Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball is around the corner

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- UofL Volleyball ready to go...

( Cardinal Couple staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan files this report on Cardinal Volleyball.) 

Louisville Women’s Volleyball is a few short weeks away from the start of the season.  What can fans expect from the team this year?  Well, first let's look at where the team left off.

Louisville is coming off of an outright win of the Big East title.  They went 13-1 in conference games last year and 24-9 on the season.   The VolleyCards were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the second round last season but continued a 13 year streak of post season play, which is the 10^th longest active streak in the NCAA. 

Lola Arslanbekova was named Big East Player of the Year and a healthy Gwen Rucker spent this summer competing for an A2 USA National Red Team (I am not exactly sure what this means, but representing Louisville on a USA National Team has to be a prestigious honor). 

Coach Anne Kordes, with a year in the Big East under her belt, leads the team in her 2^nd year as head coach of the Cards.   Coach Kordes adds to her staff for the upcoming season with the addition of Lee Maes (most recently a head coach at Virginia) as an assistant and Melissa Starck-Bean who returns to Louisville as an assistant as well.  Coach Starck-Bean was an assistant under former Coach Leonid Yelin from 2005-2009.

Coach Kordes welcomes her first recruiting class in 2012 which is ranked 30^th in the country.  Louisville native Katie George (setter) who played at local powerhouse Assumption High School and who was also Kentucky Miss Volleyball 2011, Gatorade Player of the Year and National Volleyball Player of the year by PrepVoleyball.com headlines the class.   George is joined by Davionna Holmes (middle blocker) out of Illinois, Janelle Jenkins (middle blocker) out of Texas, Jaden McBride (defensive specialist) out of Missouri, Allie Miller (defensive specialist) out of Indiana and Haley Pouliezos (libero) out of Missouri.   I look forward to getting to know and see the talents of these young women on the court.   

The Cards return a wealth of talent and experience in 9 upperclassmen (4 seniors and 5 juniors).  Courtney Robinson is listed as a freshman as well though not a part of the 2012 recruiting class. 

Last season the VolleyCards played 6 games in The YUM! Center, and that increases to 15 games this season.  According to twitter feeds from the team, a record number of tickets have already been sold. 

Cardinal fans...I think we can look forward to an outstanding season of volleyball.  With a core group of experienced members and an excellent recruiting class the VolleyCards are poised to dominate in the Big East again, and head deeper into the tourney. 

Get ready to witness some spikes, kills, digs, pancakes, blocks, passes and sets (to name a few) as the VolleyCards are set to serve us up a great season.  It all starts in just 16 days.  Get your tickets now!  

Two-a-days began today for the VolleyCards. Practice makes perfect. 

Here are some Volleyball promotions being offered by the University of Louisville this season. Click the link below.

Volleyball Promotional Calender
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple -- Basketball and Volleyball are on the agenda today

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Jenny looks at recruiting and volleyball


-USA OLYMPIC Womens' Basketball update


(Columnist Jenny O'Bryan gets us caught up on the recruiting trial and previews volleyball today.)

Cam Newbauer

Women’s basketball coaches have spent the month of July travelling from city to city, coast to coast, searching, looking and watching for the next best fit for their programs. 

During a NCAA Certified Viewing period, college programs cannot have more than 3 coaches on the road at the same time.  They rotate time on the road, spanning out to tournaments all over the country.  In the course of the last month Coach Walz and his assistants have been in DC, Maryland, NC, Georgia, Oregon, Nevada, Tennessee, Chicago and Texas...just to name a few areas they've visited.  

Rest assured that one or all of the coaches have been on the trail to see the talents of Mercedes Russell, Makayla Epps, Becca Greenwell (before Louisville was cut from her list), Emmonnie Henderson and Saniya Chong to name just a few.  Showing up at tournaments of recruits who have offers, or who are considering the program, is an active way of showing continued support of a recruit at a time in the recruiting calendar when no contact is allowed between coaches and recruits.  

Samantha Williams

Additionally, while on the trail, coaches are looking for future talent for upcoming recruiting classes.    Therefore, don’t be surprised if you start to hear names of kids in the classes of 2014, 2015 and even further out who have caught the eye of Louisville Women’s Basketball Coaches. 

