No. 6 Cardinals Head to North Carolina and Duke

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 6-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play North Carolina Friday night at 7 p.m. before heading to Durham, N.C., to face off against the Duke Blue Devils Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., capping off their four-match road trip.

The 12-2 Cardinals defeated Notre Dame in three sets on Wednesday night before falling 19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-25 to NC State on the road Sunday afternoon, dropping to 3-1 in the ACC this season. Outside hitter Anna DeBeer tallied 14 kills, 12 digs, and two blocks, while middle blocker Phekran Kong added 11 kills and four blocks. Libero Elena Scott recorded a career-high 29 digs in the match.

About the Tar Heels
North Carolina is 7-6 overall this season and 1-3 in the ACC. The Tar Heels are coming off three straight losses in conference, as they were swept by Pittsburgh at home and Florida State on the road before heading to Miami and falling in four sets. Mike Schall is at the helm, his first year as head coach after being an assistant on the staff since 2018. On the court, outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster leads the team in kills (164) and points (190.5), while libero Maddy May anchors the defense with a team-high 186 digs on the year.

About the Blue Devils
Duke is 10-5 overall on the season and 1-3 in the ACC, looking to bounce back after a road trip in which Miami defeated the Blue Devils in four sets on Friday before a five-set classic against Florida State saw them fall to the Seminoles on Sunday. The Blue Devils are led by head coach Jolene Nagel in her 25^th season, as she has brought the program to new heights in her tenure. She has led Duke to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes seven straight from 2005-2011, an ACC record. Duke has a two-headed monster offensively, with outside hitters Gracie Johnson and Kerry Keefe accounting for 180 and 174 kills, respectively. Defensively, libero Madison Bryant leads the team in digs with 212 while middle blocker Jess Robinson leads in blocks with 57.

A Quick Peek at the Cards

The loss to NC State snapped a 12-match run of ACC victories dating back to Oct. 3 at Pitt. The Cards have won 38 of their last 40 matches.
Elena Scott was named Defensive Player of the Week after Syracuse and BC.
The Cards set an attendance record with 12,760 against Kentucky on ESPN. The match against Stanford had the second largest crowd for UofL volleyball at 9,761
Elena Scott hit the 1,000 Career Dig Club as the 11th Card to do so. She is at 1,059 after setting a career-high 29 at NC State.
Elena Scott is first in the ACC in digs per set (4.69) and 41st in the country.
The Cards got their third win of the season over a ranked team with the sweep of No. 21 Kentucky. The win came on the heels of their win against then-No. 12 Penn State.
The Cardinals won the Tiger Classic in their first road trip of the season. UofL downed South Dakota, Northern Kentucky and Missouri. The win over SD marked Dani Busboom Kelly's 150th career win at the Ville.
The Cardinals won the Cardinal Classic to open the season. UofL downed Troy, #21 Washington State and Wright State. Anna DeBeer was named MVP of the Classic with Cara Cresse earning All-Tournament kudos.
Anna DeBeer was voted the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time. Elle Glock was Setter of the Week and Elena Scott was Defensive Player of the Week.
The win over Kentucky was Coach DBK's 29th over a Top 25 team at UofL
Cara Cresse's .437 hitting percentage is third in the ACC and 10th in the nation, while her 1.38 blocks per set puts her third in the ACC in that category.
Charitie Luper has 604 career kills and 419 digs with a career .252 hitting percentage in her combined totals between UCLA and Louisville

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Players Mentioned

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Elle Glock

Phekran Kong

Charitie Luper

Elena Scott

University of Louisville Athletics