Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball week wrap-up

.

( Welcome to another Tuesday at CARDINAL COUPLE. We have a two-for-Tuesday special with Jeff's article catching us up on Louisville Volleyball today and Sandy's Laundry day!

You have a great chance to see Anne Kordes' exciting team three times beginning Saturday in two different venues. If you haven't caught a UofL Volleyball match this season...you owe it to yourself to see these ladies in action. It'll be your first of many treks to see Lola, Gwen, Emily and the squad do battle! )

This week in Volleyball

Louisville played this weekend in volleyball at South Florida in Tampa, and at Pitt in Pittsburgh...what a road-trip that was...and I didn't make the trip, so I don't have much to offer in match recaps other than what Paul already posted, but I do think its worth it to do a week wrap-up as there is some other news to be shared.

-- UofL Team News

-- Top 25 upsets

-- New, or not so new, rankings

-- First RPI release

UofL Team News

As was mentioned in other articles, Gwen Rucker is back playing full bore, with no apparent lingering effects of her illness.  She had some great stats, particularly against Pitt.

Also racking up some great stats, as was mentioned, was Emily Juhl.  Its great to have so much depth and so many offensive weapons.  Emily seems to be recovering from her off-season surgery well and returning to form.  If you've never heard (yes, I said heard) her serve in Cardinal Arena, you should come to the match Saturday.  Its intimidating!  Its great to have her back and performing well as it gives us yet another great offensive weapon.  Lola may be the star, but with so many options, opponents really can't afford to key on her completely or they'll get beaten up by the likes of Gwen, Emily, and Brooke Mattingly, who continues to play great ball, and others.

Courtney Robison got her cast on her right arm removed this morning and has, apparently, been cleared to play by her doctor.  That gives her most of a week to get back in practice and back into form.  Its great that she didn't have to be in a cast for that long.

Lastly, as an amusing anecdote, on the return trip from Pittsburgh, flying through Chicago, the team was surprised to see, when they got to their gate to board the flight to Louisville, that the Field Hockey team was on the same flight.  I wonder if the ever-personable flight attendants on SouthWest led the passengers in a C-A-R-D-S cheer.

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

Top 25 Upsets

Pretty quiet on the upset front for top-25 ranked teams this week.  The only upsets within the Top 25 shows that #5 Washington had a really great weekend, with slight upsets over both #3 USC, and #4 UCLA.  When you're ranked in the single digits, it pretty much takes a team ahead of your losing, in order for you to move up.  Its pretty nice when you get the opportunity to make that happen, not once, but twice, in a single week.

The bigger upset is #11 BYU losing to unranked St. Mary's (Ca.).  St. Mary's (Ca.) also had a good week as they knocked off #18 Pepperdine. Pepperdine had a bad week as they also lost to unranked Santa Clara.

#19 Iowa State lost to unranked-but-getting-votes Kansas, and #25 Tennessee got swept by now-unranked Kentucky, which certainly will help our RPI.

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

New, or not so new, rankings

Well, there was some movement in the rankings, just not for us.  I thought that BYU loss might cause them to drop enough to land behind us, but not quite, as they ended up dropping 7 spots to land just in front of us at #16.  We retained our #17 ranking.  Washington's big weekend nets them a tie for 2nd with Oregon.  St. Mary's (Ca.) is now getting votes, but isn't ranked.  Tennessee, unsurprisingly, dropped out, but are, of course, still getting votes.

Western Kentucky is turning out to be quite a bit more of an RPI booster than I think any Louisville folks expected, they keep creeping up the list and have made it to #20 now.  Nothing but love for the Hilltoppers from me.

We play Texas in a week, and they're still hanging out at #9. They play #14 Kansas State on Saturday before coming in to Louisville Monday night.  Someone remind me to throw out some "Hook 'em"'s on Saturday night because I don't want us to have to play them coming off of a loss.

Illinois is at #21, Purdue at #12...so things seem to be settling down in the coaches' polls after some big early season movements.

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

First RPI release

The NCAA put out its first RPI (Ratings Percentage Index, in case you care to know what that acronym expands out to) for the Volleyball season.  The RPI tends to get a lot of scrutiny paid to it when it comes tournament selection time, which is why you'll see Anne Kordes pay a lot more attention to it rather than the coaches poll.

