No. 5 Cardinals Open ACC Slate Hosting Cal and No. 2 Stanford

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team is set to host two of the new members of the Atlantic Coast Conference this weekend with the Bears of California first up on Friday in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena at 7 p.m. and the No. 2-ranked Cardinal of Stanford in the KFC Yum! Center at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Louisville is coming off a split week, having beaten archrival No. 11 Kentucky 3-1 last Wednesday. Anna DeBeer had 13 kills, and ace and 12 digs to lead the Cards to a 3-1 win in the Battle of the Bluegrass in Lexington's Historic Memorial Coliseum.

The Cardinals won 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16, increasing the winning streak over their rival to four straight. UofL hit .252 with three aces and a season-high 17 blocks. Reese Robins hit .556 with 11 kills on 18 swings with Cara Cresse adding six kills and nine blocks. Elle Glock and Nayelis Cabello combined for 37 assists with libero Elena Scott scooping up a match-high 20 digs.

On Sunday, the Cards suffered a loss to then-No. 5 Nebraska at the KFC Yum! Center. In the first-ever regular season college volleyball game broadcast nationally on ABC, the Cards fell to No. 5 Nebraska in straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20. In addition, a new Louisville volleyball attendance record was set at the KFC Yum! Center with 14,126 fans coming out for the match.

Outside hitter Anna DeBeer knocked down 12 kills and hit .308 on the afternoon to lead the charge for the Cards while outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz notched eight kills. The Cardinals, who move to 8-2 on the season, hit .133 with four blocks in their final nonconference matchup. Libero Elena Scott had a match-high 19 digs and Phekran Kong and Reese Robins each had two blocks. The Cards versus Huskers match (the first-ever on ABC) attracted 684,00 viewers as the most-ever watched regular season on an ESPN platform (peaked 808,000 viewers).

A Quick Peek at the Cards

The Cardinals are ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Poll. Stanford is No. 2.
The Cards vs. Huskers game (the first ever on ABC) attracted 684,00 viewers as the most-ever watched regular season on an ESPN platform (peaked 808,000 viewers).
The Cardinals are coming off a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Nebraska after a 3-1 win over No. 11 Kentucky in Lexington last Wednesday night to extend their winning streak over the Wildcats to four straight.
Louisville won the Cardinal Classic, beating Northern Iowa 3-0 and No. 9 Creighton 3-2.
Elena Scott was voted ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 for her play in the Cardinal Classic.
Charitie Luper was named MVP of the Cardinal Classic. Elena Scott and Sofia Maldonado Diaz were voted All-Tournament
Charitie Luper was named Best Outside Hitter and Elena Scott was voted 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 per anud 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.
UofL put up an ACC record of 15-3, finishing third and made the Cards' fourth trip to the Elite Eight, ninth trip to the Sweet Sixteen and 32nd NCAA appearance.
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. DeBeer and Scott are in the first of three groups to be announced. The inaugural list includes 36 players from 21 schools, and the names will be revealed in groups of 12 over three days.

Look out for the Bears

Jen Malcom is in her first season with California.
The Golden Bears were 16-15 overall in 2023. Cal was 5-15 in Pac-12 conference play. They finished out their 2023 season against Stanford.
The outside hitter, Maggie Li was named Sept 2. ACC Offensive Player of the Week. Maggie Li was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, All-Pac 12, and American Volleyball Coaches Association Pacific West Region Freshman of the Year, All-Pacific West Region Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag All-American Honorable Mention.
Senior setter, Annalea Maeder was named Sept. 2 ACC Setter of the Week. Annalea Maeder earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention.
California was ranked 12^th in the 2024 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll.
California is currently 8-4 overall is coming off a 3-0 loss against UCLA on Sept. 21.

Quick look at Stanford

Kevin Hambly is in his eighth season with Stanford with an overall record of 349-123.
Stanford finished 1^st in the Pac-12 conference with an overall record of 29-4 and 19-1 in conference play. They finished their 2023 season with an appearance in the NCAA Regional Final against Texas.
Stanford was ranked 2^nd in the 2024 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll.
In the Sept. 23 AVCA Division I WVB Poll, Stanford is ranked 2^nd for the third straight week.
Sami Francis, Kami Miner, Elena Oglivie, Elia Rubin were all named to the 2024 Preseason All-ACC Team.
Sami Francis was named Sept. 16 Co-Defensive Player of the Week. She was named All-Pac 12 Team in 2023. Elena Oglivie was named two- time Pac-12 Libero of the Year.
Setter Kami Miner and outside hitter Elia Rubin were named to the 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award Watch List. Elia Rubin was named to the 2023 AVCA Second Team All-American. Kami Miner is a two-time AVCA First Team All-American and two-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year. Kami Miner was named Sept. 9 ACC Setter of the Week.
Stanford is 8-1 overall coming off a 3-1 win against Kentucky

No. 5 Cardinals Open ACC Slate Hosting Cal and No. 2 Stanford

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Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Elle Glock

Phekran Kong

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Reese Robins

Elena Scott

University of Louisville Athletics

No. 5 Cardinals Open ACC Slate Hosting Cal and No. 2 Stanford

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Elle Glock

Phekran Kong

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Reese Robins

Elena Scott

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