#4 ranked VolleyCards to face #2 Texas -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MATCHUP IN FT. WORTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT 

Yes, it is very early in the NCAA DI Volleyball season for such an important matchup but #4 Louisville faces a tough test when they  face the #2 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday night in the Shiners Children's Showdown at 9 p.m. ET. 

The match will be shown on ESPN. The natch will be in Dickies Arena, The arena holds 14,000 for Volleyball. 

The two haven't locked horns (sorry, bad pun) since they met for the 2022 National Championship match that Texas took in three straight sets. All told, in five meetings between the two powerhouse programs, the Longhorns hold a 4-1 edge. The Cards got their lone victory in their first ever Elite eight...back in 2019. 

Jerritt Elliott

While Dan Meske is in his first year as the Cards skipper, Texas head Volleyball coach Jerritt Elliott is in his 25th season as the Texas head coach. The record for Elliott is impressive at 611-121.  He also has three national championships. The Longhorns are located in Austin, so they'll have a three hour trip to Ft. Worth (flight time one hour), but nothing like the 861 mile trip for the Cards (flight time 2 hr. 30 minutes).

Nya Burton (on right)

Nya Burton is on the Texas roster as a middle blocker. You might remember her from Louisville Manual, where she was the 2022 Ms. Kentucky Volleyball and a AVCA First Team All-American.

Stafford

Torrey Stafford leads Bevo's bunch in kills...Volleyball fans will remember her from Pitt. She has 63 in 15 sets. 

The Longhorns are 4-0 on the season...with wins over #12 Creighton, #8 Wisconsin, Rice and #6 Stanford. The won their first two games in Madison,WI. and then returned to Texas to beat Rice in Houston before taking the home opener over Stanford in a close 3-2 match.

Ella Swindle is the assists leader with 118. 

Vander Wal

The Horns also have Abby Vander Wal, an outside hitter out of Elmhurst, IL. She was the 2024 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.

Here is a great clip about Vander Wal. The Cards and Nebraska were high on her, but Texas eventually got her. She has a brother who plays basketball at Furman. 

Payton Peterson

For the Cards, Payton Peterson leads the way with 49 kills. Nayelis Cabello has 117 assists in 10 sets and they are are 4-0, winning 13 of the 14 sets they have played. Match wins were against Auburn, Morehead St. St. John's and Illinois

This should be a good one and Case will have the recap in the Thursday Cardinal Couple. 

paulie