Louisville Volleyball Upset by Wisconsin in Final Four
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The historic run by the Louisville volleyball program has come to an end.
Taking part in their first ever Final Four match, the No. 1 overall Cardinals were stunned by No. 4 Wisconsin in five sets (25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9) at Nationwide Arena Thursday, ending their run in the NCAA Tournament.
Previously the lone undefeated team in Division I, the Cardinals finish their season at 32-1. Louisville was the first team to end the regular season undefeated since Missouri in 2013, and were striving to become the first undefeated champion since Penn State in 2009.
Anna DeBeer led the Cardinals with 20 kills, but carried a hitting percentage of just .184 percent. Anna Stevenson had 12 and .360, with 11 and .158 from Claire Chaussee. Wisconsin's Anna Smrek led the Badgers with 20 kills on an insane .704 hitting percentage.
The opening set was extremely competitive, with neither team backing down from the other. Louisville went up 9-6, Wisconsin responded to go up 19-16, which was then followed by a 4-0 run by the Cardinals to take a 20-19 lead. From that moment, the Badgers closed strong, using a 6-3 swing to clinch set one.
In set two, Louisville responded with authority. After it was tied early at five a piece, the Cardinals then exploded for a 12-3 run to take command of the set. The Badgers were only able to cut Louisville's lead in the set to as little as six after that, but the Cards finished on a 4-0 run to hand Wisconsin their first dropped set in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals found themselves down 5-1 early in set three, but rallied back to make it a back-and-forth affair through the middle of the set. But with a late 19-17 advantage, the Badgers were the ones who closed strong, firing off an 8-2 run to put Louisville on the brink.
Louisville maintained slight control throughout most of set four, but up 20-18, Wisconsin used a 3-0 run to jump in front. Staring elimination right in the face, the Cardinals used a drama-filled homestretch to pull back ahead, closing with a 5-2 run to survive and force a winner-take-all final set.
The decisive set five was neck-and-neck early, but Wisconsin would not be denied again. Tied at five, the Badgers then overwhelmed the Cardinals, using a 10-4 run to pull away and clinch the match.
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(Photo of Louisville Players: University of Louisville Athletics)
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