Good morning!
Sometimes it feels like yesterday since I’ve checked in with you all, other times it feels like ages. This time it feels like forever since I’ve checked in. It could be that the softball Cards have been on the road for a while or had a game postponed. Could be that I have started back at the Louisville Bats with button pushing duties. I know I haven’t been on radio for a while too and it could totally be why as well. I am going to try my best to hop on from the studio Saturday morning.
Into the news and notes and joys of Louisville women’s athletics…
Volleyball CARDS beat San Diego 3-1
The Cardinals opened the NCAA tournament Thursday afternoon against the San Diego Toreros in Omaha, NE. After a very slow start for UofL and losing the first set 25-14, the Cards stormed back to win the following three sets and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Coach Dani Busboom Kelly referenced the bubble being a reason the team came out flat-footed. UofL hit a frigid -.077 and had scored the first six points for the Toreros on hitting errors.
“For sure we had some nerves in the first set. I think one of the things about being in the bubble is it is tough,” said Busboom Kelly. “We had 30 minutes to practice on that court at 7 a.m. yesterday and that is the only 30 minutes we got. At 7 a.m. in general you wouldn’t get much out of it and when you are in a whole new arena on a new court with weird backdrop, it is just a lot of different things going on that are out of the norm.I wasn’t surprised we started out slowly but it went poorly in a hurry. I didn’t think necessarily that we would be bad for the whole set but I knew we couldn’t play much worse than that after game one. That is kind of to be expected. San Diego got to play before. (they played Wednesday to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Cristi 3-0) While it is great to be seeded and get a bye and it is an advantage in some ways but I think it was a disadvantage as a set up because you didn’t get the experience in the environment because it is so unique.”
Overall, UofL hit .227 with 15 blocks and five aces, surviving 12 service errors. ACC and AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year Anna DeBeer had 11 kills and five blocks. Amaya Tillman rejected USD nine times, adding four kills. Tori Dilfer ran the offense with 41 assists and an ace, helping out with four blocks. Chaussee filled up the stat box notching a career-high in kills as she threw down 21, adding two aces and a team-high 10 digs.
In the second set, San Diego maintained momentum early, using a 6-0 run to go up 14-10 early. Busboom Kelly inserted Chausee into the lineup and she responded with seven kills, hitting .875 and scored five of the final 10 points of the set. UofL did not regain the lead until 22-21 on a miss by Fayad. A kill by Chaussee gave the Cards set point at 24-23 and a ball-handling error charged to the Toreros gave the Cards the 25-23 win and evened the set score going into the break.
In the third set, a deflated San Diego squad let the Cardinals jump out to an 8-5 lead early but tied at ten on a UofL miscue. UofL responded immediately with a 5-0 run to go up 15-10 at the media timeout. The Cards commanded the lead down the stretch to a 25-17 win. Chaussee paced the Cards with five kills and two aces in the set.
The fourth set was a thriller. Louisville went through eight ties and four lead changes and we got bonus Volleyball, before Louisville got a block by Amaya Tillman and Aiko Jones to win set and match 29-27.
The Cards advance to play the Washington Huskies on Sunday. Time is TBD. The Huskies are 18-3 after beating Dayton Thursday afternoon 3-2.
Cardinal Couple writer Jeff McAdams is in Tulsa and we hope he’ll chime in via the comments section with his observations on the win. He will join us for a recap on the Saturday Cardinal Couole Radio Hour Podcast.
Dana Evans on WNBA Draft night
Dana Evans heard her name called Thursday night by the Dallas Wings. She was the first pick in the second round — 13th overall in the WNBA draft.. Dana fell in the selection process from what many expected, going in the second round, on draft night, but she kept her head held high.. going 13th overall, Dallas had 3 of the first 5 picks.
Evans is the 14th Louisville player selected in the history of the WNBA Draft. Of the 14 WNBA Draft picks, 12 have played under head coach Jeff Walz.
