LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 2 overall seed and the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team is set to make its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance, hosting Samford, Tennessee, and Purdue for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament on Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3 at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Tentative times are listed as Tennessee versus Purdue at 4 p.m. ET and Louisville versus Samford at 7 p.m. The winners of the first round will play on Saturday at 6 p.m.
How We Got Here
Louisville clinched its third straight ACC Volleyball Championship title with a 3-0 win against Notre Dame on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The Cardinals finished the regular season 26-2 and 17-1 in conference play to share the ACC title with Pittsburgh.
A Look at the Competition
Samford Bulldogs
The Samford volleyball team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 win over Furman to the Southern Conference Tournament Title. In his seventh season with the Bulldogs, head coach Keylor Chan has led Samford to five SoCon Tournament titles. The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 19-12 record (11-5 SoCon) and are led by Kenya McQuirter, who was named the SoCon Tournament MVP. The outside hitter has 439 kills, 75 digs, and 41 blocks on the season. Kate Morgan, the SoCon Libero of the Year has 71 assists, 49 aces, and 514 digs on the season.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters the tournament with an at-large bid finishing the regular season 17-13 (11-7 SEC). Led by head coach Eve Rackham Watt in her fifth season, the Volunteers make their second consecutive trip to the NCAA for the first back-to-back tournament appearance since 2011 and 2012. Tennessee is led by 6-1 senior Morgahn Fingall who has 458 kills hitting .300, 38 aces, 217 digs, and 73 blocks on the season. Ranked No. 17 in the NCAA in kills per set (4.36), Fingall was an All-SEC honoree and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Keondreya Granberry, named to the SEC All-Freshman team, leads the Volunteers in blocking with 97 blocks and adds 140 kills hitting .323.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue, seeded No. 8 in the Louisville quarter, finished the season 20-10 (11-9 B1G) and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Dave Shondell is in his 20th year at the helm and has led Purdue to 17 NCAA Tournament berths. The…
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