Louisville Cardinals women's volleyball

Last updated
Louisville Cardinals women's volleyball
Founded1977;48 years ago (1977)
University University of Louisville
Athletic director Josh Heird
Head coachDan Meske (1st season)
Conference ACC
Location Louisville, Kentucky
Home arena L&N Arena (capacity: 1,331)
Nickname Cardinals
ColorsRed and black [1]
   
AIAW/NCAA Tournament runner-up
2022, 2024
AIAW/NCAA Tournament semifinal
2021, 2022, 2024
AIAW/NCAA Regional Final
2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW/NCAA regional semifinal
1996, 1998, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
AIAW/NCAA Tournament appearance
1982, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champion
CUSA
1998, 2000, 2003, 2004
Big East
2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
Conference regular season champion
Metro
1982, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994

CUSA
1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004

Big East
2005, 2007, 2011, 2012

AAC
2013

ACC
2015, 2017, 2020, 2021

The Louisville Cardinals women's volleyball team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Louisville in the ACC. Louisville plays its home games at the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The team has been coached by Dan Meske since 2025.

Contents

History

Susan Johns (1977–1979)

Louisvilles first women's volleyball season came in 1977 under head coach Susan Johns. She held the job for 3 seasons finishing with a record of 28–60.

Scott Luster (1980–1984)

Scott Luster was hired as the head coach in 1980. In 1982, he led the Cards to their first conference title in program history and first NCAA tournament berth. He would total two Metro Conference title and two NCAA tournament bids in 5 seasons at Louisville. [2]

Bob McCarthy (1985–1987)

Don Hardin (1988–1995)

Don Hardin finished his tenure at Louisville as the most successful coach in program history and set the program up for its future success. He finished with an overall record of 192–76 after eight seasons at Louisville. He led the Cards to six regular season conference titles and six NCAA tournament berths. [3]

Leonid Yelin (1996–2010)

Leonid Yelin is the programs all-time winningest head coach. Under Yelin, the Cardinals won multiple CUSA regular season and tournament titles. In 1996, Louisville reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history. The Cards would reach the Sweet Sixteen a total four times in 1996, 1998, 2004, and 2005. [4]

Anne Kordes (2011–2016)

Following the retirement of Leonid Yelin in 2011, former Louisville player Anne Kordes was hired. In 2016, Kordes announced her resignation to spend more time with her family. [5]

Dani Busboom Kelly (2017–2024)

Dani Busboom Kelly was hired as the head coach at Louisivlle in 2017. Under Kelly, the program would reach new heights including reaching the first Elite Eight in program history and reaching the national championship twice. [6] [7]

On January 29, 2025, she was hired by her alma mater to be the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball. [8]

Dan Meske (2025–present)

Following the departure of Dani Busboom Kelly, Dan Meske was hired as the head coach of Louisville. Meske was the associate head coach under Kelly since 2017. In 2022, he was name the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year. [9]