Welcome home Coaches!   After close to a month away from home, in gyms throughout the country some with, some without air conditioning, I am sure the comfort of your own homes and the basketball offices are a welcome sight.  


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Lola leads an experienced
bunch of volleyball returnees

In other news with Louisville Women’s Athletics, Louisville Volleyball is just 17 days away from the Alumnae match on August 18 at Cardinal Arena and just 23 days away from the season opener against WKU at KFC YUM Center on August 24 at 7:30 p.m.  The 24^th and 25^th of August is the Active Ankle Challenge and in addition to WKU, the Cards will be playing Morehead St. and Penn State.   It should be a great weekend of volleyball. 

This season the VolleyCards (as I like to refer to the team) will play 15 home games at The YUM! Center, up from 6 games last season.    A family package of 4 tickets for the season can be purchased for  $210.  This is a great deal and will give the ticket holder post season ticket sale priority should the YUM!
Center be chosen to host the 1^st or 2^ndrounds of the NCAA tournament. 

For the past few seasons my family has had the opportunity to attend 4-5 games per season.  With a daughter who is also a volleyball player there tends to be a lot of scheduling conflicts that prohibit us from attending more often. 

The Louisville Volleyball program ranked 23^rd in the country in home game attendance during the 2011 season.  The hope is to break in to the top 10 in attendance this season.  

A healthy Gwen Rucker
will make Louisville tough
to beat. 

So Cardinal faithful get your season tickets now!  If you cannot commit to the season, like my household because of our own volleyball player, mark your calendar and plan to attend a few matches this season.  If you have not seen a volleyball game lately, like say when we were kids upwards 30-40 years ago, I guarantee you will be impressed with the talent on the court.   The game has grown and changed a lot over the course of the last few decades.  Make plans now to get out there and check our VolleyCards out.  


( Louisville looks to be loaded again in Volleyball with Lola Arsenbeckova, Gwen Rucker, Emily Juhl, Kaitlynn James, Caitlin Welch and a very impressive freshman class attacking the wide net. Under Anne Kordes' direction, the BIG EAST championship and a deep NCAA run looks like it's "in the CARDS".


Great job today by Jenny! Get out & support your VolleyCards.) 


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USA OLYMPIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM UPDATE


USA women's Olympic Basketball team faces Turkey today in pool play. The Turks are 2-0 in pool play, like the USA. Angel probably had a good scouting report on them, since she's played Euroball in Turkey and several of the Turkish players are from club team Fenerbache, a team Angel knows quite well. 

Will it increase her playing time? Knowing Geno, probably not. With the UConn twins at guard (Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi), Candace Parker, Tina Charles and Tamika Catchings getting starting assignments, Geno is comfortable with three UConn players out there and two of the best front-line players in the history of women's basketball. 


They need someone to step up from the three-point line. Candace needs to cure her start-of-the-game "drop-sy". They may win by only 20 today. Look for Angel to provide a spark off the bench and Geno to prowl the sidelines looking like a man who can't catch a cab going into the city. 


-"Big Syl" (Sylvia Fowles) sat out the Angola game because of a sore foot. 


- Brit Griner turned down her reserved spot on the team because of an ailing mom and the need to take summer classes at Baylor. 


- Who would you pick for a 2016 WBB Olympic team? 

I go with Muffet McGraw as head coach and I put Candace Parker, Angel McCoughtry, Brit Griner, Skylar Diggins and Shoni Schimmel out there as my starters. I'll select Maya Moore and the Ogwumike sisters coming off the bench and the final four spots can go to Mercedes Russell and three more UConn players. Can't break tradition, right? Someone remember this bold lineup and throw it right back in my face four years from now. 


- Game time 5:15 pm on the NBC Sports Network...way up there on the digital numbers. Louisvillian Clark Burckle swims today, too. 


L1C4, baby.   