“It’s a blessing, I’m just really excited to finally hear my name,” said Evans to Holly Rowe during ESPN’s coverage of the WNBA Draft. “But, I’ll use it as motivation because I didn’t expect to be this far (down…in the draft). I’m ready to take on whatever I have to do and I’m excited.”
It marks the third straight season that Louisville has had at least one player selected in the WNBA Draft.
Last season, Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook went 12th and 13th overall to the New York Liberty. In 2019, three Cardinals were selected as Asia Durr went second overall to the New York Liberty, Arica Carter went 32nd to the Phoenix Mercury and Sam Fuehring went 34th to the Washington Mystics.
It was a shock to us all here at CC to see Dana on the board so long. But we wish her nothing but the best as she embarks on the next step in her basketball journey. I know Louisville fans will continue to follow the career of Dana Evans. A heads up… The Dallas Wings visit the Indiana Fever on June 24th. Mark your calendars.
Louisville Softball opens series with #21 Duke
Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday (DH) at 12 p.m.
Sunday at 12 p.m.
Watch on ACCNX
The Cards are back at Ulmer for a four game series with the Blue Devils (27-9, 15-9 ACC). Its the first trip to Louisville for Duke. Friday’s game will be the first of 9 games against top 25 ranked foes.
Louisville leads the all time series 2-1. This weekend’s series will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2018 when Louisville claimed the series, 2-1. Duke picked up a 1-0 victory in game three to avoid the sweep. Duke is currently on a 3-game losing streak as well as a cancellation falling to league leader and #9 Florida State last weekend.
UofL is led by junior Camryn Greenwood with a .447 clip (2nd in ACC) on an ACC-leading 46 hits and a team-high eight stolen bases. Taylor Roby holds the team’s second highest batting average at .409 and leads the pitching staff with eight victories. At the plate, she’s registered 36 hits, including a team-high 11 home runs, and racked up 32 RBIs. In the circle, she’s put together a 2.79 ERA through 95.1 innings in 24 appearances.
The Blue Devils are led by Deja Davis who averages a .400 batting percentage and tallies 23 runs, 42 hits, five homeruns, 21 RBIs and is 8-11 with stolen bases. Kristina Foreman adds 28 runs, 24 hits, five homeruns, 22 RBIs and is 10-for-11 in stolen bases.The Blue Devils lead the league with 56 doubles, Duke ranks ninth nationally and 40th with 1.56 doubles per game.
In the circle, Peyton St. George posts a 2.01 ERA for the Blue Devils with four shutouts, 119 strikeouts and 11 win on the season. Shelby Walters carries a 1.08 ERA with two shutouts, 47 strikeouts and 11 wins.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fun fact: Blue Devils’ Josh Bloomer joined the Duke softball staff as an assistant coach in July 2019. Bloomer comes to Durham from Louisville, Ky., where he served as the head coach at Louisville Male High School for seven seasons. Bloomer joined after a successful campaign at Louisville Male High School, guiding his squad to NFCA and Kentucky state titles this past spring.
His 2019 team put together a 39-0 ledger for only the second unbeaten season in program history and became the first team from the state of Kentucky to finish first in the country.
As a Louisville Male HS Softball Alum (’09 & Pre-Bloomer) I am very excited to welcome Coach Bloomer back to town. He has been spotted at Ulmer before supporting local players/teams and I had the opportunity to have him on my previous radio show. He is a very talented coach!
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It’s a very busy weekend, #15 Louisville Lacrosse is also in action, bringing in Syracuse for two games, the first today at 3:00 p.m. at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. ACC Network Extra will have this match for you if you can’t make it out.
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Have a great start to your weekend Louisville fans! I made the trip over to Cardinal Stadium this week to get the first vaccine and you should too! Lets get back to big GAMEDAYS! Be sure to catch us on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast Saturday Morning at 11 a.m. !
Go Cards!
~Daryl
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