Louisville Volleyball Downs Chicago State in NCAA Tournament Opener

The Cardinals swept the Cougars to kick off their postseason run.

Louisville's Anna DeBeer (14) served the ball in the fourth set as the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals women's volleyball team faced off against the No. 1 Pitt Panthers on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. / Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal & USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 1-seeded University of Louisville volleyball team won its first match of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center. UofL bested first-time challenger Chicago State 25-10, 25-18, 25-13 for the team's 17th sweep of 2024.

"It feels good to get that first tournament win under our belt, we have quite a few players that haven't played or haven't played a big role in a tournament match and we got some jitters out and played well," said head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "I thought our crowd was great, it was a little bit of a quiet game, but I loved that it was pretty full. Looking for an awesome crowd tomorrow night against a Northern Iowa team that played phenomenal tonight. It's going to be a challenge tomorrow."

Louisville posted a .290 hitting percentage on the match, combining for 45 kills, 48 digs, 10 total blocks, and 5 service aces. Outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz commanded both sides of the ball, tallying nine kills and five blocks to hit a .368 clip. Middle blocker Hannah Sherman recorded three kills and seven blocks, while opposite hitter/middle blocker Reese Robins added eight kills and two blocks. Outside hitters Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper knocked down seven and nine kills, respectively, and each put up five digs. Setter Nayelis Cabello served two of UofL's aces and added 16 assists.

This match marked CSU's first ever tournament appearance. The Cougars hit .009 against the Cardinals with 21 kills, 33 digs, and four total blocks. Middle blocker Berenice Almeyda tallied two kills and two blocks to hit a team best .200 on the match. Outside hitters Karly Klaer and Patrycja Lagida each knocked down seven kills and put up two blocks. Klaer led the defense for CSU, adding 10 digs.

With this win, the Cards advance to the NCAA Second Round, where they will match up against No. 8 seed Northern Iowa, Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Yum! Center.

Set 1: Louisville 25, Chicago State 10: Louisville got off to a hot 7-0 start after kills from Luper and DeBeer and errors from Chicago State. The Cougars grabbed their first point on a kill, but the Cards followed that up with a quick 6-1 run that included a kill from Robins and more kills from Luper and DeBeer. UofL jumped out to a commanding 16-4 lead, following a big block from Cara Cresse and Cabello that saw CSU take its second timeout of the set. After the timeout, Chicago State tabbed another kill, before Cresse added a kill of her own. Points went back and forth as Robins, DeBeer, and Luper added more kills and Cabello served an ace. Set point came at 24-10 after an ace from Kamden Schrand, and a kill from DeBeer sealed the set win at 25-10. Louisville hit a .550 clip in the first set with 16 kills and two aces while holding CSU to a .086 hitting percentage.

Set 2: Louisville 25, Chicago State 18: Chicago State recorded the first point of the set on a kill, but Robins quickly got Louisville on the board with a kill before teaming up with Sherman for a block. The teams traded blows before UofL pulled out a 5-0 run that put them up 8-3 after kills from Maldonado Diaz, an ace from Luper, and a block between Maldonado Diaz and Sherman. A service error from the Cards stopped the run, but another block from the duo of Maldonado Diaz and Sherman gave Louisville a 9-4 lead. Points continued to bounce between the teams as Phekran Kong recorded a kill and a solo block and Luper added another kill. CSU came within one at 12-11 before UofL went on a 5-0 run that included four blocks between Maldonado Diaz, Sherman, and Luper to pull ahead 17-11. A service error from the Cards ended the run, but Maldonado Diaz knocked down another kill to force a Cougar timeout. Scoring remained tight following the timeout as CSU tallied three kills and a block and DeBeer and Robins added to Louisville's kills. Payton Petersen added a kill that put UofL up 23-18 and made Chicago State burn their second timeout. Out of the break, Elena Scott served an ace to put the Cards at set point 24-18, and Petersen tabbed the set-winning kill at 25-18.

Set 3: Louisville 25, Chicago State 13: Kills from Kong, Robins, Luper, Sherman, and Maldonado Diaz and Cabello's second ace of the match got the Cards out to a 13-2 lead over the Cougars, and forced CSU to use both its timeouts. During that span, Louisville went on a 4-0, 6-0, and 3-0 run against Chicago State and only allowed one CSU kill. Alanna Bankston tallied two kills to put the UofL up 18-4, before the Cougars went on a 4-0 run of their own that was highlighted by two kills and a block. Robins' eighth kill of the match ended the run, but points continued to be traded. Kong, Maldonado Diaz, and Luper all knocked down more kills as Robins and Sherman connected for a block. Set point came at 24-13 off of a Luper kill, and Sherman's third kill marked the Louisville win at 25-13.

(Photo of Anna DeBeer: Jeff Faughender - Courier Journal & USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X