Good news!  UofL is ranked 4th in the RPI.  With wins over 6 Top 50 RPI teams...#10 Purdue, #17 Kentucky, #23 Miami (Fl.), #31 WKU, #37 Duke, and #43 Illinois...and only two losses...#1 Penn State, and #50 Notre Dame...we're looking pretty good.

Texas is #15 in the RPI, so a win over the Longhorns in a week would be a nice boost for us as well. The next highest Big East team is Marquette at #42, and then the aforementioned Notre Dame.  We play Marquette, in Milwaukee, on October 21st, and then back here at Cardinal Arena, on November 9th. We do not have another match against Notre Dame in the regular season.

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

Next?

This weekend, we welcome Seton Hall to Cardinal Arena (not The KFC Yum! Center for this one) for a noon first serve on Saturday.  Another noon start Sunday against Rutgers...this one is back downtown.  And while technically the volleyball world considers it next week, not this week, I'll go ahead and mention that Monday night brings #9(poll)/#15(RPI) Texas for a 7pm first serve.  This one, too, is downtown at the KFC Yum! Center.  Texas will be the last big RPI match we'll likely play for the season, so bring your friends and neighbors for this one.


( Just a quick reminder that the first round action in picking your favorite UofL women's athlete is underway on the left side of the board and our first match in the first round has become a nail-biter between Gwen Rucker and Nikki Boltja. You have through today to vote and determine who moves on to the "Elite Eight". We'll feature Rowing's Erin Bennett against Cross Country's Michelle Molodynia starting Wednesday...) 
.
..
...

Monday pinch hitting

 

Monday Substitute - Wins for Field Hockey and Soccer

Word is that Paul and Sonja are back, but are cleaning up after the block party we threw Friday night...either that or Paul is fighting some computer troubles, I'm not sure.  Either way, let me see if I can help out a little bit and post an update on Sunday events.

(Editor note...a laptop crash and no PC has us at the mercy of the public library for the next couple of days. We're not sure exactly what happened but Co-Co covering it in banana pudding and trying to feed it to Bill the Gaot probably didn't help any.)

Field Hockey wins convincingly at Kent State

Kent State struck first, early, on a penalty corner, but it was all Cards after that.  The Golden Flashes and the Cards got their first penalty corners, and goals, at 3 minutes and 5 minutes respectively, but that would be the only time Kent State produced.  The Cards picked up another score just before halftime and took the 2-1 lead into the break.

After halftime, the Cards picked up two goals within about a minute and still didn't look back from the 4-1 lead.  Chalking up another point 6 minutes later, and then sneaking one in with less than a minute left in play.

The Field Hockey team next travels to #2 ranked Syracuse on Saturday, and #21 Albany on Sunday.

Soccer puts a hurting on St. John's

It was a high scoring affair for the women's soccer team when they faced St. John's here at Cardinal Park.  The soccer team hasn't scored 6 or more points in a game in eight years.  They get style points for holding St. John's scoreless in the process.

The scoring was fairly evenly spread out in the first half, with goals coming in the 8th, 30th, and 42nd minutes, taking a 3-0 lead into the break.

The Cards scored a bit more rapid fire in the second half...finding the back of the net in the 52nd, 59th, and 61st minutes to finish out the 6-0 win over the Red Storm.

Next up, the soccer teams racks up some frequent flyer miles with a road trip to #21 Marquette Friday night at 8pm, then heading south to USF for a 1p.m. start on Sunday.

Volleyball suffers a setback

Notre Dame came into the KFC Yum! Center with an 8-5 record, but 4 of those 5 losses were to ranked teams.  This is never a team you want to take for granted.

The Cards got off to a good start, with mistake free hitting, great digging, and more than a few service errors from Notre Dame. 

Taking the first set 25-16, they got it done with commendable .350 hitting.

Some cracks started showing in the second set where the Cardinals hitting eased off to .256, but still managed to take the set 25-22.