-Paul 

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Volleyball sweeps Alumnae...Field Hockey falls at Iowa....Dream block out the Sun

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SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Alumnae give Volleyball Cards a tough match

-Field Hockey Cards drop exhibition in Iowa

-Atlanta defeat the Sun...Rematch today

The University of Louisville volleyball team welcomed alumnae back to Cardinal Arena Saturday night for the annual Alumnae exhibition and swept the grads in three straight sets 25-17, 25-14 and 25-15.

"It was a great night and I am so excited to see all the alumnae from different eras get together and have so much fun. Our main change is to reach out and connect with all the former players who built our tradition." head Volleyball coach Anne Kordes commented after the match. "We had conference champions, Sweet Sixteen players, All-Conference, All-Americans and professional players in the gym tonight and we understand and appreciate what they built here at the University of Louisville."

Lola Arslanbeckova led the Cardinal attack with 11 kills and Caitin Welch added 13 digs.

Louisville begins the regular season in Atlanta this Friday when they'll play against Tennessee Tech in the Georgia Tech Courtyard Classic.

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Justine Sowry debuted the 2011 Field Hockey Cards in Iowa for an exhibition match against the Hawkeyes but fell 2-1. The Cards trailed 1-0 at the half and didn't score until freshman Katlyn Soucy got an unassisted goal with just three minutes remaining for the final score of the game.

"Iowa is a tough Big Ten opponent who in the spring game gave us a lesson on how to play field hockey." Sowry said. "Today we were ready for them and played tough for 85 minutes. Although they had more possessions of the ball, we were able to develop our units all over the field."

Junior goalkeeper Erin Conrad had nine saves in the scrimmage. Iowa dominated the offensive starts with a 17-5 advantage in shots and 8-1 in penalty corners.

"There were so many positives from this game that I am really not concerned with the result." Sowry added. "We competed with one of the most improved teams in the country. We chose to rest some of our key players today, but on the flip side, we were able to play 17 players -including five freshmen- which is going to be invaluable as we move toward the opening weekend and beyond." 

The team is back in Louisville for an exhibition game against the Alumnae today at 2 p.m.

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A three pointer by Sancho Lyttle...just her second of the season...tied the Atlanta Dream game against the Connecticut Sun with just 12.2 second left in regulation. The Dream took control of the overtime period and downed Connecticut 94-88 in Philips Arena in Atlanta. 

Angel with another big effort with 26 points and 12 boards. Lindsey Harding added 21, Lyttle 20 and Erika DeSouza 12 for the Dream...who have have won 10 out of their last thirteen.

The two teams square off again today in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun Arena at 5 p.m
Atlanta (13-12) forced the Sun into 21 turnovers in the win that led to 25 Dream points....including a costly miscue late in regulation by Kalana Greene that led to the Dream's tying possession. 

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A different take on the early days of the Lady Cards...UofL Volleyball the BIG EAST preseason favorite.

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Tuesday C.C:

-Early WBB teams had their struggles

-BIG EAST pegs Kordes' team #1

(We bring you the thoughts and memories of a CARDINAL COUPLE reader who was a pre-1975 Lady Card...she offers some thoughts on women's basketball "back in the day." We've kept her identity anonymous...as she says..."I've got plenty of turmoil in my career...I don't need any additional in my personal life.")

(Editor's note: The opinions expressed below are not necessarily those of CARDINAL COUPLE or our staff...but it's a quite fascinating read.)

The 1975 edition of the Cardinal Bird

Many don't know that the women's basketball team at UofL existed a number of years prior to 1975. It is accepted, though that 1975 was the first year a non-faculty member was named to coach the team (Terry Hall) and the first year that statistics were kept.

I first played in the 1973 season and at that time there were seniors on the team that were in their 4th year of playing. The team was coached by Becky Hudson, who was an assistant athletic director. Some may remember Hudson has being involved in a Title IV suit against the University. Hudson has been pretty much wiped from UofL women's basketball history due to the lawsuit, in my opinion...but she had the courage to try and get UofL basketball rolling and out of the bottom depths of UofL athletics priority.

(Editor's note: Hudson was part of the 1980 suit and is listed as the assistant director of women's sports at UofL at that time.)

Terry Hall was hired by Hudson and Terry had to substitute teach on the side to pay the bills while coaching. Hall lasted several years at UofL before moving on to Kentucky.

