Louisville To Face 8 NCAA Tournament Teams In 2017

The University of Louisville volleyball team will have 14 home matches, with matchups against eight NCAA participants from 2016 including a final four team, five Top 20-ranked teams, and 14 Top 100 teams on the 2017 schedule released today by new head coach Dani Busboom Kelly.

The Cardinals open the season with two of the most competitive teams on the schedule when they travel to Madison, Wis. for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.  The Cardinals and the Tar Heels of North Carolina will represent the ACC and face Minnesota and Wisconsin.  UofL faces Wisconsin on Aug. 25. The Badgers fell in the regional final to eventual 2016 national champion Stanford.  Then the Cards face Minnesota on Aug. 26. The Gophers made the national semi-finals before also falling to Stanford.

The Cardinals will unveil a newly updated Cardinal Arena that will include end zone balconies, Teraflex court, new chair back seating, updated lobby and cosmetic upgrades to the lockerroom, team room and office space.  Western Kentucky will christen the first home match in the Arena when the Hilltoppers and UofL face off in the Cardinals Classic on Sept. 1.  Illinois and Kent State are the other teams making up the field.

The Cardinals then hit the road for the UNLV Tournament the next weekend where they will face UC Irvine, Weber State and UNLV on Sept. 8-9. Next on the slate will be a visit to intrastate rival Kentucky in Lexington on Sept. 15.  The last match before the ACC slate will be Kennesaw State on Sept. 17.

The Cardinals open the ACC schedule with longtime rival Notre Dame on Sept. 22 before heading to UNC, last year’s conference champions, on Sept. 24. The Tar Heels posted a 19-1 record in the league in 2016.  The Cardinals return to Cardinal Arena to face league runner-up Florida State, another victim of Stanford’s match to the national title, on Sept. 29. Travel partner Miami will follow the Seminoles to Cardinal Arena on Oct. 1.

The Cardinals hit the road for the swing through the commonwealth of Virginia next, facing Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Oct. 6 before heading to Charlottesville to face the Cavaliers of Virginia on Oct. 8.  Louisville hosts Clemson (Oct. 13) followed by Georgia Tech (Oct. 15).

The next stretch of the schedule will test the mettle of the Cardinals when they have five of the next six games on the road starting with a swing through Florida.  The Cards will take on the ‘Canes of Miami on Oct. 20 before heading to Tallahassee to face FSU on Oct. 22.  A midweek match with Notre Dame on Wednesday, Oct. 25 will be in South Bend.

Pittsburgh will break up the road stretch for the Cardinals who will host the Panthers on Oct. 27. The Cards get right back on the road with a pair of away matches at Wake Forest (Nov. 3) and Duke (Nov. 5).

All that time on the road allows the Cardinals to finish with four straight at home to wind up the regular season.  UofL faces Virginia (Nov. 10), Virginia Tech (Nov. 12), NC State (Nov. 17) and North Carolina (Nov. 19).

Volleyball news courtesy of Louisville Athletics.