Season-by-season results

SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseasonAVCA poll
Susan Johns (–)(1977–1979)
1977Susan Johns 4–18
1978Susan Johns 11–18
1979Susan Johns 13–24
Total:28–60–
Scott Luster (Metro Conference)(1980–1984)
1980Scott Luster 10–23
1981Scott Luster 26–18
1982Scott Luster 39–1410–11st NCAA Division I first round
1983Scott Luster 33–199–33rd
1984Scott Luster 29–127–01st
Total:137–8626–4
Bob McCarthy (Metro Conference)(1985–1987)
1985Bob McCarthy 18–195–1
1986Bob McCarthy 17–252–4
1987Bob McCarthy 14–152–3
Total:49–599–8
Don Hardin (Metro Conference)(1988–1994)
1988Don Hardin 16–153–34th
1989Don Hardin 21–125–2
1990Don Hardin 22–85–21st NCAA Division I first round
1991Don Hardin 28–86–01st NCAA Division I first round
1992Don Hardin 24–95–11st NCAA Division I first round
1993Don Hardin 13–135–11st NCAA Division I first round
1994Don Hardin 29–56–01st NCAA Division I first round
Don Hardin (Conference USA)(1995–1995)
1995Don Hardin 29–612–01st NCAA Division I second round
Total:182–7647–9
Leonid Yelin (Conference USA)(1996–2004)
1996Leonid Yelin 26–513–11st NCAA Division I Regional Final 16
1997Leonid Yelin 16–1213–31st (American)
1998Leonid Yelin 29–514–21st NCAA Division I Regional Final 21
1999Leonid Yelin 19–1213–3T-1st NCAA Division I first round
2000Leonid Yelin 26–812–42nd NCAA Division I first round
2001Leonid Yelin 26–713–32nd NCAA Division I second round
2002Leonid Yelin 28–612–1T-1st NCAA Division I second round
2003Leonid Yelin 25–612–1T-1st NCAA Division I second round 20
2004Leonid Yelin 30–313–01st NCAA Division I Regional Final 16
Leonid Yelin (Big East Conference)(2005–2010)
2005Leonid Yelin 31–313–11st NCAA Division I Regional Final 11
2006Leonid Yelin 25–713–11st NCAA Division I first round
2007Leonid Yelin 22–813–1T-1st NCAA Division I first round
2008Leonid Yelin 19–1111–33rd NCAA Division I first round
2009Leonid Yelin 21–1110–44th NCAA Division I first round
2010Leonid Yelin 23–812–22nd NCAA Division I second round
Total:141–4872–12
Anne Kordes (Big East Conference)(2011–2012)
2011Anne Kordes 24–913–11st NCAA Division I second round
2012Anne Kordes 30–413–11st NCAA Division I second round 17
Anne Kordes (American Athletic Conference)(2013–2013)
2013Anne Kordes 30–413–11st NCAA Division I first round
Anne Kordes (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2014–2016)
2014Anne Kordes 15–157–118th
2015Anne Kordes 27–518–21st NCAA Division I second round 21
2016Anne Kordes 12–187–1310th
Total:138–5571–29
Dani Busboom Kelly (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2017–2024)
2017Dani Busboom Kelly 27–418–21st NCAA Division I first round
2018Dani Busboom Kelly 24–914–4T-3rd NCAA Division I second round
2019Dani Busboom Kelly 22–1012–63rd NCAA Division I Elite Eight 14
2020Dani Busboom Kelly 15–312–21st NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen 11
2021Dani Busboom Kelly 32–118–01st NCAA Division I National Semifinals 3
2022Dani Busboom Kelly 31–317–11st NCAA Division I Runner-up 2
2023Dani Busboom Kelly 27–515–33rd NCAA Division I Elite Eight 6
2024Dani Busboom Kelly 30–617–33rd NCAA Division I Runner-up 2
Total:208–41123–21
Dan Meske (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2025–present)
2025Dan Meske ––––
Total:––
Total:834–366339–75

      National champion        Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Conference affiliations

Louisville has been affiliated with multiple conferences.

Championships

Conference championships

Louisville claims twenty-one conference regular season titles and ten conference tournament championships.

Big East Championships

Louisville joined the Big East Conference in 1995. Louisville would win four conference tournaments in 1998, 2000, 2003, and 2004 and six conference regular season titles in 1995, 1996, 199, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

ACC Championships

Louisville became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2014 and won its first ACC championship in 2015, the first by any Louisville team. The Cards would then win the conference in 2017, 2020, 2021, and tied with Pittsburgh in 2022. The ACC recognizes the regular season champion as the conference champion and has not held a conference championship tournament since Pitt joined the conference.

Rivalries

Pittsburgh

The volleyball rivalry between Louisville and Pittsburgh began in 1981. As of 2024, Louisville is 21–18 in the series. The series became a conference rivalry after Louisville joined the Big East and after both programs moved to the ACC.

The rivalry reached a new level after Dani Busboom Kelly was hired at Louisville, with both programs regularly competing for the conference regular season and tournament titles. Both programs began having sustained success at the national level with Louisville and Pitt making their programs first Elite Eight in 2019 and 2020 respectively and regularly earning top seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

In 2022, the two programs met in the Final Four for the first time. Louisville would go on to beat Pitt 3–2 to reach the first national championship berth in program history. The two program would meet in the Final Four again in 2024 where Louisville would once again defeat Pitt 3–1 to advance to its second national championship berth in 3 seasons. [10]

Kentucky

The in-state rivalry with Kentucky began in 1976 when the two programs played for the first time. As of 2024, Louisville is 29–37 in the series. [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Louisville Athletics Brand Guidelines (PDF). August 8, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Scott Luster". bradleybraves.com. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  3. ↑ "Don Hardin announces retirement". Fighting Illini. University of Illinois. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Leonid Yelin Named C-USA Volleyball Coach of the Decade". gocard.com. University of Louisville. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  5. ↑ White, Chris (20 December 2024). "UofL volleyball coach announces resignation". Courier Journal. Courier Journal. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Sotry, Prince (19 December 2024). "Louisville volleyball topples No. 1 Pitt, reaches NCAA championship match". Courier Journal. Courier Journal. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Louisville Volleyball 2024 Record Book" (PDF). Go Cards. University of Louisville. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Dani Busboom Kelly Named Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach". Huskers. University of Nebraska. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Cubit, Alexis (29 January 2025). "Who is Dan Meske? Meet new Louisville volleyball coach, Dani Busboom Kelly successor". Courier Journal. Courier Journal. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Dominic (19 December 2024). "Pitt Volleyball Shares Storied Rivalry with Louisville". Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Greever, Tyler (18 September 2024). "No. 4 Louisville volleyball gets fourth straight rivalry win over No. 11 Kentucky". WDRB. WDRB. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
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