MADISON, Wisconsin — The No. 3 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team opens the 2024 regular season against No. 6 Louisville in the AVCA First Serve Showdown at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The match begins at 8:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

Before the match, there are six things you need to know:

1. THE LAST TIME: The Badgers swept Bradley 25-17, 25-22, 25-14 in an exhibition game at the UW Field House on Tuesday night. UW introduced six new faces to the court as each of the freshmen saw playing time, while Charlie Fuerbringer started at setter and Trinity Shadd-Ceres started as a winger.

2. THERE’S MORE IN THE TANK: Senior Sarah Franklin was named AVCA National Player of the Year, the second Badger to win the national award. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter was also named AVCA Northeast Region and Big Ten Player of the Year. She led the Badgers with 4.15 kills per set, reaching double figures in 29 matches. She is the second in program history to win the prestigious award.

3. THE GREAT WALL OF MADISON: In the 2023 season, the Badgers were the nation’s best blocking team, averaging 3.07 blocks per set. Wisconsin more than doubled its opponents’ total blocks this season—365.5 to 173.0—and recorded 10 or more blocks in 20 games, including 12 of the last 14 games. Carter Booth led the Big Ten and ranked fourth in the nation with 1.56 blocks per set. CC Crawford added 1.35 blocks per set, which ranked third in the conference, while Anna Smrek seventh in the Big Ten with 1.13 blocks per set.

4. TOP OF THE B1G TEN: UW has hit better than .300 in 24 of 34 games in 2023, including four games above .400, which leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally at .313. Stanford leads the nation at .316 in 2023. Individual, junior Carter Booth ranked fifth nationally at .431 while senior Anna Smrek was ranked 18th nationally at .401.

5. ON A MISSION: The Badgers will play nine games against teams ranked in the Top 25 of the latest 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) coaches poll and 14 games against teams that competed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin will face 14 opponents ranked in the Top 60 of the latest 2023 RPI, including three in the Top 5 and five in the Top 10.

6. SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: No. 6 Louisville is coming off a 27-5 finish in the 2023 season. The Cardinals finished third in the ACC and advanced to the Elite Eight, where they ultimately lost 2-3 to Pitt. Louisville finished sixth in the final AVCA poll. Key returning players include winger Anna DeBeer, who was named ACC Player of the Year and AVCA East Region Player of the Year. Libero Elena Scott, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, will also return for the Cards. Louisville was projected to finish third in the ACC preseason poll behind Pitt and Stanford. The last time the Badgers and Cardinals met was in the semifinals of the 2021 National Championship. Wisconsin has an overall record of 8-1 against the Cardinals, with a seven-game winning streak.