Dani Busboom Kelly Named AVCA National Coach of the Year
December 16, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
DBK will lead her team into the National Semifinal Match tonight
University of Louisville head coach Dani Busboom Kelly has been voted AVCA National Coach of the Year for 2021.
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She will lead her team into the NCAA National Semifinals tonight at 7 p.m. when her Cardinals face Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
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After leading the Cardinals to a perfect regular season with a 28-0 record and second consecutive outright ACC Championship, Dani Busboom Kelly was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the second straight year and second time in her career and was named AVCA's East Region Coach of the Year. She is the first woman coach to achieve a perfect regular season record. The Cardinals gained the National Semifinals by beating UIC, Ball State, Florida and Georgia Tech. Louisville became the first undefeated regular season team since 2013 when Missouri finished its regular seaÂson at 34-0.
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The No. 1 ranking is a school-record high for the Cardinals, who beat three Top Ten teams in 9 days: No. 6 Purdue, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 6 Nebraska and then five Top Ten teams in all  with a pair of wins over #4/#3 Pitt and seven Top 20 teams with wins over #14/#18 Georgia Tech. The sweep of Nebraska was the first in Lincoln since Wisconsin swept the Huskers on Oct. 5, 2019. The match marked a victory over highest ranked opponent since the Sweet Sixteen win over No. 2 ranked Texas in 2019 and the first win over Nebraska in six meetings. Louisville led all schools with seven student-athletes on the All-ACC Teams including ACC Setter of the Year Tori Dilfer.
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The Cardinals had four named to the AVCA All-Region with Tori Dilfer, Elena Scott, Anna DeBeer, Amaya Tillman, Aiko Jones, Anna Stevenson, Claire Chaussee (HM) taking home the honors. In addition, Dilfer was named East Region Player of the Year.
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Busboom Kelly crafted Louisville's balanced 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.
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She will lead her team into the NCAA National Semifinals tonight at 7 p.m. when her Cardinals face Wisconsin at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
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After leading the Cardinals to a perfect regular season with a 28-0 record and second consecutive outright ACC Championship, Dani Busboom Kelly was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the second straight year and second time in her career and was named AVCA's East Region Coach of the Year. She is the first woman coach to achieve a perfect regular season record. The Cardinals gained the National Semifinals by beating UIC, Ball State, Florida and Georgia Tech. Louisville became the first undefeated regular season team since 2013 when Missouri finished its regular seaÂson at 34-0.
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The No. 1 ranking is a school-record high for the Cardinals, who beat three Top Ten teams in 9 days: No. 6 Purdue, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 6 Nebraska and then five Top Ten teams in all  with a pair of wins over #4/#3 Pitt and seven Top 20 teams with wins over #14/#18 Georgia Tech. The sweep of Nebraska was the first in Lincoln since Wisconsin swept the Huskers on Oct. 5, 2019. The match marked a victory over highest ranked opponent since the Sweet Sixteen win over No. 2 ranked Texas in 2019 and the first win over Nebraska in six meetings. Louisville led all schools with seven student-athletes on the All-ACC Teams including ACC Setter of the Year Tori Dilfer.
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The Cardinals had four named to the AVCA All-Region with Tori Dilfer, Elena Scott, Anna DeBeer, Amaya Tillman, Aiko Jones, Anna Stevenson, Claire Chaussee (HM) taking home the honors. In addition, Dilfer was named East Region Player of the Year.
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Busboom Kelly crafted Louisville's balanced 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.
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Players Mentioned
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