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Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Season kicks off at KFC Yum! Center
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    Season kicks off at KFC Yum! Center

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    A quick glance at Louisville’s 2024 volleyball schedule reveals something that may go unnoticed by the casual observer, but Cardinals coach Dani Busboom Kelly and her team know the opportunity awaits: This year, the road to an NCAA championship begins and ends at the KFC Yum! Center.

    The sixth-seeded Cardinals will kick off their season Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET against third-seeded Wisconsin during the AVCA First Serve Showcase.

    “We want to schedule great teams and play great teams. The game against Wisconsin (was) added late to the AVCA First Serve Classic, but it was a huge deal to even get the chance to play,” Busboom Kelly said. “We’re looking forward to learning early and we know we have to beat the best to stay in December.”

    The Final Four is scheduled for December 19-22 at the Yum! Center.

    The Cardinals have embraced the challenge of reaching the Final Four in their hometown. They understand what it would mean to win an NCAA championship in their hometown — and the pressure that comes with it.

    “There’s so much talk about it; we’re trying to be open to having those conversations. Get used to it so we can prepare and know that this is how this season is going to be,” said Anna DeBeer, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year.

    DeBeer’s return was a big one for the Cardinals. The fifth-year senior and Assumption High School graduate would love nothing more than to finish her collegiate volleyball career on top in her hometown.

    “(Anna) has really given our program a boost, I think, in the city and grown the fan base as quickly as it has. Having someone local in that role just brings a level of love and joy and desire to be great, because they’re usually playing for something other than themselves,” Busboom Kelly said.

    If Louisville reaches the Final Four, Mercy Academy graduate Elena Scott, named the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, would have a shot at winning an NCAA title in her hometown.

    “(It’s) very exciting to have Anna and Elena, who are both potentially two of the best players ever in the city of Louisville, play in Louisville and have a chance to make it to the Final Four in Louisville. It’s a pretty surreal story,” said Busboom Kelly, who has made two Final Four appearances as U of L’s coach.

    The Cardinals are seeking to become the fourth school in Division I history to win an NCAA volleyball championship on their home court. UCLA (1984 and 1991), Pacific (1986) and Nebraska (2006) have all accomplished the feat. The Cornhuskers also won the NCAA title in 2015 in Omaha, Nebraska.

    “This is going to be a really exciting volleyball year, super competitive. Some of the players that are probably going to be in the Olympics at some point are in the NCAA this year,” Busboom Kelly said. “We’re going to need a little bit of luck and honestly it’s probably going to come down to the best team and the best culture because the talent is going to be pretty even across the board, so which team is going to be the strongest and which team plays the best together.”

    The Cardinals, who return six starters this season, came within one game of the Final Four last year but lost in the Elite Eight to ACC rival Pittsburgh.

    Louisville was tipped to finish third in the ACC this season, behind fellow perennials Pittsburgh and Stanford.

    Where: KFC Yum! Center

    Playing time: Tuesday 9:00pm ET

    Broadcast: ESPN2

    • August 27 – vs. Wisconsin (AVCA First Serve Showcase)
    • September 1 – Tennessee
    • September 3 – at Penn State
    • September 6 – vs. South Dakota (Northern Kentucky Tournament)
    • September 7th – vs. Missouri (Northern Kentucky Tournament)
    • September 8th – vs. Northern Kentucky (Northern Kentucky Tournament)
    • September 14 – Northern Iowa
    • September 15 – Creighton
    • September 18 – in Kentucky
    • September 22 – Nebraska
    • September 27 – California
    • September 29 – Stanford
    • Oct 4 – Clemson
    • Oct 6 – Georgia technology
    • Oct 11 – at Florida State
    • Oct 13 – in Miami
    • Oct 18 – Awake Forest
    • Oct 20 – NC stands
    • Oct 25 – in Pittsburgh
    • Oct 27 – at SMU
    • Oct 30 – Notre Dame
    • November 2nd – at Notre Dame
    • November 8 – near Syracuse
    • November 10th – at Boston College
    • November 15 – Duke
    • November 17 – North Carolina
    • November 22 – in Virginia
    • November 24 – at Virginia Tech
    • November 27 – Pittsburgh
    • November 30 – at Stanford

    Contact sports reporter Prince James Story at [email protected] and follow him on X @PrinceJStory.

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