Top-seeded Cardinals Await Purdue in NCAA Round of 16

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 1-seeded University of Louisville volleyball team will host No. 4-seeded Purdue in Freedom Hall on Dec. 12 in the program's 10th NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance. First serve is set for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the match between No. 2 Stanford and No. 6 Florida, also taking place in Freedom Hall at 7 p.m..

If the Cardinals win, they will advance to the NCAA Elite 8 and play the winner of the Stanford/Florida match on Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Freedom Hall. All three matches can be viewed on ESPN2.

UofL finished the weekend 2-0 after sweeping first-time NCAA Tournament team Chicago State 3-0 on Friday night and then surviving a five-set match against No. 8-seeded Northern Iowa on Saturday.

Louisville recorded 101 kills on the weekend with 121 digs and 35.0 total blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse tallied a career-high 14 blocks against UNI to go along with seven kills. After her performance against the Panthers, Cresse now leads the NCAA Tournament in blocks per set with 2.50. Outside hitter Charitie Luper served three aces and knocked down 28 kills across both matches, recording a double-double against UNI off of 19 kills and 14 digs. Also recording a double-double against the Panthers was outside hitter Anna DeBeer who logged 19 kills and 11 digs; DeBeer and Luper both set new career highs when they each stuffed four blocks against UNI as well. Libero Elena Scott matched her own season-high in digs against the Panthers with 26. The defense was on display as nine Cardinals notched four or more blocks on the weekend.

In the match against Northern Iowa, UofL won the fifth set 22-20, making it the highest fifth set score in school history. The last time Louisville set a school record for most points in any set since the 25-point set rule went into effect in 2008 was against Georgia Tech in Oct. 2021, when Louisville took the second set 36-34.

Quick Peek at the Cards

UofL is the No. 4 national seed and No. 1 seed in the Louisville quadrant of the bracket.
Against Northern Iowa, Louisville won the fifth set 22-20, making it the highest fifth set score in school history. In the Oct. 2021 match against Georgia Tech, UofL set the school record for most points in a 25-point set since the rule went into effect in 2008, winning the second set 36-34.
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 1st Team All-ACC players for the second consecutive year. Cara Cresse was again selected to the 2nd 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 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 1,147 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 (3.11) and No. 4 in opponent hitting (.139). Cara Cresse is eighth in blocks/set (1.51) and Elena Scott is No. 68 in digs/set (4.48).
The Cardinals have played 11 opponents in the Top 25, and are 8-5 in those matches.
The Cards have swept 17 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 Purdue

As the No. 4 seed in the Louisville quadrant of the NCAA bracket, Purdue advanced to the Sweet 16 after sweeping Western Michigan and Loyola Chicago in West Lafayette, ind.
The Boilermakers are led by head coach Dave Shondell, who has led the program for 22 seasons. Shondell has a career record of 485-232.
2024 marks Shondell's 19th time leading his team to the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 16-4 conference record and 25-6 overall record.
In the regular season, Purdue took down four teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25, including Kentucky, Minnesota, Southern California, and Oregon.
The Boilermakers' defense ranks ninth in the nation in block/set with 2.81. Leading the way is 2024 All-Big Ten First Team middle blocker Raven Colvin, who is third in the nation in individual blocks/set with 1.58.
Three other Purdue players earned Big Ten honors this season. Outside hitter Eva Hudson joined Colvin on the First Team list. Selected to the Second Team was setter Taylor Anderson and outside hitter Chloe Chicoine. Hudson is also a semi-finalist for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball.

Quick Peek at Stanford

No. 2-seeded Stanford joined the Sweet 16 after sweeping Sacramento State and Loyola Marymount in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cardinal has an ACC leading 43 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Kevin Hambley is in his eighth season at the helm of the Stanford program. With the Cardinal, Hambley has an overall record of 196-41.
Setter Kami Miner was named as one of the semi-finalists for the AVCA Player of the Year Award, and was honored as ACC Setter of the Year after taking home the weekly honor five times in 2024.
Middle blocker Sami Francis and libero Elena Oglivie were each named ACC Defensive Player of the Week during the 2024 season. Outside hitter Ipar Kurt was named ACC Freshman of the Week once in 2024, on Oct. 7.
Outside hitter Elia Rubin joined Miner and Francis on the All-ACC First Team list. Kurt, Oglivie, and opposite hitter Jordyn Harvey were all selected to the All-ACC Second Team. Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew joined the All-Freshman Team.
The Cardinal ranks third in the country in hitting percentage (0.322), sixth in assists per set (13.45), and seventh in kills per set (14.33). Francis is fourth in the NCAA in blocks/set with 1.56 and Miner is 11th in assists per set with 11.09.

Quick Peek at Florida

Florida entered its 34th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as the No. 6 seed in the Louisville quarter. The Gators took down NC State in three sets before posting a massive five-set victory over No. 3 seed Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.
Mary Wise leads the Florida program in her 34th season with the team. With the Gators, Wise has amassed a 987-149 record. Wise has 1,068 victories in her career, making her the all-time winningest female head coach.
Middle blocker Jaela Auguste was named SEC Freshman of the Year and named to the SEC All-Freshman and All-SEC Second Team. Auguste is 16th in the nation with a .404 hitting percentage. She has also posted 116 total blocks in her freshman campaign.
Outside hitter Kennedy Martin was the only Gator selected to the All-SEC First Team and is a semi-finalist for the AVCA Player of the Year Award. Martin is first in the NCAA in points per set (6.29), second in kills per set (5.58), and 24th in total kills (491). Martin set a Florida Gators record when she knocked down 32 kills against Missouri, the most individual kills in a single match.
Libero Elli McKissock joined Auguste on the All-SEC Second Team. McKissock is fifth in the SEC in digs per set with 4.14 and third in total digs with 468. She is second in Florida history in career digs with 2,134; the program record is 2,138.
Named to the SEC All-Freshman Team with Auguste is setter Taylor Parks. Parks received SEC Freshman of the Week honors four times in 2024. She sits at 11th in her conference in total assists with 851 and 12th in assists/set with 8.26. Parks posted a career-high 56 assists against Florida State to go along with 10 digs and four aces.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Charitie Luper

Elena Scott

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