from Regional play.

In the Regional, we will be hosting Morehead State, who will be our first opponent, along with Bradley who is the Regional 2 seed, and Michigan.  The format for the NCAA Baseball tournament is the same as Softball, with double-elimination Regionals, a best of 3 Super Regional, and the College World Series with essentially parallel double elimination and a best of three championship series.

Action gets started Friday at 2pm, with the Cards taking the field at a scheduled 6pm.  NCAA action is ticketed, unlike most UofL Baseball games.  Tickets can be bought starting Thursday through the UofL ticket office.

jmca

Softball cancelled after rain hits Louisville -- Tuesday Cardinal Couple

CARDS GET IN 3-1/2 BUT RAIN WINS

Rain ended up being the winner last night at Ulmer Stadium in the Louisville vs. FSU softball game...a cancellation in the bottom of the fourth with the Noles holding a 1-0 lead.

It was a pitchers duel between Louisville's Maryssa Becker and FSU's Lacey Waldrop when this one finally got started at 7:20 p.m....Becker allowing a first inning run on a couple of FSU hits and the Cards threatening in the bottom of the fourth when Jordan McNary was hit by a pitch, stole second, Becker drawing a walk and both advancing on a passed ball. 

The rain started coming down a bit harder, though, with Brittany Sims at bat and the umpire called for the field to be covered at 8:25 p.m. Unfortunately, the precipitation didn't let up and the game was called at 9:05 p.m. 

So, the series ends with each team gathering a victory. The Cards are tied for third place in the ACC with a in-conference record of 13-5...with Notre Dame. 

FSU remains on top at 14-3 and North Carolina a 1/2 game back at 13-3. The Cards are 24-13 overall and will return to action Friday night when they travel to Oxford, MS for a three game out-of-conference series with Ole Miss. 

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BECKER PLAYER OF WEEK IN ACC

Maryssa Becker went into last night's game as the ACC Softball Player of the Week and what a week she had! She started with a 5-0 win over DePaul and recorded 10 strikeouts...a career high for the sophomore out of Medford, OR. 

Next was the 1-0 shutout of FSU Saturday night. Becker allowed just four hits in the complete game win. 

She is 10-4 on the season and has an ERA of 2.49. 

Those at the ballpark last night were treated to a pitcher's duel between two of the best in the nation. It's a shame Mama Nature decided to cry and end the drop-ball fest...

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VOLLEYBALL DIGGING SPRING TRAINING

A chat with our steamed colleague Worldwide during the rain delay last night revealed how impressed he was with Louisville Volleyball this weekend. The Cards defeated Illinois on Saturday and Kentucky on Sunday in Cardinal Arena. 

Passing and hitting top his chart as improvements the Cards have made with Roxanne McVey impressing him at libero.

He'll have much more on this, including an interview with UofL Volleyball Coach Anne Kordes for Saturday's radio. 

paulie
xxxxx

Sunday Quick Hits, Scores, and Splits - Sunday Cardinal Couple

(Sorry for the late update this morning, Paulie and I had a bit of a miscommunication and both of us have travels going on the next couple of days.  In the meantime, let's all wish Paulie a joyous Happy Birthday in the comments!)

Quick Splits for Swim and Dive

Someone needs to check Tanja Kylliainen for gills, as she won three golds in the ACC Swimming Championship, setting three ACC records in the process, as well as pulling in the MVP award for the meet.  While she hasn't quite hit the mark yet, some of her records are putting her into overall American record setting territory.  Tanja isn't out there alone, however, teammate Kelsi Worrell picked up an individual ACC championship with a record setting pace in the 100 free.  She also picked up the win in the 100 fly, and claimed a silver in the 50 free.

Other finishers of note in the meet include Andrea Cottrell with a bronze in the 200 breaststroke, and the team took a bronze in the 400 free relay.

Lacrosse Chills Canisius

The scoring came fast and furious for the Cardinal Lacrosse team as they tried to stay warm in the sloppy cold weather on Floyd Street.

Cortnee Daley and Faye Brust both found the back of the net four times in the victory over the New Yorkers, who, by reports, insisted on playing the game on the outdoors Lacrosse field rather than taking it indoors to the warmer and drier confines of the Trager practice facility by Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium.  I wonder if they thought the cold, rainy, sleety weather would be an advantage to the northerners, but the tricks on them as Cortnee Daley hails from not much further south in Pennsylvania, and, of course, our draw control expert, Kaylin Morissette, comes to use from Canada and merely laughs at New York's cold weather resume.

Suffice it to say that this game was never in too much doubt.  While its still early in the season and there are plenty of lessons to be learned to improve the Cardinals' play, they jumped on the board in the first half, scoring three times before Canisius was able to get one between the pipes.  The Cards and and The Golden Griffins would trade a couple of goals apiece to go into halftime 5-3.

The second half was all Cards, though.  While shutting out The Griffs...I wonder if they stopped in at Griff's on Cardinal Boulevard for dinner after the game...in the second half by turning up the defensive intensity, the net got a workout as ten shots managed to find their way between the pipes before the final buzzer sounded and the teams were able to go dry off and warm up with a final score of 15-3.

Sophomore Ashley Peacock stopped four shots in goal, while the GK for The Griffs, Rebecca VanLaeken got in front of six to help keep the score from getting even more out of hand.

Lacrosse takes their first road trip, heading out to Colorado to take on Denver in a 3pm Saturday game.

Team USA Volleyball Tryouts

A quick hit, actually, probably a lot of quick hits in Colorado Springs this weekend as the US National Volleyball program holds their annual tryouts for the various US Collegiate teams that will play this summer.

The Cards have seven, a veritable invasion of the Rocky Mountain State, taking part in tryouts.  Libero Roxanne McVey; our pair of starting middles, Tess Clark and Maggie DeJong; both setters, Katie George...because she doesn't already have enough to do this summer...and Lyndsey Palmer; outside hitter and transfer from USF, Erin Fairs; as well as the play-her-everywhere-but-mostly-outside-hitter, Janelle Jenkins; are all taking part.

We here at the Cardinal Couple wish them all the best and look forward to hearing of summer travels to come.

- JMcA