(Editor's note....Terry Hall had a 20 year coaching career at Wright State, Eastern Ky, UofL and UK. She's best remembered as coaching UK All-American Valerie Still. Hall passed away from cancer on July, 14th 1997.)

The first basketball uniforms were purchased by Dr. Sue Hall - out of her personal funds- the team was playing in a tournament and Dr. Hall decided that what the girls were wearing was embarrassing. She never took credit for that purchase. She just did it.

Jamie Wadell was the first UofL women's basketball player to receive any sort of scholarship. I remember that she and 2 others in other sports all received a portion of the funds that were passed on playing ability combined with financial hardship. The first year for those scholarships was in the 1974-75 season. For some reason Von Macklin is promoted as having been on that first basketball team and receiving the first scholarship. All that is just made up history. Jamie got the first scholarship.

(Editor's note...Von Macklin's basketball career at UofL is listed from 1974-76 and she is in the UofL Sports hall of fame.)

In that era, Western Kentucky's women's basketball team was handling their women's program as well as anyone and I remember being sorry that I did not go there when I saw what they had compared to us. Our situation was pitiful by standards compared to theirs. The first time the UofL women played in Freedom Hall in 1975-76, the teams had to change in the women's bathrooms as there was no dressing room made available for the women.

We travelled to away games crammed into one or two vans. Becky and a student would drive. I seem to remember Von's husband driving also - whoever was available was good enough and luckily safe enough- we never had any accidents. We did get to go to a tournament at UK in actual UofL cars.

Finding our destination was always interesting - one trip to UK for a multi game situation created the need for a hotel. Becky had to get to a coaches meeting, so we dropped her off on campus and then headed to the hotel to change. The hotel had changed it's name since the reservation was made so we drove around Lexington looking for it and we were almost late for our first game. (So much for warmups being important.) No pre-game morning shoot-arounds. Most road trips involved driving in, playing and driving back to campus.

So when we see today's players acting like the perks they have as being owed to them or whining about something- they need to be reminded that what they have today occurred by riding in on the backs of many others before them who had to fight for those rights-some of which lost jobs out of retaliation to force progress many years after title IX became law. It should be promoted to the players of their duty to 'pay it forward' for the others who will come after them-instead of just being 'takers'.

Obviously, there is more to this, but what I've written is more than enough...I am sure.

(Editor's note. CARDINAL COUPLE'S Paul was on the UofL campus during the seventies but rarely emerged from his fraternity house. He does remember seeing the Lady Cards play before men's games at Freedom Hall and also sauntering across campus to Manual High School to watch games. The popcorn was always pretty good at Manual but you couldn't sneak in "refreshments" like you could past Harry at the Freedom Hall student entrance door. He sometimes wonders whatever happened to that cute, black-haired UofL guard from somewhere on the east coast that played for WBB back then...who could party with the best of them.)

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The Cards will have six games at the KFC YUM!
center this season. Good seats still available...

The Louisville volleyball team received 11 out of 15 first place votes by BIG EAST coaches in a pre-season poll. Coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own teams (which is pretty silly, isn't it?). Notre Dame came in second and defending 2010 regular-season champ Cincinnati was placed third. Marquette rounds out the top four.

Lola Arslanbeckova was voted Pre-season BIG EAST Player of the Year and she, Gwen Rucker and Emily Juhl landed on the BIG EAST first team.

The Cards will play 14 BIG EAST conference games (each team once) and then the top eight finishers head to Marquette for the BIG EAST Tournament in mid-November.

Mid-November...South Florida or here at UofL sounds much better...The Cards did host in 2009 and win the BIG EAST Tournament in 2009 and last season.

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We've learned that UofL has no tickets available for purchase for the volleyball match in Lexington against the Cats. Whether it's a case of UK refusing to send any or not...WE'RE not sure...but WE (and several readers think) that a strong UofL fan base might make the journey. It'd be nice if all the UofL fans could sit together. Ball's in your court, so to speak, UofL. Can you hook the fans up? Or it is another case of UK slighting the Cardinals?

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Halftime brings out the best of Louisville women's sports.

