Elena Scott dabbed her eyes with a tissue. Anna DeBeer tucked her fingers under her jersey collar to wipe away tears.
After defeating North Carolina in three sets on Nov. 17, No. 3 Louisville volleyball held its annual senior day ceremony to honor the most successful class in program history. Scott and DeBeer, both Louisville natives, were spotlighted last.
Fans at L&N Arena gave both athletes a standing ovation. The crowd saw them grow up, from Catholic schoolgirls to AVCA All-Americans. Many spectators clasped their hands and looked on adoringly as Scott and DeBeer walked across the court with their families. Some covered their faces to hide glistening under eyes and puffy red cheeks.
“This senior class, they’re really special,” Vicki Wieland, a 20-year season ticket holder for Louisville volleyball, told The Courier Journal. “But we’ve got a special place in our hearts for the hometown girls.”
Passion, impact and drive were among the words teammates used to describe Scott and DeBeer in their tribute videos. DeBeer was specifically described as a “hometown hero.”
“Anna,” one of her teammates declared, “really is Louisville volleyball.”
A rare opportunity
Twelve years ago Scott and DeBeer, then 9 and 11, were among the thousands of spectators at KFC Yum! Center watching Texas, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State compete for the NCAA Division I volleyball championship. Now 21 and 23, they have an opportunity to make history in that same building.
As the Final Four returns to Louisville in mid-December, Cards fans are rooting for a storybook ending to the storied careers of their native daughters. Scott and DeBeer have dreamed of this moment since 2012. How rare to have the opportunity to play for a national championship in your hometown for your hometown team?
“You dream of that,” DeBeer told The Courier Journal. “Every girl wants to be there.”
Wieland was a senior at the University of Louisville when Denny Crum became the coach of Louisville men’s basketball in 1971 — one year before the passage of Title IX and six years before Louisville volleyball’s inaugural season. She and husband John, a fellow Louisville native, met at church in their 30s when Vicki was a grad student at U of L. In the early days of their relationship, Vicki used her status to secure student ticket passes to men’s basketball and football games.
Back then, the Cards would schedule women’s hoops games after their male counterparts’ at Freedom Hall, hoping to entice more fans with bonus basketball. If 18,000 showed up for the men, “maybe 100 of us stayed,” John remembered. But he and Vicki were among them.
In the winter of 2004, U of L advertised NCAA volleyball tournament games at the Kentucky International Convention Center during a women’s basketball contest. Vicki and John decided to check it out. They watched Louisville fall to top-ranked Nebraska in a ballroom-turned-volleyball court.
And they were hooked.
Vicki and John have been season ticket holders ever since. Scott and DeBeer were 1 and 3 years old.
“It's been great to finally get some Louisville girls to stay here and play for U of L,” Vicki said, reflecting on DeBeer’s and Scott’s impact. “It was frustrating, because for years we've had such good high school volleyball, especially from the Catholic schools in Louisville. But they would all go to other places, and we have to play them all the time.”
'Hometown heroes'
Volleyball is the most popular and most elite girls sport in the commonwealth. KHSAA reported participation numbers exceeded 7,000 (7,145) for the first time during the 2023-24 school year. DeBeer’s alma mater Assumption High School has won 24 state championships and six national championships since coach Ron Kordes took over as head coach in 1989.
U of L head coach Dani Busboom Kelly played college volleyball at Nebraska, winning a national championship with the Huskers in 2006 and returning to serve as an assistant coach from 2012-16. Growing up, she never thought of U of L volleyball as a perennial power. But she did know of Louisville’s renowned club scene, headlined by Kordes’ KIVA (Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy) and Union Volleyball — both established in the 1990s.
Since becoming the Cards head coach in late 2016, Busboom Kelly has done a great job of recruiting local talent.
Former U of L head coach Anne Kordes now works at KIVA with her father Ron, where she said families were calling all around desperate for tickets to Scott and DeBeer's senior day.
"It was all about going down to see and send off Elena and Anna," Kordes said. "There's no doubt there would have been great a crowd (anyway), but the hometown heroes factor that those two have, being seniors, leading this team, going to Final Fours and finals, has the city just electrified right now."
That’s not to say the Cards never had local talent before. Katie George joined U of L in 2012 after winning Gatorade Player of the Year, PrepVolleyball.com National Player of the Year, Kentucky Miss Volleyball and a state championship with Assumption in 2011. At Louisville, she was named ACC Player and Setter of the Year as a senior and now works as a sideline reporter for ESPN.
DeBeer and Scott are similarly outstanding. Both were drafted by the Pro Volleyball Federation's (PVF) Indy Ignite Monday. They're “two of the best players ever from the city of Louisville,” Busboom Kelly said, able to achieve things George’s squads never could.
Both players were part of the first Louisville team to achieve a No. 1 ranking and reach the Final Four in 2021. They’ve made two Final Fours, three Elite Eights, four Sweet 16s and earned four All-American honors. Busboom Kelly knew Scott and DeBeer were great volleyball players when she recruited them. But she never imagined their careers would end like this.
Together.
'It might never happen again'
Scott started at U of L in 2021, one year after DeBeer. She used her extra COVID-19 year of eligibility to stay with the Cardinals through this season. DeBeer graduated from the University of Louisville last December with a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance and is pursuing a master’s in business administration.
“I think it's pretty cool to have two players from the city of Louisville that grew up here, wanted to come here, wanted to make an impact, and now they're getting to go out at the same time,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think it's very rare. It might never happen again.”
It almost never happened at all.
“I grew up a Louisville fan, but when I was getting recruited, I never really thought about (playing there) until I got connected with (the coaching staff),” Scott said.
“Yeah, I also was looking elsewhere,” DeBeer added. “At first, I mean, I liked Louisville, but I kinda wanted to get away.”
Both took “major risks” in deciding to stay put.
DeBeer committed to U of L shortly after Busboom Kelly got the job in 2016 and around the same time L&N Arena received its major renovation in 2017. “A lot of newness,” DeBeer remembered. Scott agreed to play for Louisville knowing Busboom Kelly wanted her to become a libero and leave her wildly successful setter career back at Mercy Academy.
They’re repaid for their decisions every home game at L&N Arena. All six starters receive raucous cheers from the black and red crowd as their names are announced over the PA system. But the praise for Scott and DeBeer is always loudest.
There’s an intimacy that comes with playing at L&N they appreciate. It’s like a family gathering. Only here your favorite cousin stays behind to autograph your plush volleyball and a poster with their face on it.
“The fans are always with you, like, right on top of you,” Scott said. “It's like they have your back. I mean, people want us to get a bigger gym, but L&N is just so special. It’s my favorite place to play.”
Spectators made posters honoring the seniors in their final home game at L&N on Nov. 17. “THANK YOU ANNA!” one read, with pictures as far back as her Assumption career circling the message. Some put cutouts of DeBeer’s face on sticks to wave around throughout the match and bittersweet post-match festivities.
The applause died down for Scott and DeBeer as they reached midcourt with their families and posed for a photo commemorating the moment. Both times a heavy silence fell over the arena. Then one voice emerged:
“Way to go, Elena!”
“Way to go, Anna!”
Each exclamation reignited the applause.
U of L fans love their volleyball team. But their adoration for the hometown players is just different. It’s reflected in the way Scott and DeBeer carry themselves.
Strongly. Confidently. And with pride in the city printed across their chests.
Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com and follow her on X @petitus25.
