The Louisville Cardinals volleyball team has had a phenomenal season this year under ACC Coach of the Year, Dani Busboom Kelly. Louisville finished the regular season with a 26-2 record, which earned them one of the four regional number one seeds in the 2022 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Sweeping their way through their first three games against Samford, Purdue, and Baylor, the Cardinals were anticipating their first challenge in the tournament. That challenge would come in the next matchup against the #9 Oregon Ducks, who forced Louisville to go more than three sets for the first time in the tournament.
Louisville’s own All-Regional MVP, Anna DeBeer said of the Ducks:
"“They pushed us in ways we haven’t been pushed in a while, and I think it just took every single person on this team to come out and do their job and get back in our rhythm.”"
After four games with home court advantage, the Cardinals travel to Omaha, Nebraska for their matchup with the Pittsburgh Panthers, who upset the reigning champion #1 Wisconsin Badgers in five sets.
The Cardinals have split the season series with the Panthers this year. The first matchup on October 23, 2022 went five sets with the Panthers coming out on top. Less than a month later, the matchup was renewed and Louisville swept Pittsburgh in three sets.
Now, the ACC rivals are set for their third match of the season and here’s how to watch the much anticipated matchup:
Date: Thursday December 15, 2022
City: Omaha, Nebraska
Arena: CHI Health Center
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Network: ESPN