University of Louisville volleyball wins Big East title

By Noah Allison–

The Division I NCAA Volleyball Final Four and National Championship will be held a few blocks away in downtown at the KFC YUM! Center, and the No. 5 Big East Champion Louisville Cardinals have something to say about letting somebody else play for a national title on their home court.

U of L posted a 25-3 regular season record earning them regular season Big East Champions, and over the weakend became Big East tournament champions. The Cardinals are rolling right now, and it is all coming off a long season of work and preparation.

“Coming in I knew that this season was going to be different than any other season. New coaching staff, six different freshmen coming in and they stepped up better than any freshman class before. This season has been incredible, it’s been really exciting to be a part of,” junior Caitlin Welch said.

Welch plays the libero, a defensive specialist position, and in the past two weeks has set U of L’s all time digs record and then set the single season digs record. Welch is just one of many talented players on this team.

“Well first of all we have a bunch of upperclassmen, our seniors are all starting, and they are all playing really well. So to have veterans on the floor like that is really priceless, on top of it the kids that have joined our team in the past year, we have eight new players, and they have really changed the culture of the program. The chemistry is very strong; they work extremely hard and are very competitive,” head coach Anne Kordes said.

One of the new additions that that Kordes was speaking of is Nebraska transfer, outside hitter, senior Kaitlynn James. James has done her part as a senior to bring balance to the squad and keep them focused on what they wish to achieve.

“All of the seniors came together before the start of the season, we talked about what kind of goals we wanted to achieve and what sort of legacy we wanted to leave. Especially with the Final Four being in town this year, we had to make sure that all the girls believed that we could get there and make sure that everybody was all in to this program; it’s just about believing in our talent and believing in our ability to achieve things,” James said.

The Cardinals are led by outstanding outside hitter, senior Lola Arslanbekova. Arslanbekova, named this year’s Big East player of the year, became the first volleyball player to be named the Big East Volleyball Player of the Year in consecutive years since 1997. She is also the only active player in NCAA Division I volleyball with 2,000 or more kills and 1,000 or more digs. Much of Arslanbekova’s success can be attributed to freshman setter Katie George.

“You can’t play with such a veteran like Lola and not feel truly blessed. I’ve learned so much from her, to be able to set her every match is just a great experience. I know that when I set her the ball I’m going to get results, and if I don’t, then she will be yelling at me to get her the ball back again. So you have utmost confidence in your outside hitter. And I mean she’s the leader in kills, when you have that out on the court with you, when you set the ball up, it’s almost automatically going to be a kill. And when you don’t think it’s going to be a kill, it is a kill,” George said.

The senior and freshman have created a special bond over their love for punishing opposition; it has been a productive bond for U of L volleyball.

“They’ve formed a very special bond, and they’re close. I think that Katie really respects and appreciates what Lola has been able to do for Louisville volleyball, so I think there is no question that Katie wants to send Lola out in the best way possible,” Kordes said.

The best way possible involves still being in the tournament when it comes back to Louisville for the Final Four and National Championship.

“The season is coming to an end, but it’s not over yet. This is the time that you have to put the most work that you’ve ever put into your entire life. We always work on defense in practice, that’s the most important thing we need to work on,” Welch said. “But work hard, practice hard, and we will get to where we want to be. This is what we live for, we’ve played volleyball all our lives and to be in this position, this is what little girls dream of, this is where I wanted to be my entire life.”

“They work extremely hard, just at U of L, and actually all the athletes do here. We have a really good sports performance program, but our girls I think understood that that’s the only way for us to win. We’re a smaller team. We’re not as physically dominant as a lot of other programs, so we have to be really great volleyball players, and we have to be in really great shape,” Kordes said. “When we get out there to play, we are going to be playing against teams that are bigger and stronger than us. So we just have to be sharper and smarter.”

“U of L volleyball: work ethic. Our standards are high; we don’t set low standards at all. We treat every day as if it’s a new day, and we don’t look back at what we have already accomplished, we just focus on wanting to win a national championship. Every practice that we have from here on out is working towards that, we get out here and our effort is 110 percent every day, and we expect the same from every team member, whether freshman, sophomore, junior or senior,” Welch said.

The 2012-13 volleyball team is one of the best in school history and one of the best teams on this talented U of L campus. They have already accomplished a great deal and hold themselves to a higher standard than any member of Card Nation can hold them. Their work is worthy of recognition, and their cause is worthy of support. So be sure to take notice and reserve your seats for their return to the KFC Yum! Center.

[email protected]
Photo: Austin Lassell/The Louisville Cardinal