No. 1 Cards Set to Host No. 16 Florida in NCAA Sweet Sixteen

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 1 overall seed and No. 1 ranked University of Louisville volleyball team looks to host its second NCAA Sweet 16 in program history, taking on No. 16 seeded Florida on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET at Freedom Hall.

The Cardinals are also hosting the Sweet 16 matchup between No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 9 Ohio State at Freedom Hall on Thursday at 4 p.m.

How We Got Here
No. 1-ranked UofL secured its spot in the regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament after dominating the first two rounds, sweeping both Illinois Chicago and Ball State to move to 30-0 on the season.

A Look at the Competition
Florida
No. 16 seed Florida will make its 28^th appearance in the regional semifinals this Thursday facing off against No. 1 Louisville. The Gators (22-8, 14-4 SEC) reach the Sweet 16 after knocking off two Florida based programs in Florida A&M and Miami in straight sets in the first and second rounds of the tournament. Led by head coach Mary Wise in her 31^st season, the Gators have made 30 straight NCAA appearances and have had 30 consecutive 21-win seasons. Florida's offense features five players with 130-plus kills, including three with more than 200. T'ara Ceasar leads the Gator hitters, tallying 377 kills on the year with a .283 hitting percentage, 48 blocks, 269 digs and a team-high 32 aces. Thayer Hall is second on the team with 282 kills and is hitting .257 while adding 254 digs, 21 aces and 47 blocks. Marlie Monserez paces the Florida offense with 1,126 assists on the year. Ceasar, Thayer and Monserez all earned All-SEC honors, joined by teammate Lauren Forte with freshmen Merritt Beason and Bre Kelley were both named to the SEC All-Freshmen team.

Ohio State
No. 9 seed Ohio State is making its 18^th appearance in the regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament this week when it faces off against No. 8 Georgia Tech on Thursday afternoon. The Buckeyes (27-5, 15-5 Big Ten) reach the Sweet 16 after a first round sweep of Howard and 3-1 win over Tennessee in the second round.

Georgia Tech
No. 9 Georgia Tech advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004 and only the third time in program history when it takes on No. 9 Ohio State this Thursday in Louisville. The Yellow Jackets (25-5, 14-4 ACC) reach the Sweet 16 after sweeping their first and second round matches against The Citadel and Western Kentucky.

About the Cards
The No. 1 overall Cardinals continue their historic run into the Sweet 16 after back-to-back sweeps in the opening rounds against Illinois Chicago and Ball State. UofL has earned a 30-0 (18-0 ACC) record this season for just the sixth time in program history. The Cards are making their third consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 and the seventh in program history while playing host for just the second time. Louisville's offense features five players with 190-plus kills, four of which are over 220. Anna DeBeer is the Cards top hitter with 296 kills and is hitting .264 on the year with 225 digs, 40 blocks and 27 aces. Anna Stevenson is second on the team with 276 kills and 128 blocks and is hitting an impressive .431. Claire Chaussee has recorded 258 kills this season and is hitting .273 with 103 digs and 22 blocks. Aiko Jones has a team-high 36 aces and has tallied 227 kills with a .267 hitting percentage and 117 blocks. Amaya Tillman has racked up a team-high 136 blocks and has 192 kills with a .362 hitting percentage. Rounding out the Cardinals' starters, Tori Dilfer leads the team with 1,084 assists while adding 178 digs, 24 aces and 52 blocks with Elena Scott recording a team-high 369 digs and 31 aces, second most on the team.

Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is first in the ACC in aces per set (1.75), seventh in the ACC in assists per set (12.23), first in the ACC and fourth in the country in blocks per set (2.98), first in the ACC and fourth in the country in hitting percentage (.303), fourth in the ACC in kills per set (13.66), first in the ACC and fifth in the country in opponent hitting percentage (.138), first in the ACC in team aces (3,140), and first in the ACC and fifteenth in the country in team total blocks (301).

Ranking the Cardinals
Aiko Jones- 3^rd in ACC with .36 aces per set; 6^th in ACC with 1.16 blocks per set; 4^th in ACC with 36 total aces; 6^th in ACC with 117 total blocks
Tori Dilfer- 3^rd in ACC with 10.73 assists per set; 3^rd in ACC with 1,084 total assists
Amaya Tillman- 2^nd in ACC, 9^th in NCAA with 1.39 blocks per set; 4^th in ACC with .362 hitting percentage; 3^rd in ACC with 136 total blocks
Anna Stevenson- 4^th in ACC with 1.29 blocks per set; 1^st in ACC, 8^th in NCAA with .431 hitting percentage, 4^th in ACC with 128 total blocks
Anna DeBeer- 14^th in ACC with 3.18 kills per set
Elena Scott- 9^th in ACC with 369 total digs

Cards Take Home AVCA All-Region Honors
East Region Player of the Year- Tori Dilfer
East Region Coach of the Year- Dani Busboom Kelly
East All-Region Team- Anna DeBeer, Tori Dilfer, Aiko Jones, Elena Scott, Anna Stevenson, Amaya Tillman
East All-Region Team Honorable Mention- Claire Chaussee

Highest NCAA Seed
The No. 1 seed is the highest-ever for UofL in NCAA play. Previous seeds are (#9 in 2005), (#10 in 2012), and (#11 in 2020). The Cards have won 15 First Round Matches.

Serves Up
The Cards have been applying pressure with their serving in the NCAA Tournament, going on four serving runs of five points or more with six aces. As a team, Louisville has recorded 13 aces in the first two rounds, led by Anna Stevenson, Ayden Bartlett and Anna DeBeer with three each.

Hosting the Sweet 16
Louisville has hosted the Sweet 16 only once before, back in 2004 when the Cardinals hosted No. 1 seed Nebraska at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Although the Cards lost in three sets, they got a good look at current head coach Dani Busboom Kelly who was the Huskers starting sophomore setter at the time. DBK had 39 assists, seven digs and a block in the win while also leading a 9-0 run with eight straight points from the service line.

Cards in the Sweet 16
The Cardinals will be making their third straight and seventh overall appearance in program history in the Sweet 16 when they play No. 16 seeded Florida on Thursday afternoon.

PARKING
Parking is $10 (free for students with a purple or yellow UofL parking pass), and doors open at Noon. There will be bag checks upon entry, but the bag does not have to be clear. All parking entrances will be open, and all entrances to the arena will be open as well.

No. 1 Cards Set to Host No. 16 Florida in NCAA Sweet Sixteen

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Players Mentioned

Ayden Bartlett

Claire Chaussee

Anna DeBeer

Tori Dilfer

Aiko Jones

Elena Scott

Anna Stevenson

Amaya Tillman

University of Louisville Athletics