LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The NCAA Women’s Volleyball championship takes place at the KFC Yum! Center beginning with the semifinals on Dec. 19.
The Louisville Cardinals are hoping for a big-time home court advantage.
The UofL Cardinals practiced on Wednesday before their semifinal match on Thursday.
“Obviously like the actual court is different so we’re obviously getting used to that and I think it was cool to have an open practice today, just kind of getting like a good feel of how it’s going to feel tomorrow, just having a few people there and yeah, just kind of getting used to it,” said middle blocker Cara Cresse.
What makes this Final Four special for UofL is the rare opportunity to play for a championship at home and for players like Louisville native, Anna DeBeer, it’s a chance of a lifetime.
“It’s definitely a full circle moment, like looking back, we really weren’t sure if we were going to make it here. Like, obviously the program really wanted to get here and the fact that we are, it’s just super exciting and, the Yum! is such a great environment. So, it’s a good way to go out and for my career, I guess you could say,” said Anna DeBeer, who’s an outside hitter for the Cards.
This is Louisville’s third trip to the Final Four in the past four years and some players said that experience will help them this time around.
“It feels really intense at first. The nerves may be there, and I think we’ve had a few people who’ve been there on the team, which is really going to help us and same with everyone else. There’s been a lot of players who’ve been there before, but just to kind of have that, I think that’s going to help us a little bit more,” DeBeer said.
No female head coach has led a NCAA Division I women’s volleyball team to a national championship, but with Dani Busboom Kelly as UofL’s head coach, and Katie Schumacher-Cawley at Penn State, that could all change this weekend.
“I don’t know if there’s anything I can do or Katie can do at Penn state. It’s more just being consistent and really encouraging other women to stay in the sport and to go for it and showing them that they can do it too,” said Busboom Kelly.
Louisville will play Pittsburgh in the semi-finals at 6:30 p.m. on EPSN. Nebraska and Penn State are the second semi-final game, which will be played approximately 30 minutes after UofL’s game ends.
The winners will play for the championship title at the Yum! Center on Sunday at 3 p.m.