New 2020 Volleyball Schedule Announced
September 04, 2020 | Women's Volleyball
The Cardinals will play four home matches and four road contests
The University of Louisville volleyball team has released its revised 2020 schedule.
The Cardinals will play four matches at home and four on the road as the ACC moves to an abbreviated schedule with a hope of adding additional matches in the spring as the NCAA adjusts the traditional schedule as the pandemic continues to disrupt collegiate athletics. Â Â Â
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Led by All-American Aiko Jones, the University of Louisville climbed to their highest finish in program history, toppling No. 2 Texas in Austin for a trip to the Elite Eight In 2019. In 2020, Louisville volleyball returns six starters including Jones, All-NCAA Regional setter Tori Dilfer and All-ACC middle blocker Anna Stevenson and adds a Top 20-ranked recruiting class to the squad.
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The home season will open against one of its oldest rivals as the Cards welcome the Irish of Notre Dame on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 in L&N Arena with first serve at 6 p.m. for both matches. The Irish are coming off of a 2019 campaign with its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons. The Irish are set to return four All-ACC honorees in 2020, including First Team selections Charley Niego and Zoe Nunez and Second Team selections Sydney Bent and Caroline Meuth.
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The Cardinals then head to Boston College for a pair of contests Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 with both matches starting at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles have flourished under second year coach Jason Kennedy, who led the team to its first-ever postseason bid with an invitation to the 2019 National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Eagles finished the season with 20 overall wins to match its program-best finish: a feat that hadn't been accomplished in the ACC era at Boston College.
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Louisville returns home to host Syracuse on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. The Orange posted a 12-13 record in the 2019 campaign with a 9-9 mark in ACC play. Polina Shemanova amassed accolades following her impressive sophomore season with the Orange. She was selected to the AVCA East All-Region Team for the second consecutive season. The 'Cuse captain was named the East Region Freshman of the Year in 2018. Shemanova was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First Team for the second straight season and was tabbed ACC Player of the Week three times in 2019. The St. Petersburg, Russia native ranked first in the conference in kills with 485. That mark ranks third all-time in program history and most since 25-point scoring was introduced in 2008. Her 5.16 kills per set also set a program record, ranked atop the ACC, and finished fifth in the nation. Shemanova also recorded the most points (545.5) and points per set (5.80) in the conference.
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Cardinal fans should mark their calendar for the showdown at Pitt on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. Like the Cardinals, Pitt is coming off a historic year that saw the Panthers ranked as high as No. 2 as the Panthers ran the ACC table. The 2020 Panthers roster returns two AVCA All-Americans in second-team honoree outside hitter Kayla Lund and honorable mention right side Chinaza Ndee. Lund earned Player of the Year honors for both the ACC and AVCA East Coast Region in 2019.
Quick Look at ACC Volleyball – link to ACC schedule
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The Cardinals will play four matches at home and four on the road as the ACC moves to an abbreviated schedule with a hope of adding additional matches in the spring as the NCAA adjusts the traditional schedule as the pandemic continues to disrupt collegiate athletics. Â Â Â
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Led by All-American Aiko Jones, the University of Louisville climbed to their highest finish in program history, toppling No. 2 Texas in Austin for a trip to the Elite Eight In 2019. In 2020, Louisville volleyball returns six starters including Jones, All-NCAA Regional setter Tori Dilfer and All-ACC middle blocker Anna Stevenson and adds a Top 20-ranked recruiting class to the squad.
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The home season will open against one of its oldest rivals as the Cards welcome the Irish of Notre Dame on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 in L&N Arena with first serve at 6 p.m. for both matches. The Irish are coming off of a 2019 campaign with its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons. The Irish are set to return four All-ACC honorees in 2020, including First Team selections Charley Niego and Zoe Nunez and Second Team selections Sydney Bent and Caroline Meuth.
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The Cardinals then head to Boston College for a pair of contests Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 with both matches starting at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles have flourished under second year coach Jason Kennedy, who led the team to its first-ever postseason bid with an invitation to the 2019 National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Eagles finished the season with 20 overall wins to match its program-best finish: a feat that hadn't been accomplished in the ACC era at Boston College.
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Louisville returns home to host Syracuse on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. The Orange posted a 12-13 record in the 2019 campaign with a 9-9 mark in ACC play. Polina Shemanova amassed accolades following her impressive sophomore season with the Orange. She was selected to the AVCA East All-Region Team for the second consecutive season. The 'Cuse captain was named the East Region Freshman of the Year in 2018. Shemanova was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First Team for the second straight season and was tabbed ACC Player of the Week three times in 2019. The St. Petersburg, Russia native ranked first in the conference in kills with 485. That mark ranks third all-time in program history and most since 25-point scoring was introduced in 2008. Her 5.16 kills per set also set a program record, ranked atop the ACC, and finished fifth in the nation. Shemanova also recorded the most points (545.5) and points per set (5.80) in the conference.
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Cardinal fans should mark their calendar for the showdown at Pitt on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. Like the Cardinals, Pitt is coming off a historic year that saw the Panthers ranked as high as No. 2 as the Panthers ran the ACC table. The 2020 Panthers roster returns two AVCA All-Americans in second-team honoree outside hitter Kayla Lund and honorable mention right side Chinaza Ndee. Lund earned Player of the Year honors for both the ACC and AVCA East Coast Region in 2019.
Quick Look at ACC Volleyball – link to ACC schedule
- Regular season runs Sept. 17-Oct. 25
- Eight league games over five weeks in the fall, starting Sept. 24
- All 15 teams will be split among three regions:
- Boston College, Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt
- Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech
- Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, Wake Forest
- Each team will play its four region opponents twice
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Players Mentioned
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