LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The University of Louisville volleyball team had set a goal of getting to the KFC Yum! Center for the NCAA Tournament regional final all season. The players talked about it after drawing more than 9,000 for a regular-season win over Notre Dame in the only game of the season in the arena that was their home from 2011 to 2016.
After sweeping Purdue on Saturday night, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23, the Cardinals will get their shot at a big hometown stage – and hopefully a big hometown crowd – when they face Baylor in the NCAA’s Round of 16 on Thursday. Game time has yet to be determined, but early word is that the first match could be at 11 a.m.
“Everybody needs to take a long lunch and get down there,” Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “It's going to be a crazy regional. There's so many good teams this year, the parity is unbelievable. We’re going to need every fan that we can get to pack in there to beat an awesome Baylor team.”
Amaya Tillman puts away one of her 11 kills in the Louisville volleyball team's NCAA Tournament win over Purdue in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
They fed off a full house at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on Saturday against a talented Purdue team that had lost to Louisville in three hard-fought sets in September.
“It's fun just playing somebody you’ve already played because you know, they're going to come out with a chip on their shoulder and they're going to be coming full force at you,” middle hitter Amaya Tillman said. “And I think we handled it really well -- just the pressure. A lot of people kind of said it was a trap match for us to lose, but we really rose to the occasion.”
The Cardinals (28-2) never wobbled. They won the first three points, and did not trail until Purdue grabbed a quick 3-0 lead to open the third set. Even then, Louisville methodically worked its way back to level, and gained the advantage through several scrambled points that went in their favor.
Busboom Kelly credited Louisville’s middle hitters for being the difference. Tillman had 11 kills and PK Kong had seven kills with six blocks. Elena Scott had 22 digs and Anna DeBeer 11, and Raquel Lazaro had 39 assists.
Claire Chausee led the Cardinals with 12 kills.
Claire Chaussee slams one of her team-best 12 kills in the Louisville volleyball team's NCAA Tournament win over Purdue in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
“I was really proud of our team,” Busboom Kelly said. “I felt like we had a lot of pressure on us to get to the KFC Yum! Center. That's the first time we've ever really played with that type of pressure, and we responded so well. I thought our middles, Amaya and PK, were phenomenal. They really kind of took over that match. And when your middles are playing great in December, good things usually happen. So we’re really excited to get the opportunity to play at the KFC Yum! Center and see how many fans we can get in there.”
“I think it's super exciting,” Chaussee said. “Having this be … our last matches in L&N is really sad, but it’s exciting knowing that we get to play in the Yum! and we're going to fill it, the Louisville fans are just going to be so good. We're just excited.”
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