No. 4 Cards Fall to No. 8 SMU in Five Sets

Friday, October 17

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

14-3,6-1ACC

Southern Methodist

13-4,5-2ACC

SMU

Louisville

October 17, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Erin Hughes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell to No. 8 SMU on Friday night inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The Mustangs won 25-22, 19-25, 24-26, 25-21, 19-17 for their fifth conference win of the season.

Four different Cardinals logged 10 or more kills, with outside hitter Payton Petersen leading the pack at 18. Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear added 17, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine tabbed 12 and middle blocker Cara Cresse contributed 10 to Louisville's 64 total kills. Libero Kamden Schrand had 23 digs on the night as Chicoine (17), Petersen (12) and Cabello (10) all posted double-digit digs. Blackshear and Cresse stuffed eight blocks, and middle blocker Hannah Sherman led the defense with nine. Setter/libero Hannah Kenny served two aces and Schrand added one.

SMU's Malaya Jones had a match-high 22 kills on 50 attacks, adding five digs and four blocks. Pin hitters Kennedi Rogers and Jadyn Livings each recorded 10 kills. The Mustangs served 10 aces on the night with three coming from Livings and three from libero Jordyn Schilling.

The Cards move to 14-3 on the season and 6-1 in ACC play, while SMU picks up its 13th overall win at 13-4 and 5-2 in ACC play. UofL will be back in action against No. 6 Pittsburgh on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside L&N Arena. The match will be broadcast on ESPN.

Set 1: SMU 25, Louisville 22
Louisville led 15-14 at the media timeout as neither team got out to a lead greater than two through the first 29 points. At the break, Petersen was up to five kills and both Blackshear and Sherman had combined for two blocks. A kill from Blackshear and two straight aces by Kenny had SMU burning its first timeout down 18-16. The Mustangs retook the lead, pulling ahead 21-19 before the Cards used their first timeout. UofL took its second timeout as SMU led 23-21. The Mustangs got to set point on a kill and sealed the set win 25-22 on an ace.

Set 2: SMU 19, Louisville 25
Despite going down 12-7 early, Louisville rallied to lead 15-14 at the media break. Leading the charge for the Cards were Cresse with two kills and a block with Blackshear, as well as two kills from Petersen and a kill by Blackshear. Two more kills from Petersen and a kill each from Cresse and Chicoine gave UofL a 19-15 lead and forced SMU to use its first timeout. Louisville continued its run with a solo block from Cresse, a kill from Cabello and a block connection between the pair to lead 21-15 and cause a second Mustang timeout. The Cards got to set point at 24-19 after a service error from SMU, and Blackshear's ninth kill ended the set 25-19.

Set 3: SMU 24, Louisville 26
The Mustangs started set three off by pulling ahead 11-3, a run that featured three aces. UofL battled back, using a 5-0 scoring run to get within three at 14-11 and force an SMU timeout. Louisville grabbed its first lead of the set 20-19 after a pair of attack errors from the Mustangs. The teams traded points before Sherman and Blackshear stuffed a block to lead 23-21 and cause SMU to burn its second timeout. The Mustangs tied it up at 23-all as the Cards burned their second timeout. Another SMU kill put the Mustangs at set point 24-23, but Chicoine knocked down a kill to knot the score at 24. Sherman added a solo block to give UofL set point at 25-24, and Blackshear and Sherman connected for their fourth block of the day to win the set 26-24.

Set 4: SMU 25, Louisville 21
After going down 8-4, Louisville rallied to lead 12-10 and on a 3-0 run at SMU's first timeout. The scoring was sparked by blocks from Sherman, Blackshear and Cresse and kills from Blackshear and Petersen. Points went back and forth before the Mustangs got ahead 18-16 and forced the Cards to use their first timeout. SMU got to set point on a block at 24-21 and won the set 25-21 on an error by UofL.

Set 5: SMU 19, Louisville 17
Louisville tallied the first three points of the set on kills from Petersen and Cresse and a block connection between Cresse and Blackshear. After the Mustangs' first timeout, the Cards extended their lead to 7-2 and had SMU burning its second timeout. The Mustangs worked their way back, down 9-7 but on a 3-0 run as UofL took its first timeout. Louisville got to set point at 14-12 on a kill from Blackshear, but SMU tied the set at 14 as the Cards used their second timeout. After going through six match points between the two teams, SMU won the set and match 19-17.