After the break, the Irish got the defensive game on the right track, with great digging, and some good blocking at the net.  A game of runs, Notre Dame claimed it in the end at 20-25.

Louisville started to look a bit ragged in the 4th set, but lots of scrambling and out-of-system play kept the score pretty close.  The Cards reached match point, but Notre Dame didn't give up and scored 5 straight points to snatch the set victory away at 24-26.

The score pretty much tells the tale for the 5th set.  Notre Dame controlled it from start to finish, taking the game, and match, with a 3-15 score.

One piece of good news is that this match saw Gwen Rucker's return to the court with some limited playing time.  With four kills, and two miscues on nine attempts, and three shared blocks it was a good effort, and I'm sure everyone is glad she's feeling better.

Other commendable play came from Brooke "Stomp" Mattingly who tallied up 12 kills, with only three errors on 28 attempts, for a respectable .321 hitting percentage.  She also got credits for two digs, and a share of four blocks.

Lastly, Caitlin Welch topped her career dig effort with 35.  Records like this may be a bit bitter-sweet since they almost always come from five set matches, and the team would much prefer to bring home a win in three or four sets, but nonetheless, "C-Dub" continues to play very well in the libero role and should be recognized for the crucial role she plays for the team.

Volleyball is also getting their share of frequent flyer miles as well with their own Friday/Sunday road trip to South Florida and Pittsburgh.
.
..
...

Volleyball vs MTSU, UNLV, and Miami (Fla.)

.

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE PRESENTS:

(Columnist JEFF McADAMS takes us through the Fri-Sat UofL Volleyball matches with his 

always excellent observations, analysis and comments!) 

Chalk up 3 W's for the Kordes Krew

It wasn't always pretty, and there was some epic come-from-behind play going on...and I'm not talking about football.

MTSU

Middle Tennessee State University is a school that has frequently given the Volleyball Cards challenges.  Eliminating UofL in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2007, and giving them a bit of a scare in the first round of 2010.  They're a pesky team, that can be counted on to give solid play.

In the first set, MTSU again gave the Cards a bit of scare, with MTSU leading most of the way.  After coming off two big wins last weekend, I suspect there may have been of big game let down, again.  Much like the let down after the Kentucky match, however, it lasted less than a set...if that's how this team is going to react to post-big-game-let-downs, that's not bad.

The second set was never much of a contest, and the third looked to be much the same.  The Blue Raiders made a run at a comeback, but then a bunch of errors derailed their efforts.

The setting pair of Hannah Kvitle and Katie George...still splitting the second hit duties...spread the offense around quite a bit, but the most success and momentum building happened up the middle with Brooke Mattingly, and Tanya Lukyanenko.  Tanya was back in the middle position to fill in for Gwen Rucker, who was on the bench all weekend, but not dressed out, due to illness.  With Tanya playing in the middle the fans had more opportunity to appreciate the play of Carly Sahagian, a transfer from the University of Tennessee.  Carly hit a mistake free 6 of 14, for .429 which put her third in percentage behind the .462 numbers of Brooke and Tanya...that's ignoring Katie George's single successful attempt that gives her a statistical 1.000, but isn't really fair to compare with hitters taking upwards of 10 swings a match.

UNLV

Keep your eyes on this team.  While I don't expect them to be back at the KFC Yum! Center for the national championship December 13th and 15th, I think a lot of people are underrating their play, as I think the VolleyCards did coming into this match.

I would say that the Cardinals weren't really fully awake for this 11am start-time, but the Rebels were effectively functioning on an 8am start time, so that excuse doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

With only .109 hitting in the first set, and no blocks...Gwen's presence was really missed there...the first set looked really rough for UofL.  It ended up being a tight game with the Rebs taking it 23-25.

The second set was only marginally better.  Kaitlynn James started to come alive with several successful attacks that blunted the UNLV momentum and helped UofL scratch out a win in the second set...taking an extra point to get there...at 26-24.

Anne Kordes was clearly unhappy with her team's play heading into the break...I wonder if they had to repaint the locker room walls as I imagine she blasted her players for their poor play in the first two sets.  Whatever she said, and however she said it, the team responded.  With .560 hitting in the set and 4 blocks, this looked more like the team that played Purdue and Illinois last weekend.  Winning the set 25-6, I imagine UNLV wishes they could forget this one.

