No. 3 Cardinals Set to Finish Regular Season Versus No. 1 Pitt and No. 7 Stanford

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 3rd-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will host No. 1 Pittsburgh in the KFC Yum! Center on Wednesday before traveling to face No. 7 Stanford on Saturday for the last two matches of the regular season. First serve for Wednesday's match is set for 7 p.m. while Saturday's match will start at 4 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST.

The Cards are coming off a 2-0 weekend on the road, beating Virginia 3-1 on Friday before sweeping Virginia Tech 3-0 on Sunday.

For the second consecutive week and the sixth time this season, setter Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Week. In the wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech, Cabello tallied 31 assists and added 20 digs and a block to the defense. She now holds the most weekly conference honors of any player in any category this season.

Middle blocker Hannah Sherman recorded 12 blocks and three kills on the weekend. Defensive specialist Kamden Schrand served five aces this weekend, with four coming against Virginia Tech. Schrand has now recorded at least one ace in 10 straight matches. Middle blocker Reese Robins hit .481 on the weekend with 15 kills and five blocks. Outside hitters Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper each recorded 13 kills against Virginia, with Sofia Maldonado Diaz adding 10 of her own. Libero Elena Scott tallied 23 digs against Virginia and served an ace against Virginia Tech.

Louisville last faced Pitt on Oct. 25, where UofL fell in five sets to the Panthers in Pittsburgh. The Cards are 8-5 when facing Pitt at home. In the October loss, Louisville hit .203 on 70 kills, 13 blocks, and one ace. DeBeer and Luper both recorded double-doubles against the Panthers, with DeBeer posting 22 kills and 14 digs and Luper knocking down 19 kills with 17 digs.

If the Cards win against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, UofL is guaranteed at least a share of the ACC Championship crown.

The Cards will face Stanford for the first time since Sept. 29, where Louisville swept the Cardinal in the KFC Yum! Center. With Stanford ranked No. 3 at the time, UofL held them to a .144 hitting percentage and forced 16 errors on the match. Luper notched 18 kills, while middle blockers Cara Cresse and Reese Robins each tallied six and five blocks, respectively. Saturday's match will be only the fourth meeting between the teams; Louisville leads the matchup 2-1.

A Peek at the Cards

On Nov. 25, Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, and Charitie Luper were all drafted during the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft. Going to the Indy Ignite, DeBeer was selected as the second pick in the first round while Scott was the first pick in the second round. Luper was the eighth pick in the third round to the Vegas Thrill.
Setter Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 25 for the sixth time this season. Cabello has 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 1,393 kills and 1,021 digs.
The Cardinals are now the 3rd-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 1,098 career kills, 615 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 (3.06) and No. 4 in opponent hitting (.131). Cara Cresse is 9th in blocks/set (1.48) and Elena Scott is No. 58 in digs/set (4.58).
The Cardinals have played 11 opponents in the Top 25, and are 8-3 in those matches.
The Cards have swept 16 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 all 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 Peek at Pittsburgh

Dan Fisher is in his 12th season leading the Pittsburgh program. He holds an overall record of 314-68 at Pitt, and his team sits at No. 1 in the AVCA Poll.
Pittsburgh and Louisville are tied at the top of the ACC standings, each team owning a 17-1 record in conference play. Pitt took home a share of the ACC title in 2023, splitting the championship with Florida State.
Olivia Babcock has been named ACC Offensive Player of the Week three times this season. Rachel Fairbanks has taken home ACC Setter of the Week honors four times. Babcock and Fairbanks each took home their respective honors for the week of Nov. 18. Bre Kelley and Ryla Jones have each earned ACC weekly honors once; Kelly for Defensive Player of the Week and Jones for Freshman of the Week.
Babcock and Fairbanks were both named semi-finalists for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award, in addition to Torrey Stafford. All three players were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
The Panthers are 9-1 against ranked opponents in 2024, and 1-1 in five set matches.

Quick Peek at Stanford

Kevin Hambley is in his eighth season at the helm of the Stanford program. With the Cardinal, Hambley has an overall record of 194-41.
Stanford sits at No. 6 in the AVCA Poll and is third in the ACC standings, behind Louisville and Pittsburgh, with a 15-3 record in conference play.
Kami Miner was named as one of the semi-finalists for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award. She has been honored as ACC Setter of the Week five times so far this year.
Sami Francis was named Co-ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16, sharing the honor with Louisville's Elena Scott. In the week of Nov. 11, Elena Oglivia earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Ipar Kurt has taken home ACC Freshman of the Week honors once this season, on Oct. 7. Francis was again named ACC DPOW on Nov. 25.
The Cardinal will face Georgia Tech on Wednesday, before welcoming Louisville in California on Saturday. Stanford is coming off a 2-0 weekend after sweeping Duke and North Carolina.

No. 3 Cardinals Set to Finish Regular Season Versus No. 1 Pitt and No. 7 Stanford

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Reese Robins

Kamden Schrand

Elena Scott

Hannah Sherman

University of Louisville Athletics

No. 3 Cardinals Set to Finish Regular Season Versus No. 1 Pitt and No. 7 Stanford

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Reese Robins

Kamden Schrand

Elena Scott

Hannah Sherman

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