This Sunday, the Louisville volleyball team will try to claim history. Despite having three trips to the final four of the NCAA volleyball championship in the last four years, the squad has yet to win the trophy. In 2022, they came close though. But Texas demolished the Cardinals’ dream. This time, they don’t have Texas, Nebraska, or arch-rival Pittsburgh Panthers. Rather, Penn State will be standing against them in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Yes, in their home, the Cardinals will face a squad brimming with the experience of winning the title multiple times. So countering them could prove to be a hard prospect for Louisville, right? Well, coach Dani Bushboom Kelly isn’t bothered by that. 

Instead, the former Huskers player is cherishing the semifinal game against the Panthers. As per Kelly, the game explains the character of her mentees. But how? She points out the fateful incident that sent shockwaves through the Cardinals’ community. 

Dani Bushboom Kelly showers her praise on the Cardinals 

“I certainly didn’t know if we were going to win that set or not, and I knew, or I thought, it’d be much tougher without Anna, but you could tell that it wasn’t going to be the reason why we lost,” Dani Bushboom Kelly told Michella Chester, the reporter for NCAA Digital, in a conversation. On December 21, the NCAA Women’s Volleyball X-handle published the tête-à-tête.

However, DBK’s worry stemmed from Anna DeBeer’s injury in the semifinal’s fourth set against the Panthers. Before the incident, Louisville had already taken away two sets, whereas the Panthers claimed one. So, the fourth set was vital. But DeBeer’s presence on the court made the weight tilt toward the home team. In the third set, she inflicted her 12th, 13th, and 14th kills as a reply to Pitts’ three match points.

But her injury during the fourth set and exit from the court set the game even for both sides. According to Kelly, she wasn’t ready to blame Anna’s injury for creating such a situation. But she pondered over the prospect of defeat. Then a miracle happened. 

Anna DeBeer’s substitute, Payton Petersen, changed the color of the set through her consecutive aces. That clutch performance from the freshman attracted Dani’s gaze. In the conversation with Michella, the Louisville coach said, “I think Peyton really understood her role in that moment.” Ultimately, Petersen finished the game with two aces, four digs, and two kills. Hardly anybody would have thought of witnessing such a performance from a freshman. However, senior Charitie Luper wasn’t far away. She ended the game with 14 kills and 9 digs. The coach also had words for her. 

In the conversation, DBK said, “I thought Charitie did an amazing job stepping up as a leader and being like, ‘I got to do this now’ like she understood.” After all, their concerted effort pushed the Cardinals above the deep water on Thursday. They handed their ACC archrival a thumping defeat, claiming the semifinal game in a 3-1 result. Will they repeat it in the final against Penn State? The coach has wise words. But the opponent fold has already marked the red signs before facing the Cardinals in the final. 

Penn State coach seems observant before facing Louisville in the all-woman final 

On Sunday, Dani Bushboom Kelly will face Katie Schumacher-Cawley in the opposite camp, directing the Nittany Lions. Both coaches have won the NCAA Volleyball Championship during their college years. But as a coach, they will have their chance of keeping their hands on the trophy on Sunday. In the contest’s 43-year-long history, this will be the first time when two women coaches will field their teams against each other. Who will win the battle? No one has a clear prediction. But to win the game, Louisville’s coach is betting on the realization her mentees earned in the semifinal game. “I think they all really understand what they did,” DBK claimed in her conversation with NCAA Digital. If this realization of the Cardinals is real, then it might pose a threat to the Nittany Lions. Katie Schumacher-Cawley thinks in that way.

Before Sunday’s mega final, the veteran coach seemed to have multiple worries. In a press conference, she discussed Anna DeBeer’s chances of playing the final. The coach rated DeBeer’s presence as a clutch factor for the upcoming final. But she also spoke highly of the Cardinals’ team bonding. “If she’s [Anna DeBeer] not, I know they’ll still compete hard and have a couple of other leaders on the floor there that will, you know, push them and will them to do their job,” Katie didn’t hold herself from saying this. So, the teams are again on a fine thread. But the Louisville Cardinals’ effort might play a key factor in deciding the match’s fate on Sunday. Isn’t it?