Halftime of the Louisville-UConn game Sunday featured a presentation of the past and present in women's sports at the University of Louisville. The parade of athletes old and new was impressive. The growth of Louisville women's athletics since Tom Jurich and Julie Herrmann arrived at Louisville amazing.

Back when I attended college, about the only women's sport that ever drew any attention or much of a crowd was women's basketball. The university I attended had a pretty decent women's basketball team at the time and sometimes several thousand would show up for a game. The other women's sports...nowhere near that kind of crowd. Field Hockey was lucky if we had 50 on the sidelines. And that included the teams. We literally played in front of coaches, referees and other players.

The University of Louisville is blessed with conference champions and NCAA powehouses in several women's sports beside basketball in case you haven't noticed.
The volleyball team won the Big East this past season and went to the NCAA tournament. Women's softball hosted the Big East tournament and also got a bid to the NCAA tournament. Field Hockey has hosted the NCAA Final Four a couple of times, the Big East tournament and the Field Hockey Cards are a Big East power and NCAA tournament team. Fans fill Cardinal Arena to watch volleyball, the Trager Center for field hockey and Ulmer Stadium for softball.

Women's swimming is top 15 nationally ranked. The rowing team and lacrosse teams have become nationally recognized and respected since the sports were introduced to colelge competition. Soccer is a Big East contender each year and track and field is favored to win the Big East tournamnt later this month. Tennis with Mark Beckham continues to improve.

We've come a long way, baby.

There is still much to do, though. Fan support is so important. Not just for the women's basketball team and volleyball. Women's softball plays in the best ballpark in Big East softball. Trager is a state of the art field hockey facility.

The busy spring sports season is just around the corner. The women athletes at the University of Louisville would love for you to attend their games. And, you just might have an excellent time.

If Rick Pitino can find time to attend a Louisville women's swimming meet...I bet you can squeeze in a couple of hours to watch the exciting sport of women's lacrosse. See you out there.

Written by Sonja

For Gwen Rucker, it's all about the "net"work

Gwen and Rutgers center Kia Vaughn in the semifinals of the "who will blink first" tournament.

When you're Gwen Rucker, the seasons tend to run together. While the rest of her University of Louisville volleyball teammates work on conditioning, academics and skills, Gwen still runs the hardwood. Different venue, different sport but the same intensity on the basketball court that she displays when attacking the wide net.

Rucker, a sophomore from Lexington Henry Clay, is used to it. She was an all-state selection in both sports during her senior year in high school and although she came to Louisville on a basketball scholarship, she quickly became an important on court prescence for Leonard Yelin's volleyball Cards her freshman year. When the sports switched over, Rucker didn't miss a beat. Jeff Walz used her as the starting center during the Cards march to the NCAA runner up finish last year, preferring to bring Keisha Hines off the bench. For Rucker, it was no big deal. You learn in volleyball the important concept of team play and togetherness. It carried over to the basketball court.

This season Rucker was an essential front line force for the volleyball Cards as a middle hitter during the 2009 season. Originally the plan was for her to concentrate on volleyball only this year and take a year off from hoops. But, front court injuries and inexperience led to her return for the women's basketball team after the Volleyball Cards were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the first round. She is back in the starting lineup, now playing alongside Keisha Hines in the Cards front court.

What next year will bring is anyone's guess. Rucker could very well be the volleyball Cards captain next year and with several talented front line players coming into to Walz's program in 2010, she may take a year off from hoops.

For now , though...she is a valuable rebounder and defensive specialist in the paint for the 2009-10 Lady Cards basketball team.

If you haven't been to Cardinal Arena to watch University of Louisville volleyball, you're missing one of the most exciting and action packed sports around. This isn't your basic back yard volleyball...the ball flies over the net at incredible speeds and players dive on the court like wide recievers in football trying to make incredible catches. The Cards won the Big East tournament last year and a strong squad returns. You owe it to yourself to get out and watch a match. If you do, you'll be hooked and back for more.

Hey, they have a net in field hockey, lacrosse and soccer. Ready to expand the resume, Gwen?

Written by Paul 1/18/10