Credit UNLV with digging deep and making the 4th set a contest.  They responded to the withering attack of the third set and stepped up their play.  Both teams had big runs, first the Rebels, then the Cardinals, but after being chastised during the set break, UofL continued playing well and was able to put the match away.

Miami

The marquee matchup of the Louisville Invitational was Louisville vs Miami.  Miami, technically unranked, is getting votes in the coaches poll for an effective 26th.  This isn't a team to be trifled with.  Kaitlynn James continued to play well after the afternoon match...really a great day for her overall.  The most efficient play, though, came from Brooke Mattingly...who I'm going to start calling "Stomp" because after she makes a great play, she stomps on the floor and cheers...really a honest, heartfelt expression of excitement that her teammates, and the fans, really feed on.  "Stomp" hit an phenomenal .714 and helped out in a couple of blocks.

In the first set, Miami got out to a solid lead.  At 22-15 the crowd largely thought the set was over and were thinking about how to respond in the second set.  Kaitlynn, Lola, and Tanya thought otherwise as, starting with Kaitlynn's serving, Lola and Tanya killed and blocked their way to a 7 point run.

Good solid play in the second set got Louisville to a solid match lead.  It looked like the Cards were going to have another good sweep of a good team.

The third set, however, went to the Hurricanes powered by a 9-0 run.  Louisville dug down deep and started to make a comeback, but ran out of time.

Solid play across the board in the 4th set netted UofL the match and tournament win.

Takeaways

I think there are a couple of UofL teams that I'm glad I'm not going to be in their practice sessions this week.  While both UofL Football and Volleyball came away with wins, there's plenty to praise and critique in the play of both teams this weekend.  Both teams also came away with unblemished records for the weekend, but I suspect practices will be grueling dissections of what went wrong at times.

I'll leave the analysis of Football to those who know more about it, but for Volleyball, we've got good and bad.

The good is that we saw what this team can do when they meet adversity.  They dug down and gritted out some wins even when things weren't going their way and they weren't executing well.  To be able to dig down and turn their play around within a match like they did several times this weekend speaks well of the team's ability to tap into reserves of discipline and pull themselves together.  We saw that happen this weekend during set breaks, timeouts, and even just between plays.

The bad, of course, is that they played in such a way to begin with that they found themselves in situations where they had to tap those discipline reserves.  It would be great if all of their matches just went well enough that they wouldn't need to turn their play around.  Of course, eventually a team will be tested, so its good to know that they have it in them to make the comebacks in tough situations.

Up Next

The Cards start their conference slate, starting Friday at 7pm with DePaul, followed by Notre Dame on Sunday at 2pm, both at the KFC Yum! Center.  Come check them out.

Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball wins two

.
Sunday Cardinal Couple

-Volleyball takes two

The #12 University of Louisville volleyball team continued its hot streak by defeating UNLV and Miami (FL) yesterday to win the Louisville Invitational. The Cards triumphed over UNLV in the morning session 23-25, 26-24, 25-6, 25-21 and downed Miami 26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17 in the nightcap. 

UNLV falls in four sets to Louisville

Kaitlynn James took charge of the net in the match against the Runnin' Rebels with 16 kills. 

Louisville started slowly by losing the first game after trailing most of the way before taking a brief lead at 21-20 late. UNLV ran off four straight points, though, to get a 24-21 lead and hold on for the win. 

Louisville responded in the second game slowly again, falling behind 14-6 at one point before James went to work. Her three straight kills got Louisville to within three at 15-12. Managing to tie the contest at 20-20, James gave the Cards a one-point lead with a kill and UofL pulled out a close one by two.

After the break, the Cards roared out to an early lead they never looked back from. Runs of 3-0 and 9-0 had  Anne Kordes' team sitting comfortably at 16-3. Emily Juhl put the Runnin' Rebs out of their misery with a slam to give Louisville the 19-point romp and a 2-1 lead in the match. 

