Cardinals Draw Samford In NCAA First Round for their 28th Trip to the Big Dance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Making their 28^th NCAA appearance, the University of Louisville Cardinals learned they will face Samford University as the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball committee announced the 64-team field competing in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The Cards will play Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. ET in Bowling Green, Ky. Should the Cardinals advance, they will play the winner of the Western Kentucky/Kennesaw State match at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 6.

"We were excited to hear our name called," said Dani Busboom Kelly, UofL head coach. "While we don't know much about Samford yet, we know they are good since they are in the field of 64 just like us. We won't have to worry about traveling and dealing with that, so that is a huge plus for us. It will be new for us to play on Thursday night which is the first time I have ever had to play on the Thursday/Friday match in the first round. So there are a lot of positives from a crowd and fan standpoint but it is a quick turnaround from the moment we learned who we drew."

The Cardinals finished their regular season with a record of 19-9 and placed third in the ACC Conference. Samford enters the tournament with a 24-5 mark. UofL holds a 1-0 record against Samford dating back to 2012 when the Cards prevailed 3-1 in the Cardinal Classic. As the top-seed in the Southern Conference, Samford earned its second-straight SoCon Tournament title with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 15-8) win over second-seeded East Tennessee State and earned the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

"We knew we were in the tournament, but there is always a huge anticipation about where you are going to go," said Busboom Kelly. "What really seals your fate is what kind of draw you get. There are a lot of schools nearby that are hosting that are within driving distance, so each one that passed, we would get more and more nervous about where we were going to go and would we have to fly somewhere. So when you see your name up there, it is a relief, even if you know you are in."

Should the Cardinals win the first round, they face a matchup with intrastate rival WKU. The Cardinals beat the Hilltoppers 3-1 on Sept. 6 in front of a sold out crowd. It turned out to be the WKU's only loss this season.

"It is a great draw and should we advance, we face Western Kentucky, whom we have played before, so we are familiar with their team. They fight and they are such a great program. It is nice to play a team you've already played once," said Busboom Kelly.

Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.

Baylor earned the top seed and will compete in the NCAA postseason after rounding out the regular season with a 25-1 overall record and a program best 15-1 finish in conference play. The Bears held the top spot in the RPI since the first release on Oct. 7 and became the fifth team in conference history to earn a Big 12 conference title.

Texas is the second seed, followed by No. 3 Stanford and Wisconsin earned the fourth seed. The top 16 teams are seeded nationally and placed within four regions. Per the established bracketing principles, the top 16 seeds were provided the opportunity to host. Additionally, team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during the first- and second rounds.

During the previous 39 years of the championship 10 schools have won a national title, seven of which earned a place in this year's bracket. Previous winners competing in the field are: Hawaii (1982, 1983, 1987), Nebraska (1995, 2000, 06, 15, 17), USC (1981, 2002, 03), Stanford (1992, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 04, 16, 18), Penn State (1999, 2007, 08, 09, 10, 13, 14), Texas (1988, 2012) and Washington (2005).

First- and second-round matches will be played December 5-7 at 16 campus sites. Teams winning both matches will continue to regional play December 13-14. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced on December 8. At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition.

The regional winners will advance to the national semifinals and championship final hosted by Duquesne, SPORTSPittsburgh on December 19-21 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The national semifinal matches will broadcast on ESPN, and the championship match will broadcast on ESPN2.

TICKETS:
Fans can purchase all-session tickets for $12 per ticket now at WKUTickets.com now or click here.

All regional and championship site match times can be found on the attached championship bracket or online at www.ncaa.com/volleyball.

Cards in the NCAA
Year
1983
UCLA def. UofL 3-0
1990
LSU def. UofL 3-0
1991
Florida def. UofL 3-0
1992
Pacific def. UofL 3-0
1993
Duke def. UofL 3-0
1994
Texas def. UofL 3-0
1995 (25/25)
UofL def. UCF 3-1
Hawaii def. UofL 3-0
1996 (15/16)
UofL def. Brown 3-0
UofL def. Maryland 3-1
Nebraska def. UofL 3-0
1998 (20/21)
UofL def. American 3-0
UofL def. No. Ill. 3-1
Penn State def. UofL 3-0
1999
Kansas State def. UofL 3-0
2000
Michigan def. UofL 3-1
2001 (22/RV)
UofL def. Ga. Tech 3-2
Pacific def. UofL 3-1
2002 (22/RV)
UofL def. Ball State 3-0
Ohio State def. UofL 3-0
2003 (16/22)
UofL def. Notre Dame, 3-0
Illinois def. Uof L 3-0
2004 (15/16)
UofL def. Illinois 3-1
UofL def. Missouri 3-1
Nebraska def. UofL 3-0
2005 (6/11)
UofL def. WKU 3-1
UofL def. Maryland 3-0
Florida def. UofL 3-0
2006 (12/RV)
Middle Tenn. def. UofL 3-2
2007 (17/RV)
Middle Tenn. def. UofL 3-2
2008 (17/RV)
Purdue def. UofL 3-2
2009
Minnesota def. UofL 3-1
2010
UofL def. Middle Tenn. 3-0
Purdue def. UofL 3-1
2011
UofL def. Ball State 3-0
Purdue def. UofL 3-1
2012
UofL def. Belmont 3-1
Michigan def. UofL 3-1
2013
Marquette def. Louisville 3-0
2015
Louisville def. Belmont 3-1
Illinois def. Louisville 3-1
2017
Northern Iowa def. Louisville 3-0
2018
Louisville def. Dayton 3-0
Illinois def. Louisville 3-1

University of Louisville Athletics

Cardinals Draw Samford In NCAA First Round for their 28th Trip to the Big Dance

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