LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The regional round of the NCAA women's volleyball tournament has gotten quite used to the presence of the Bluegrass State.
Both the Universities of Louisville and Kentucky return to the Sweet 16 on Thursday. For the Cardinals, it's their third straight trip to this round of the tournament and ninth in program history. The Wildcats are on this stage for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
Each squad is a No. 2 seed with opponents on different ends of the spectrum to start their regional runs.
No. 3 Creighton vs. No. 2 Louisville (Pittsburgh Regional): Dec. 7 at noon on ESPN2
We know this for head coach Dani Busboom Kelly and the Cardinals: They need no introduction to Pittsburgh.
Louisville already played at Fitzgerald Field House this season, dropping a 3-2 battle to the regional host and ACC rival back on Nov. 18. The Cardinals have played at least one match at Pitt in each of the last six seasons.
"It is pretty fun to go somewhere where you have a little bit of comfort,"Busboom Kelly said. "We're pretty comfortable with the city and how long it takes to get places. We've played in the Fieldhouse numerous times."
Ashley Reese (25), Anna DeBeer (14) and the Louisville volleyball team celebrated. late point in Louisville's 3-1 NCAA Tournament win over Wright State in the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cardinals have not faced their next opponent numerous times. Creighton and Louisville have met just once before back in 2015, a 3-2 victory for U of L.
This season, the Bluejays have won 17 straight matches to get to their first Sweet 16 since 2016. The former Nebraska Cornhusker in Busboom Kelly expects a battle against a program she is familiar with.
"You can just see how well they're coached," Busboom Kelly said. "And the way they play, they make really great adjustments. They always have a no-fear attitude. They play with a lot of trust in each other. It's just things that don't show up on the stat line that you can see when you really study them.
"Being from Nebraska, I have a lot of respect for their program and what they've done. I know them very well."
Louisville didn't drop a set in the KFC Yum! Center after losing its first one of NCAA Tournament play, winning the next six in victories over Wright State and Western Michigan in the first and second rounds. The Cardinals got contributions from many different pieces on the roster, like Cara Cresse tallying a career-high 13 kills vs. Wright State and Reese Robbins sparking the Cards off of the bench with eight kills against Western Michigan.
"It's been really cool to see so many people step up on our team," Busboom Kelly said. "That's pretty rare late in the season when you can make subs and a lineup tweaks. But that's just how we train all year. And we know our goal is to have everybody ready for a big moment."
"It's a testament to our program," Louisville outside hitter Anna DeBeer said. "Those players, they're young. To watch them step up was just really amazing. And it's just a testament to this program. We need everyone and we'll use everyone."
A victory would mean Louisville advances to the Elite Eight for the third time since 2019.
No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 2 Kentucky (Nebraska Regional): Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU
While it has been a while since Louisville has faced Creighton, a little more than two weeks will only separate meetings between Kentucky and Arkansas.
The second-seeded Wildcats have fared well against the third-seeded Razorbacks this year. Kentucky won both of its meetings against the Hogs by a combined score of 6-2.
"They know us well, we know them well," Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner said. "But you know, it's the first time we've played them in the NCAA Tournament. So, that's how we have to look at it."
Kentucky outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye has led the Wildcats in kills in both victories against Arkansas this year, totaling 33 over the two matches. She is a believer in the conventional sports wisdom that often comes with facing a team for a third time.
"They're an amazing team," DeLeye said of Arkansas. "They're going to be coming for us. It's honestly hard to beat a team three times in a row. But I think just playing our game, not really drastically changing our team and just going out, having fun I guess is the biggest thing."
"There's some fine tuning that they have done, I'm sure, since we played them," Skinner said. "And there's been some adjustments that we've made. So, there'll be some new wrinkles that maybe they have to defend on us and I know we will on them. But, you know, in this tournament, everyone has equal pressure now. It's survive and advance."
Kentucky's season ended in this round last year, losing in three sets to San Diego. UK last went to the Elite Eight in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, when the program won its only national championship.
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