No. 1 Cardinals Head to NCAA National Semifinals to Face Wisconsin

Card Nation Central

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 1 University of Louisville volleyball hits the road for its first Final Four appearance in program history, taking on No. 4 Wisconsin on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

No. 3 seeded Pittsburgh faces No. 10 seeded Nebraska in the second semifinal match on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m.

Semifinal winners will play for the National Championship on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

How We Got Here
The No. 1 overall seeded Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 16 seeded Florida in the Sweet 16, the first win over the Gators in program history, before defeating No. 8 seeded Georgia Tech 3-1 in the Elite Eight.

Louisville vs. Wisconsin
Louisville and Wisconsin have met eight times, dating back to September 1985, with the Badgers holding a 7-1 lead in the series. In her time with the Cardinals, head coach Dani Busboom Kelly is 0-1 against the Badgers, losing the lone meeting 3-0 on Aug. 25, 2017, in Madison, Wis. The Badgers (29-3), enter the Final Four after knocking off No. 13 seed UCLA and No. 12 seed Minnesota in straight sets to advance to its third consecutive semifinal appearance. With head coach Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin has mustered nine-straight NCAA Sweet 16 or better Tournament trips, including four Final Fours. The Badgers' offense features four players with 270-plus kills on the year, led by middle blocker Dana Rettke who has 384 kills on the year. Rettke, named AVCA Northeast Regional Player of the Year, is hitting a team-high .447 with 151 blocks. Outside hitters Julia Orzol and Grace Loberg have 295 and 282 kills respectively.

About the Cards
The Cardinals continue the best season in program history, advancing to the Final Four for the first time ever. UofL has earned a 32-0 record this season, the third most wins in a single season. Louisville's offense features five players with 200-plus kills, four of which are over 230. Anna DeBeer is the Cards top hitter with 323 kills and is hitting .262 on the year with 247 digs, 44 blocks and 29 aces. Anna Stevenson is second on the team with 298 kills and 142 blocks and is hitting .430 for the year. Claire Chaussee has recorded 281 kills this season and is hitting .274 with 107 digs and 24 blocks. Aiko Jones has a team-high 37 aces and has tallied 236 kills with a .252 hitting percentage and 124 blocks. Amaya Tillman has racked up a team-high 146 blocks and has 205 kills with a .366 hitting percentage. Rounding out the Cardinals' starters, Tori Dilfer leads the team with 1,165 assists while adding 191 digs, 28 aces and 60 blocks with Elena Scott recording a team-high 402 digs and 32 aces, second most on the team.

Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is first in the ACC in aces per set (1.71), first in the ACC and second in the country in blocks per set (3.03), first in the ACC and fifth in the country in hitting percentage (.300), first in the ACC and fifth in the country in opponent hitting percentage (.137), first in the ACC in total aces (185) and first in the ACC and ninth in the country in total blocks (327).

Ranking the Cards
Aiko Jones- 6^th in ACC with 1.15 blocks per set; 4^th in ACC with 37 total aces, 6^th in ACC with 124 total blocks
Tori Dilfer- 3^rd in ACC with 10.79 assists per set; 2^nd in ACC with 1,165 total assists
Amaya Tillman- 2^nd in ACC, 7^th in NCAA with 1.39 blocks per set; 4^th in ACC with .366 hitting percentage; 2^nd in ACC, 13^th in NCAA with 146 total blocks
Anna Stevenson- 4^th in ACC with 1.34 blocks per set; 1^st in ACC, 7^th in NCAA with .430 hitting percentage; 4^th in ACC with 142 total blocks
Anna DeBeer- 13^th in ACC with 3.23 kills per set
Elena Scott- 8^th in ACC with 402 total digs

University of Louisville Athletics

No. 1 Cardinals Head to NCAA National Semifinals to Face Wisconsin

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Players Mentioned

Claire Chaussee

Anna DeBeer

Tori Dilfer

Aiko Jones

Elena Scott

Anna Stevenson

Amaya Tillman

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