Kentucky Volleyball could start and finish its 2024 season in Louisville

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Despite the Louisville Cardinals being considered Kentucky’s “little brother” in most sports, they’re still very prominent in others.

Volleyball, for example, contains a wide variety of powerhouse teams that we, as Kentucky fans, probably don’t like. Louisville has been one of the best in the nation for years now, especially after its 2022 National Championship run. Though the Cardinals were swept by Texas, Louisville solidified its spot as a volleyball powerhouse.

This year, Louisville is hosting the first annual AVCA First Serve Showcase at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, August 27. There, four top 10 teams (Louisville, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) face off in a heated double-header. While Louisville and Kentucky won’t be battling it out this year, the ‘Cats have the chance to not only start their 2024 season in Louisville, but also finish it there as well.

Louisville is hosting both the first two games of the season with the AVCA Showcase, along with the final stretch. Yes, the KFC Yum! Center is home to the 2024 NCAA National Championship set for Thursday, Dec. 19 through Saturday, Dec. 22. If all goes as the ‘Cats plan, they’ll be participating in the championship game.

“I think it’s so cool,” senior Emma Grome said on media day. “I mean, it just brings it back to Big Blue Nation. You know, we’re all around the state, we wanna play for our fans ’cause they do so much to support us. So being able to start the season here and hopefully end it here would be awesome.”

The Wildcats kick off their 2024 season at the AVCA Showcase against Nebraska next week. After that, Kentucky hosts the Bluegrass Battle, a triple-header against Northern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and Morehead at the end of August. There, Big Blue Nation can celebrate the grand opening of Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 30.