LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For Louisville volleyball, the dominating storyline of this season was evident before the first ball was ever served at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals kick off their NCAA Tournament journey at 7 p.m. Friday vs. Chicago State in that arena, the same one they hope to be in when the Final Four comes to town. Dani Busboom Kelly's program, one of the top four national seeds, has already been to two Final Fours and a national championship match.

Now though, as a regional host, the Cardinals have a chance to play a national semifinal and final while never leaving the city of Louisville during the postseason to get there.

"I think it's an incredibly unique opportunity, one that has probably never happened in our sport," Busboom Kelly said. "We certainly are not taking that for granted. But I do think there's some added pressure, especially for our hometown players."

Elena Scott

Louisville libero Elena Scott waits for the play to begin during a victory over Wisconsin in the KFC Yum! Center.

Two of the best to ever wear Louisville uniforms, Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott, have now heard about this rare opportunity to possibly win the program's first national championship in their hometown for at least six months. Naturally, that hype and pressure only keeps building as a 25-5 campaign rolls along.

"I felt like when we got that top-four seed, there was a feeling of relief," Busboom Kelly said. "And I told our team, 'I don't want to feel that anymore. I don't want to feel relieved. I want to feel excited, hungry and ready for whatever's next.'"

Despite already knowing what it's like to win national championships as a player and assistant coach at her alma mater of Nebraska, the former Cornhusker captain has said before that she has never been more excited about a chance than the one her Cardinals have now. Her approach all season has been to not downplay or ignore the opportunity, but fully embrace it.

Louisville women's volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly grew up in a small Nebraska town that she guesses had two stop signs.

"The only thing we can do now is play," Busboom Kelly said. "The foundation has been laid. We've done the work to get here. Now, we just got to own it."

A key part in doing that is rebounding from two losses to end the regular season. Louisville had arguably the toughest final two games in the nation, dropping a home match to the number one overall seed in Pittsburgh and then going on the road to fall to another top-five team in Stanford. 

Anna DeBeer

Anna DeBeer attempts a kill during a four-set loss to No. 1 Pittsburgh at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, K.Y. (Ariana Shchuka/WDRB News)

"That was challenging, and we had some really great moments in those matches," Busboom Kelly said. "And then some of our weaknesses got exposed. We learned a couple things, which is good.

"Nobody else had the opportunity to do that or learn this late in the season. Hopefully, we can take those things. The main thing is just knowing that we can't let those games crack our confidence."

As a former setter and libero, there were a few things that stood out from those losses. Busboom Kelly thought they were good reminders of the importance of playing clean volleyball and knowing every moment, no matter how big or small, ends up mattering. Louisville had at least 9 service errors in both matches, a mark the Cardinals had not previously hit since Oct. 30.

"And when you play great teams, one or two can really make a difference," Busboom Kelly said. "I think we saw what happens if we lose a little bit of focus against a really great team. That's something that's more of a reminder vs. an adjustment."

Defensively, she thought some of the nation's top attackers really challenged what's been a calling card for this Cardinal team. Louisville's defense ranks second in the nation with 3.01 blocks per set and seventh with an opponent hitting percentage of .144. Last week, Pitt's was .310 and Stanford's was .273.

"Playing against great teams, you can just see man, we're so close here and so close there," Busboom Kelly said. "We can make these quick adjustments to get a little bit better."

Visually, it's an adjustment to see generic NCAA blue around the arena that's already seen Cardinal red dominate seven 2024 home matches. Operationally, the preparation basically involves scouting multiple teams at once instead of just one opponent.

Emotionally and mentally, the spotlight is only going to shine brighter as the stages get bigger, stakes get higher and opponents get better. 

But realistically, defending home court to chase five wins to keep it and six to make history on it means a long-awaited focus now must fully come into shape for a legitimate national championship contender.

"Of course we're going to have our same routines, but the feelings are much different and you can't ignore that," Busboom Kelly said. "I think we've done a pretty good job up to this point of being really focused when it comes to those things."

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