No. 1 Seeded Cards Ready to Make History at NCAA Final

Sunday, December 22

LOUISVILLE, KY

University of Louisville

Penn State

Elle Glock walks the red carpet before the National Semifinals against Pittsburgh at the KFC YUM Center on December 19th.

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

No. 1 Seeded Cards Ready to Make History at NCAA Final

December 21, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Louisville Season Stats Tournament Only Statistics Match Notes for NCAA Championship

By: Erin Hughes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 1-seeded University of Louisville volleyball team will face No. 1-seeded Penn State in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship at 3 p.m. on Dec. 22 in the program's second-ever NCAA Finals appearance. The match will be broadcast on ABC.

If the Cardinals win, UofL would become the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to win the title. Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly would also become the first female head coach to win the national championship.

Louisville beat Pitt in four sets (21-25, 25-23, 29-27, 25-17) on Thursday night, the first time in the three 2024 meetings that the Cards bested the Panthers. The win over Pittsburgh was the highest-ranked opponent since UofL toppled No. 2 Texas in 2019. In Louisville's first NCAA Finals appearance, the Cards also beat Pitt to advance to the 2022 National Championship.

Against the Panthers, Louisville hit .320 on 65 kills, 12.0 blocks, 54 digs, and eight service aces. Setter Nayelis Cabello and outside hitter Payton Petersen both served two aces. Cabello also posted 44 assists, and Petersen hit two kills, including the match-winner, after coming in for an injured Anna DeBeer. DeBeer, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, and Charitie Luper each knocked down 14 kills and contributed at least one block. Middle blocker Phekran Kong hit a .778 clip on seven kills and four blocks; middle blocker Cara Cresse notched nine kills on 16 attacks and totaled six blocks on the match.

The Cards held Pittsburgh to its lowest score in a 25-point set in the 2024 season, with the Panthers scoring only 17 in the fourth set. During the last set, the UofL offense tabbed a .516 hitting percentage with 17 kills on 31 attacks.

The Penn State Nittany Lions punched their ticket to the National Championship match after a reverse sweep over No. 1 seed and Big Ten rival Nebraska. PSU tallied 71 kills, 66 digs, 10.0 total blocks, and seven service aces to hit a .242 clip on the match.

Two Nittany Lions had 20 or more kills - Caroline Jurevicius with 20 and Jess Mruzik with 26. Camryn Hannah was a close second with 16 kills on the night. Mruzik also recorded a double-double as she dug 12 balls. Penn State libero Gillian Grimes added 25 digs to the defense and one ace. Taylor Trammell led on the block with four block assists and one solo block; both Jurevicius and Jordan Hopp recorded four total blocks.

Louisville and Penn State will square off for the second time in 2024. The Nittany Lions took the first matchup 3-0 in State College on Sept. 3, winning 25-15, 25-19, 25-13.

Quick Peek at the Cards

The win over No. 1 Pittsburgh was the program's highest-ever ranked opponent win. The Cards' previous record was the win over No. 2 Texas in 2019 to advance to the Austin Regional Final.
For the first time in NCAA history a female head coach will win the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
An NCAA record 21,726 fans watched the National Semifinal matches in the KFC Yum! Center.
Both of Louisville's NCAA Finals appearances have come after wins over Pitt. In 2022, the Cards advanced following a five-set victory.
Libero Elena Scott was named a First Team All-American by the AVCA on Dec. 18. Outside hitter Anna DeBeer was added on the Second Team, while outside hitter Charitie Luper and middle blocker Cara Cresse received honorable mentions.
Anna DeBeer was named Most Outstanding Player of the Louisville Regional following wins over No. 4 seed Purdue and No. 2 seed Stanford. Charitie Luper and Elena Scott also received honors for their performances, with both players being named to the All-Region Team.
Five Cardinals racked up AVCA All-Region Honors. Cara Cresse, Anna DeBeer, Charitie Luper, and Elena Scott were named to the All-Region Team, Reese Robins was All-Region Honorable Mention, and Nayelis Cabello was selected as Region Freshman of the Year.
Setter Nayelis Cabello was named the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year and libero Elena Scott was selected as ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Scott, Anna DeBeer, and Charitie Luper were named as first Team All-ACC players for the second consecutive year. Cara Cresse was again selected to the Second Team All-ACC.
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 1,449 kills and 1,060 digs.
The Cardinals finished 2024 as the 4th-ranked team in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
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 1,147 career kills, 664 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. 30 with the third-most difficult schedule in Division I NCAA Volleyball.
UofL is ranked No. 1 in the nation in blocks/set (3.10) and No. 8 in opponent hitting (.149). Cara Cresse is seventh in blocks/set (1.49) and Elena Scott is No. 76 in digs/set (4.34).
The Cardinals have played 11 opponents in the Top 25, and are 8-5 in those matches.
The Cards have swept 18 opponents and are 3-1 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 the 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 Penn State

The No. 1-seeded Nittany Lions joined the National Championship match after tackling No. 1-seeded Nebraska in five sets in their third meeting of the season. Penn State previously beat Delaware State, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 5 Marquette, and No. 2 Creighton.
Katie Schumacher-Cawley is in her third season at the helm of the Penn State program, with an overall record of 82-19. Schumacher-Cawley was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 2024 season, after leading her team to a share of the Big Ten title.
Setter Izzy Starck was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year after winning Big Ten Setter of the Week honors five times and Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors six times. Starck was also named Freshman of the Year for the AVCA East Region.
Camryn Hannah, Jess Mruzick, and Taylor Trammell collected AVCA All-East Region team honors in 2024. Mruzick is up for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award in 2024.
Mruzick was tabbed for AVCA First Team All-America. Izzy Starck got selected to the Second Team. Hannah and Trammell both earned honorable mentions.
Hannah, Mruzick, and Trammell were all selected for the 2024 All-Big Ten First Team. Caroline Jurevicius joined Starck on the 2024 All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Starck is first in the NCAA in total assists with 1,428, leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 5 overall standing in assists/set with 13.53. Trammell is fifth in the country in hitting percentage with a 0.441 clip, as the team hitting percentage ranks 12th overall at 0.284.