UNLV was not ready to quit, though, and jumped to a 8-5 advantage in the final game. They increased that to 12-5 before UofL pieced together a 9-1 run and a 14-13 edge. The Cardinal hot streak continued behind Lola Arslanbekova and it was 23-18 after a service ace by her. James finished the match with a kill and the 25-21 win.

Cards fend off Miami in four sets

Lola stepped up big in the evening session with 21 kills and UofL improved to 11-1 on the season with a four game win against the Canes. 

The Cards started slowly in game one and trailed deep into the contest at 22-15 before four Lola kills and a block and two Tanya Lukyanenko kills and a block late rallied the Cards to the narrow two point win. Lola had 10 kills in the first game. 

Louisville jumped out to an early lead in the second contest 16-11 but Miami rallied to get back to just a four-point deficit at 21-17. After a timeout, the Cards regrouped and won four of the final six points to take a 25-19 win and go 2-0 in the match. 

The teams played fairly evenly in the third game until a 9-0 Canes run boosted them to a seven point advantage that the Cards could not overcome. At 24-16, UofL managed to get three straight points but Caitlin Welch's serving error gave Miami a six point win.

Louisville and Miami played the final game evenly at the start until a 6-2 Cardinal run took a 7-7 score to a 13-9 UofL lead. Miami would get no closer and the Cards coasted in with a 25-17 victory. 

Middle blocker Gwen Rucker sat out both contests with an illness.

Lola earned MVP honors for the Cards and James and Brooke Mattingly joined her on the All-Tournament team. 

( BE SURE TO CHECK BACK LATER TODAY FOR JEFF MCADAMS ANALYSIS AND REPORT ON THE WEEKEND VOLLEYBALL ACTION)

2500 for the evening game. On a football Saturday. Best college sports town in America.  Right here in River City.

We don't do a lot with football here, of course...we're a women's sports site...but wanted to share with you this series of texts between me and a buddy who was unable to attend and watching on TV...

Buddy:  ACC? No wonder ND wants to leave. EZ pickings.
Paul: ACC! ACC! ACC! I just busted one of my thundersticks.
Buddy: U staying for 2nd half?
Paul: For at least 3 quarters. Need to get over to 80 u 80.
Buddy: U at 80 u 80?
Paul: Leaving in a few. It's on TV there. Ladies behind me driving me nuts. 
Buddy: What in the world?
Paul: Need D. C'mon cards!
Buddy: Ugh. Fumbled kickoff? 
Paul: We're fine. Good deflect. Run clock out now.
Buddy: L1C4.
Paul: Wow. I've still got my sunglasses on. 
Buddy: Go change your drawers.
Paul: LOL. A W a W no matter how u get it.   
..

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball from the YUM!

(Louisville easily handled Marshall in Volleyball Saturday morning 25-9, 25-25, 25-12. They face Samford tonight at 7:30 p.m.)

Jeff Adams reports on Volleyball against Duke...he'll be attending the matches today and we'll have a full update on them for you here at C.C.)

Its another weekend of quick turnarounds for the volleyball team...and their fans...which doesn't give us much time to digest and analyze.  So here's a few quick thoughts.

Lola...same song, different verse.

Any regular readers of any coverage of UofL Volleyball know that Lola Arslanbekova is an amazing player. What many may not realize is that she's not only a great hitter, but also pretty darn good in other roles on the court. That having been said, in the opening matches of the season against Western and Morehead, she seemed to be struggling with her passing. Those woes have apparently passed as last night she was passing quickly and precisely.  She's not going to threaten Caitlin Welch for the libero spot, and not just because we would miss her explosive hitting, but its good to see her getting all aspects of her game under control and contributing all around.

Speaking of Caitlin Welch.

She had another great match. Only three games in this match, so the numbers don't look as impressive on the surface, but she was doing her job quite well.  Welch's digging numbers may also be a bit down because the setters Hannah Kvitle and Katie George are taking a fair number of digs. As mentioned Thursday, this mean Welch is setting, which is reflected in her 6 assists.

Let down from beating Kentucky.

Yes, the team had a bit of a let down after winning the big match Wednesday night against Kentucky, but not for long. The first set against Duke was a bit listless, but the Cards got it in gear for the second and third sets. That, of course, is big for a team that has such a tough schedule. It would lessen the impact of any wins against the many great teams UofL is playing if they turned around and lost to a less quality team right after.

