Louisville Volleyball has never made it past the Sweet 16 as a program. They have had many excellent seasons, but have never crossed that threshold until last night. Last night, the Cards defeated the 2-seed Texas Longhorns in 5 sets to advance to the programs first Elite Eight in its history.
Aiko Jones with a career-high 23 kills as the Cards advance to its first Elite Eight appearance!#GoCards https://t.co/Y7L6KLX3MM
— Louisville Volleyball (@UofLVolleyball) December 14, 2019
Aiko Jones led the way with 23 kills and 4 blocks. Tori Dilfer had 47 assists and two aces. Anna Stevenson was second in amount of kills with 14 and tied Dilfer with 4 blocks.
Coach Dani Busboom Kelly has done a remarkable coaching job. Earlier in the season, the Cards lost arguably their best player Melanie McHenry to a knee injury. She is Louisville’s lone senior and in 2018 was a honorable mention All-American and was named First Team All-ACC. The Cards struggled mightily in the immediate aftermath of her loss, losing 5 of 7. Eventually, they recovered and found their footing without their best player. Now they find themselves on the precipice of the program’s first ever Final Four.
The Cards move on to face 7-seed Minnesota tonight at 8 pm in the Elite Eight in Austin. Minnesota defeated 10-seed Florida in 5 sets to reach the Elite Eight.
*all stats courtesy of ncaa.com gocards.com 247sports.com
