Louisville volleyball star Anna DeBeer attended practice Friday with her right leg perched on a medical scooter, a concession to the twisted ankle she suffered in Thursday’s NCAA semifinal upset of top-ranked Pittsburgh.
The status of the Cards’ leading scorer for Sunday’s championship match against Penn State remains uncertain, but U of L coach Dani Busboom Kelly found comfort in the two-day gap between games.
“The extra day gives us hope,” Busboom Kelly said. “If we played tomorrow, there’d be no hope.”
DeBeer hurt her ankle early in Thursday’s fourth set when she landed awkwardly on the foot of teammate Phekran “PK” Kong. Helped from the floor with her arms around two U of L staff members, DeBeer returned to the bench under her own power less than 10 minutes later. Busboom Kelly said DeBeer initially told her, “I think I can go,” but grew less confident as she continued to test her foot.
Because Louisville was able to widen its lead in DeBeer’s absence, eventually closing out Pittsburgh with a fourth-set 25-17 victory, Busboom Kelly was content to let her senior captain watch from the sideline. DeBeer’s substitute, freshman Payton Petersen, made it an easy decision by contributing two kills, two service aces and four digs during the final set.
Whether DeBeer will be sufficiently recovered to compete Sunday afternoon could depend on treatment Busboom Kelly said she could not specify but would include “everything and anything.”
“We’ve got to do everything we can to get her on the court,” Busboom Kelly said. “(But) If she can’t go, we have some options.”
To date, DeBeer has been the only player to start all 35 of the Cardinals’ matches this season. She leads the team with 408 kills and was named a second-team All-American for the second straight year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She did not participate in Friday’s media session at the KFC Yum Center and had not shared her thoughts about her injury on social media as of Friday evening.
U of L basketball coach Pat Kelsey posted a message praising DeBeer on X (formerly Twitter), calling her “one of the best competitors I’ve ever seen play. Any sport.” DeBeer replied with, “Appreciate it,” followed by a heart emoji.
“I hope she’s OK,” Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. “She’s a fierce competitor. I know if she is able to go, she will play. Being a senior and being here in Louisville, I think if she has the ability to compete, she will.
“I hope she’s healthy. I never like to see anyone injured, but she’s a fierce competitor, and I would expect her to probably go.”
This article appears in Dec 18, 2024 – Jan 16, 2025.