Breaking News: Louisville Volleyball downs Irish in five sets...WSOC in a must win tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - News Paper

LOUISVILLE VOLLEYBALL ESCAPES SOUTH BEND WITH WIN

The action was fast and furious last night in South Bend, IN on the Notre Dame campus as Louisville Volley came back to win the fifth sett and take a 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10 over the Irish. 

Melanie McHenry's 20 kills led the way for the Cards ...who also got 13 kills from Tess Clark in the victory...which keeps Louisville in third place in the ACC race...1/2 game behind NC State and Pittsburgh. The Cards are 15-6 on the season and 9-2 in conference.

Louisville had a rough start in game one...falling behind UND 9-2 early. Four early attack errors were costly to the Cards. They fought back, though, and a Jasmine Bennett kill  drew the visitors back within one at 12-11. Louisville would tie the match at 13-13 and take a 17-15 lead on a Tess Clark steamer...capping off a 15-6 Cards run. The Irish took a timeout when UofL increased the lead to 20-17 and the Cards reciprocated with a action-stopper whe  UNC drew with two at 23-21. A McHenry kill and Irish hitting error put this one in the "W" column for Dani Busboom Kelly's squad 25-22.

The second set was a close affair early, with the teams tied at 5-5 and 7-7. Louisville grabbed a 14-12 lead after an errant Notre Dame kill attempt and pushed that out to 17-12 after the home team committed a blocking error. The "Damers" came back, though and got within three at 19-16...necessitating a Cardinal stoppage of action to talk it over. The strategy paid off as the Cards finished the set on a 5-1 run to win by eight. 

After the halftime break, the Irish came out on fire and jumped to a 7-1 third set advantage. Louisville would never lead in this one...an Amanda Green block got UofL within five at 18-13 but the teams basically traded points after that and UND has their first win at 25-18. 

The Cards started the fourth set slowly and fell behind 6-0. Another UofL timeout to control the barrage but the Irish were still en fuego. Two McHenry kills got the Cards within five at 10-5...but the Cards would get no closer the rest of the way...falling by the same score as the third set....25-18. Louisville had lost their earlier momentum and the Irish were fired up and seemingly riding the wave...appearing ready to take the final set and the match. 

It didn't happen.

The Cards grabbed an early 4-1 lead but saw UND score four straight points before McHenry notched a kill shot to knot it up at 5-5. Tess Clark regained the lead for the Cards with a kill right after that and a long ND serve kept Louisville ahead at 8-7. After the teams traded sides of the court, UofL's wide-netters put together a 3-0 run, culminated by Colene Coessens' third service ace...giving the Cards a 11-9 edge.  Wilma Rivera won a net battle next to make it 12-9 and after a Irish serve for score..."J-Ben" took over for Louisville...Bennett getting a kill and block to create match point at 14-10. The game/set winner came from a McHenry kill...to give the Cards the season sweep over the Irish. 

A clutch win by the Cards on the road. Louisville returns home to the friendly confines of Cardinal Arena to face league co-leaders Pittsburgh on Friday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for this one (go to TICKETMASTER to review what's left seating wise) and the match will be shown on the ACC Network Extra if you're unable to attend.


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DO OR DIE TIME FOR LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S SOCCER

The scenario is pretty simple for Karen Ferguson Dayes' kickers tonight in Raleigh, NC against the NC State Wolfpack. A Cardinal win assures them a berth in the ACC women's soccer tournament. A tie makes an appearance dicey and a loss could eliminate UofL from the post-regular season action. 

The Cards are tied for eighth place in the ACC standings with Clemson at 3-4-2 in league competition. They own a season-win over the Tigers...so they would take any tie-breaker scenario...but Boston College lurks behind the duo with a 3-5-1 record (10 points) and owns a regular season win over the Cards 2-0. B.C. has a trip to last place Pitt tonight and Clemson entertains sixth-place Florida State tonight in the "boiled peanut" territory. 

Louisville has their work cut out for them against the Wolfpack. NC State is tied for fourth in the ACC and is on a four-game win streak. Louisville comes into the contest after two straight, double-overtime 0-0 ties. 

Hot for the Cards is red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos, who was named ACC Defender of the Week on Tuesday...she has three straight shutouts in her resume. Youth being served on offense as well, with true freshman midfielder Emina Ekic leading the scoring stats for Louisville...she has seven goals and three assists so far this season. 

Difficult..yes, but not impossible. With the efficiency of the Cards defense lately, one has to think that if the Cards can manage at least one goal, they'll secure their fate in the ACC Tournament. 

Good luck "Kick and Score" Cards tonight in the regular season finale. This one will be available on the ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.


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CONGRATS TO ERIN !

University of Louisville field hockey alum Erin McCrudden has been selected to the USA Field Hockey roster for the FIH Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final as announced by U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Janneka Schopma on Oct. 16th. 

Erin, who ended her senior season for the Cards in 2016, was one of 18 players selected to travel to Auckland, NZ 

While playing for UofL, McCrudden earned 2016 second team All-American honors. She led the ACC and was second in the nation her senior season with 18 assists. Always a fun interview...the Yorktown Heights, N.Y. native played basketball, field hockey and soccer in high school and figured she'd play basketball in college until "she stopped growing" and ended up 'five-foot something'.

Erin-go-stick! 


paulie
xxxxx





from Cardinal Couple http://ift.tt/2zF8iU9
Breaking News: Louisville Volleyball downs Irish in five sets...WSOC in a must win tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE - News Paper