A new weapon in Brooke Mattingly.

Brooke Mattingly essentially finished off the match in style, reeling off three straight kills. Its always great to have another weapon in the arsenal. I'm not sure if other teams have figured out that Mattingly is such a threat, but until they do, she should continue to have great opportunities. Of course, once they figure out how much of a threat she can be, that pulls some of the defense and attention off of others like Lola, Emily Juhl, and Kaitlynn James.

More to come...

That's all for now, I need to pack up to head back down to the KFC Yum! Center for the 11am match against Marshall, followed by the 7:30 match against Samford. Hopefully I'll have a few moments to write up some thoughts from those before getting into some activity or another on Sunday.  Anyone have any plans?

( Want to read more about Cardinal Volleyball? Make sure and check out Paul's report on the action from last night and stay tuned to Cardinal Couple for updates on today's matches.!).
.
..
...

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball sweeps Duke

.
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Louisville sweeps Duke 3-0 in Volleyball

-Soccer shuts out SEMO 4-0

-Staff predictions on UofL vs. UK football game

The VolleyCards stayed on the winning path Friday night in the KFC YUM! Center...sweeping Duke in three games before a crowd of 2511. Led by Lola Arslanbekova's 19 kills, the Cards improved to 4-1 on the season with a 25-23, 25-12, 25-17 triumph over the A.C.C. powerhouse. 

The Cards jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the first game on Lola's first kill of the evening and led 10-7 before Duke went on an 8-2 run and pushed ahead 15-12. The Cards rolled back, though...getting a service ace from Caitlin Welch to tie it up at 16-16 and Gwen Rucker's spike put the Cards ahead 20-18. Duke wold rally to tie the contest at 22-22 and 23-23 but Lola delivered a massive kill shot to give the Cards a one-point lead and Kaitlynn James expertly sent a tip past Duke defenders to give the Cards game one 25-23. 

(Not so Cameron Crazies in the KFC YUM Center)

Inspired by the win, Louisville took no prisoners in the second game. A 4-2 early Cardinal advantage ballooned to 15-7 after a Kaitlynn James kill at the net and the Cards...led by three Lola kills, out-pointed the Blue Devils 10-5 the rest of the way to win easily 25-12. 

After the halftime intermission, Duke offered a brief challenge..jumping out to a 4-1 lead to start the third game. Behind Lola and Brooke Mattingly, the Cards fought back and took the lead for good when a Lola block gave Louisville an 8-7 edge. The Cards steadily increased the lead the rest of the way...enjoying scores of 12-9, 16-12 and 24-15 before settling for the 25-17 final margin. Of particular note was the third game efforts of Mattingly...who recorded five kills in the final game and three straight during a stretch that saw Louisville go from a 17-14 lead to a 20-15 advantage. 

The Cards held Duke to just 17 kills in the final two games after allowing 15 in the first game. Louisville hit .333 for the contest and held Duke to .140. Welch and Lola led the Cards with 12 digs each. 

Two games today for the Cards...Marshall at 11 a.m. and Samford at 7:30 p.m. Samford defeated the Thundering Herd in earlier action on Friday.

POSTGAME : ANNE KORDES

(Opening remarks) 

" A huge win tonight. Duke is picked to contend for the ACC title and has a great tradition and winning program...so we couldn't be happier about it. I thought our girls played really well and we're working hard to get them prepared. I think their level of execution is at the highest level of any team I've ever coached. And, that's fun...because their IQ for Volleyball is very high. As a coach, you can just let them go out there and execute. We've got a lot of experienced upperclassmen and our freshmen are learning really fast. Tonight was a fun situation because we just controlled the game. 

(On Brooke Mattingly's third game effort)

" The reason she didn't come on before the third game is because we weren't setting her. We just got to get her the ball. She is going to be the girl that everybody prays doesn't have a good match. Opponents are going to have to key on Lola, key on Gwen...and if they key on them, it's going to leave Brooke wide open. And, that's fun...because she's taking full advantage of it when they do. 

