Louisville volleyball may be too good for its own good.

Less than 10 days before its 2022 campaign opens with the Red and Black Scrimmage, U of L’s season tickets are long since sold out. As of Aug. 5, its waiting list could have filled another 353 seats. In the wake of U of L’s first Final Four appearance, ticket demand so dwarfs supply at L&N Arena that the cozy campus venue suggests an overmatched pot restricting a plant’s root system.

Though this qualifies as a high-quality problem in college athletics, it is a problem nonetheless.

“When I think about growing the sport and the game, it seems silly to stay in such a small arena because we want to share our product with as many people as possible,” U of L coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “But if we can’t fill a large arena night-in and night-out, it seems much better to stay in here.”

First things first:Louisville attained its first No. 1 ranking last year en route to an unbeaten regular season.

Kelly values the home-court advantage cacophony and claustrophobia have helped create for her Cardinals, as well as the familiarity that comes from competing in the same building where she holds practice. She also recognizes a return to the vast KFC Yum Center might eat into her team’s competitive edge and that a right-sized arena is currently out of reach given the university’s finances and competing projects.

“Realistically, I know that’s not going to happen in the next couple years,” she said. “But I do hope we’ve put the administration on notice that that could be a priority in the future.

“The dream would be to build a 5,000-8,000 seat arena on campus or close to campus. A goal would be if we could get 5,000-10,000, we would be more comfortable moving to the Yum. If we can average 6,000 fans, we could move the majority of our season down there.”

Therein lies a formidable leap of faith. Including the teams and scorers table staff, the L&N Arena’s official capacity is 1,331, with seating in the stands and the balconies for just 1,022. While interest in Cardinal volleyball has clearly grown, it is as yet unclear that it can justify more than cameo appearances at the Yum Center, which seats more than 20,000 and would entail additional costs of $10,000 or more per match.

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“If we had a money tree on campus, wouldn't it be great to have a 6-7, maybe 10,000-seat arena, somewhere between the Yum Center and L&N Arena?" U of L athletic director Josh Heird said. "Yeah, we probably would want to do that. . . You get 3,000-4,000 people in the Yum Center, it feels empty. And It doesn't create that home-court advantage."

U of L volleyball exceeded announced attendance of 4,000 only four times at the Yum Center: twice against Kentucky, two other times against top 10 opponents Penn State and Texas. Splitting its home matches between campus and downtown, U of L averaged just 1,473 in 2016, the year before the university agreed to lease concessions that included moving volleyball back to campus and ceding control of the Yum Center’s October dates.

Except for an Oct. 26 match at the Yum Center against Notre Dame, U of L’s 2022 home schedule will be confined to the L&N Arena.

“If Dani and her program wanted to have more matches at the (Yum Center), we would make sure they had more matches down there,” Heird said. “We absolutely could. . .(But) if they have an opportunity to get a big concert in, they need to have that concert before they have volleyball.”

Even now. Though Louisville volleyball grabbed the town’s attention last year with an unbeaten regular season and a No. 1 ranking prior to its Final Four loss to Wisconsin, duplicating that success could be difficult.

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“I do think there’s an anticipation to see if we can do it again and keep that level,” Kelly said. “I feel like Louisville volleyball has had great years in the past, they just haven’t maintained that. It’s been an up-and-down ride.”

Replacing All-America setter Tori Dilfer and middle blocker Anna Stevenson could make for some bumps on that ride this season. Yet NCAA.com’s Michella Chester has seen enough holdover talent and helpful additions to place U o L No. 3 in her preseason rankings, behind only Nebraska and Texas.

“We’re probably not going to be undefeated this year,” Kelly said. “But if we can always be in the hunt, that’s what I want.”

U of L’s expectations, like its ticket demand, have risen, as Kelly recently confided to returning standout Anna DeBeer.

“It's fun to consider yourself an underdog and work your way up,” she said. “But it’s time we consider ourselves a perennial top program.”

Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714