The University of Louisville volleyball team would get off to a slow start against Wisconsin. But once the women got rolling, Wisconsin couldn’t get out of its own way. Great way to start the 2024 season in the KFC Yum! Center, the site of this year’s NCAA championship tournament.
Wins don’t come any bigger than Louisville’s 3-1 win over Wisconsin. That’s because the Badgers are the tallest college volleyball team in America with a front line that measures 6 feet, 9 inches, 6 feet 7 and 6 feet 5. They’ve been playing together forever it seems. So intimidation comes naturally for them. Not exactly a monster front line, but pretty damn close.
Some would call the win an upset but that would be disrespectful of sixth-ranked Louisville. After dropping the first set by 18-25, the Cardinals would roar back with wins of 25-17, 26-24 and 25-20 in a set that was approaching the midnight hour. Pretty clear to the crowd of 9,280 which was the better team this night.
UofL Coach Dani Busboom Kelly has said this may be her best team yet That’s saying something for a program that has been to two Final Fours in the past three years. Led by Anna DeBeer and Chaaritie Luper, the Cardinals were not going to be denied. DeBeer had 10 kills, and Luper had 11. Cara Cresse added eight kills and six blocks with Sofia Maldonado Diaz adding 11 kills. Elena Scott added a match-high 22 digs. UofL hit .166 as a team with 10 blocks and two aces.
Making the night even sweeter, the victory marked the first win for UofL over UW since 1985. It was a rematch of the NCAA National Semifinals in 2021 when the Badgers won 3-2.
These two teams could conceivably meet again on this same court at the NCAA tournament in December.