(On Marshall and Samford next)

"Marshall is scary. They've got some Louisville kids on their team and we're the bigger, more established program...so, of course they want to come in here and show us up. I don't ever take anyone lightly. They struggled last year, we beat them last year but it's definitely not a game to mess around with. 

Samford...they go through their conference last year and don't drop a match. They'll probably do the same thing this year. They're a very dangerous team. They've got everyone back from last year. Their head coach actually worked for me at St. Louis. He does a really good job of firing them up and they have two senior leaders from Louisville..a player from Mercy Academy and one from Sacred Heart. We always like bringing opponents in with Louisville girls and giving them a chance to play."

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

Louisville soccer improved to 3-0 on the season with a 4-0 win over Southeastern Missouri Friday afternoon in Lexington at the UK Tropical Smoothie Invitational.

Four different Cards provided the goals, Erin Yenney getting the first in the 18th minute of play. That held for the first half...Andrea Distler made it 2-0 Cards in the 55th minute of the second half. Nicole Mitchell gave Louisville a 3-0 advantage a few minutes later and Lauren Nash closed out the Cards scoring.

Louisville outshot SEMO 19-5...Chloe Kiefer had three saves while notching her 12th career shutout. 

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

We promised you yesterday we'd have predictions from our columnists on the UofL vs. UK football game and the troops came through in fine form with their predictions. We even got a prediction from Anne Kordes!  Timmy the Intern has collated the results and totals and predicts Louisville will win. (He's brilliant that way...) Here we go...

Jenny: I'm predicting a 20-3 win by Louisville, That's right, gonna keep the Kitties on a tight leash and only allow a field goal. 

Sandy: Louisville 28-0 and it could be a larger spread. There is a reason the UK fans aren't able to make the long distance trip in from Lexington. It is their loss as the return of tickets from their allotment just made more seats available for the home team. Regardless of the prediction of rain, word has it that the Cat fans need to stay home to be close to their Kitty Litter boxes once the upset stomachs begin from the "deluge" of T.D's.

Sonya: UofL wins 35-10. UK's a basketball school, right? This isn't John Calipari or Rupp Arena. This is Joker Phillips taking his first loss of his final season in Lexington. Maybe he and Petrino can team up and open a car dealership or something. 

David: Give me Louisville 27-10. I do feel weather might be a factor in the contest, but I don't think UK or monsoon strength winds can slow down Teddy "Bilge" Water. Full steam ahead! 

Mark: First games are hard to predict. Louisville is the favorite and the last two games have been close. Could this one go into overtime like the one in 2000...where the Cards won 40-34? Not this time. I think the Cards offense will shine -- even if it is cloudy and rainy. Louisville 23- UK 10.

Paul: Given the weather forecast and first game adjustments...I'll take a 21-14 UofL win. If the rainy weather holds off, add 10 to the Louisville total. If my beer gets diluted...I'm leaving in the third quarter and headed to 80 Under 80 to change socks and play boccie ball.  

Jeff: In the rain, huh? Well, that doesn't affect bumping much, but it does make setting a lot tougher. What's that? Wrong sport? Jeff Walz hasn't even started preseason practices yet...Football? It's the UK Invitational but they're not actually going to play UK. Oh. That type of football, the American stuff. 
As I understand it, rain tends to keep scoring lower and since we're apparently going to be playing in the Monsoon Bowl, let's say 21-3...Cards winning of course.

Donny: I'm going to go ahead and predict a 31-14 victory for the Cards. I think the first half will be close with the Cards holding a slim 10-7 halftime lead, before they control the second half and win going away. 

Anne Kordes: 31-10 Louisville. Charlie Strong doesn't need any motivation from our win over UK Wednesday. He's very fired up for Sunday. 
.
..
...     

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball downs UK 3-1

.
THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards overcome slow start, defeat Cats 3-1

-New CARDINAL COUPLE banner header

Behind the spiking trio of Lola Arslanbekova, Brooke Mattingly and Gwen Rucker...and getting key play from freshman Katie George, junior Caitlin Welch and senior Kaitlynn James...Louisville defeated UK 3-1 in front of a record crowd for Louisville Volleyball with 5,007 fans in attendance Wednesday night in the KFC YUM! Center.

