No. 3 Cardinals Head to Virginia and Virginia Tech

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 3-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will hit the road for a two-match away series. The Cards will face Virginia Friday at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville before traveling to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech Sunday at 1 p.m.

UofL now holds seven straight wins, six straight sweeps, and 12 total conference sweeps following 3-0 wins over Duke and North Carolina this past weekend.

In the match against Duke, outside hitter Anna DeBeer recorded her 1,000th career dig to become the 12th player with 1,000 digs and only the fourth player in Louisville history to join both the 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs clubs. DeBeer now owns 1,379 kills and 1,007 digs to sit at ninth and 12th on the respective all-time lists. She ended the weekend hitting .500 with 27 kills, 13 digs, four blocks, and one ace.

On Nov. 18, setter Nayelis Cabello took home ACC Freshman of the Week honors for the fifth time this season. In sweeps over Duke and UNC, she posted 33 assists, one ace, eight digs, and a solo block. Cabello's five weekly conference honors are tied for the most of any single player in any category this season; she is tied with Stanford's Kami Miner, who has held ACC Setter of the Week five times.

Louisville hit .431 across both matches with 84 kills, 13 aces, and 23 blocks while holding opponents to a .071 overall hitting percentage. Middle blocker Phekran Kong put up eight blocks against UNC and eight other Cardinals recorded blocks throughout the weekend. Seven different players served aces over the weekend, including two in each match from defensive specialist Kamden Schrand, three from outside hitter Charitie Luper, and two from libero Elena Scott. Outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz posted a .727 hitting percentage against UNC with eight kills on 11 attempts and two blocks.

Quick Peek at the Cards

Setter Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 18 for the fifth time this season. She is tied for the most ACC weekly honors of any player in any category this year.
On Nov. 15, Anna DeBeer became the fourth player in Louisville history to join the career double-double club after recording her 1,000th dig against Duke. DeBeer now holds 1,379 kills and 1,007 digs.
The Cardinals are now the No. 3-ranked team in the AVCA Coaches Poll as of Nov. 11.
On Nov. 13, libero Elena Scott was named a semifinalist for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award presented by Nike Volleyball.
On Sunday, Oct. 20, Louisville was named to the Top 16 by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Cards were picked 4th.
In the match against Wake Forest, Charitie Luper became the 26th Cardinal to join the 1,000 kill club. She now has 1,064 career kills, 581 of which have come at Louisville.
On Oct. 18, Charitie Luper was added to the AVCA Player of the Year Watchlist. She joins fellow Louisville players, Elena Scott and Anna DeBeer, on the list.
Anna DeBeer was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week and Cara Cresse was ACC Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Oct. 13
UofL's RPI is No. 3 in the nation as of Nov. 18 with the third-most difficult schedule in Division I NCAA Volleyball.
UofL is ranked No. 2 in the nation in blocks/set (3.07) and No. 5 in opponent hitting (.134). Cara Cresse is 5th in blocks/set (1.51) and Elena Scott is No. 55 in digs/set (4.63).
The Cardinals have played 11 opponents in the Top 25, and are 8-3 in those matches.
The Cards have swept 15 opponents and are 2-1 in five set matches.
Charitie Luper was named Best Outside Hitter and Elena Scott was Best Libero for the 2024 AVCA First Serve All-Star Team.
The win over No. 3 Wisconsin was the win over the highest ranked opponent since 2021 when the Cards beat No. 3 Pitt. The Cards' win against highest-ever ranked opponent was the W over No. 2 Texas in 2019.
Louisville was voted No. 3 in the ACC Coaches Preseason Poll with Cara Cresse, Anna DeBeer, Charitie Luper and Elena Scott were voted to the Preseason All-ACC squad.
The crowd of 14,126 at the KFC Yum! Center for the Nebraska game was a school record.
University of Louisville outside hitter Anna DeBeer and libero Elena Scott were named to the first-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association Watch List for its 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball.

Quick Look at Virginia

Head coach Shannon Wells is in her fourth season leading the Cavaliers program. Wells holds a career record of 51-61.
UVA finished the 2023 season at 11-17 overall and 4-14 in conference play. The Hoos ended the season with a sweep of in-state and ACC rival, Virginia Tech
Outside hitter Becca Wight was named ACC Freshman of the week on Nov. 11. Transfer outside hitter Elayna Duprey competed in the 2024 European Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia.
Virginia currently sits at 20-7 on the year, including a 10-6 record against ACC opponents. These 20 wins for the Cavaliers are the most in a single season since 2006.
The Hoos are coming off a 1-1 weekend on the road after being swept by No. 7 Stanford before taking a 3-1 win over Cal.

Quick Look at Virginia Tech

Marci Byers is in her fifth season at the helm of the Hokies program. At Virginia Tech, she holds a 49-82 record while being 288-269 in her career.
Tech ended the 2023 season at 13-16 overall and 3-15 in conference matches. In 2023, the Hokies got off to a 10-0 start, marking a program record.
Virginia Tech had 10 of their athletes named to the ACC All-Academic Team in 2023.
Tech sent middle blocker Jasmine Robinson to compete at the 2024 European Global Challenge in Pula, Croatia.
The Hokies are 7-19 overall and 1-15 in league play in 2024. They are coming off an 0-2 weekend after being swept by Cal and No. 7 Stanford in California.

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Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Phekran Kong

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Kamden Schrand

Elena Scott

University of Louisville Athletics