The Cards started slowly, losing the first set to the Cats 25-21 but swept the final three 25-23, 25-15 and 30-28. 

Louisville managed to hang close to the Cats in game one, leading 6-5 after two straight Lola spikes...but the Cats responded with a 12-6 run, causing UofL head coach Anne Kordes to call a time out with UK leading 17-12. The Cards rallied to climb within three after a Emily Juhl spike made it 21-18 and following a Gwen Rucker spike and Kaitlynn James block...Louisville trailed by only two at 23-21. UK got the final two points of the game, though...a game ending serve by UK sophomore Lauren O'Conner that skimmed the net and caught the Cards out of position. 

Louisville erased any doubt that they were intimidated by #10 UK, though by roaring out to a 9-4 lead in game two after a Lola block. She delivered a massive spike to increase the Cardinal advantage to 11-6, but the Cats dug in and took a 15-14 lead, which led to another Cardinal timeout. The game stayed close for the rest of the way...Louisville regaining the lead for good after two straight points from Lola gave Louisville a 23-21 margin. She contributed the next point as well and Brooke Mattingly's block gave the Cards the second game 25-23. 

After the halftime break, the Cards came out for game three ready for action. Katie George's tip created a 4-1 Cardinal lead. A Mattingly spike increased it to 10-6. After a Lola spike the Cards were up 13-8 and UK needed a timeout. Despite the strategy session, it was the closest UK would get in game three...the Cards leading 16-10, 19-11, 22-11 and coasting in with a 25-15 third game romp. 

The final game turned out to be a nail biter. 

Louisville jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage following a James spike, but the Cats came back and closed it to 4-3. Back and forth the two rivals went, UK actually gaining a 10-9 lead. Spikes by James and Rucker gave the Cards a 16-15 breather, but UK retaliated with two straight to take the lead. 

It was nip and tuck the rest of the way, the crowd (mixed with significant blue jerseys) standing on each possession. A Lola service ace put the Cards up 21-20. The Cats tied it. Rucker scores. So does UK. Lola spiking her heart out...the Cats managing to tie it after each one. 

Gwen Rucker came through with the final two Cardinal points for the win. At 28-28, her tip after a ferocious exchange between the two squads made it 29-28. A smack to deep left court during the next volley gave Louisville the two point victory and the Cards bench rushed the court to celebrate with the jubilant players on the floor. Cards win, CARDS WIN !!

Gwen, we're glad you decided to play volleyball at Louisville. Lexington may not be...

Lola led the Cards with 20 kills, Gwen Rucker had 15, Brooke Mattingly recorded 13 and Kaitlynn James finished with 10. Caitlin Welch provided 21 digs.  

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



POST GAME: Anne Kordes

"This is huge. Huge. You know I forgot the simple fact they they (UK) were ranked tenth in the country. It just hadn't been an issue because it was UofL vs. UK. And, it's such a huge RPI boost for us. We talked in the beginning of the year, we've got five teams ranked in the top 25. We've got to get two out of those five. We got this one. That was a gusty game. It was all about guts at the end. You saw how tight it was. I'll go back to our strength coaches and how hard they worked them this summer. This came down to who was going to push harder in the end. Gwen Rucker was unbelievable. And I'll tell you what Caitlin Welch might go for another 1,000 digs before she graduates. 
Katie George, what a spark she gave us. She's a hometown hero and you can see why. She's got a lot of guts. Tonight...this was one of the most fun coaching environments and wins that I've ever been in." 

POST GAME: Lola Arslanbekova

"I've seen crowds like this for basketball, but not for our games. We fed off the energy. We had a great crowd. We were enjoying it! Gwen was so excited to beat them. She was like 'I'm so ready for this, it's been one year and I am ready for tonight'. Katie George...she's a great player and she brings a lot of energy. Our players are feeding from that." 

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

You may have noticed the new CARDINAL COUPLE banner header at the top of the site. A special thanks to Adam Lucas of Adam Lucas Design who created it. Check out his outstanding work at the link below:

Adam Lucas Design
.
..
...