No. 8 Cardinals Hit the Road for Duke and No. 21 North Carolina
October 23, 2025 | Women's Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -
Louisville is coming off oThe No. 8-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will hit the road to face Duke and No. 21 North Carolina for a pair of away matches this weekend. The Cards will match up with the Blue Devils on Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m., before squaring off with the Tar Heels on Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. The match against UNC will be broadcast on ESPN.f an 0-2 weekend following a pair of five-set losses to then-No. 8 SMU and No. 6 Pittsburgh. The losses marked UofL's first dropped ACC contests this season.
Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine logged double-digit kills in both matches, posting 12 against SMU and 16 against Pitt. Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear also added 10+ kills in each match, knocking down 17 versus SMU and 14 versus Pitt. Middle blocker Hannah Sherman totaled 15 blocks on the weekend, including two solo blocks against the Mustangs. Setter Nayelis Cabello recorded her fifth double-double of the season against SMU, tabbing 48 assists and 10 digs. Cabello also posted two service aces and nine kills against the Panthers.
Quick Peek at the Cards
? Louisville was picked No. 6 of 16 total teams in the NCAA DI Committee rankings announced on Oct. 19.
? Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear was named the ACC Freshman of the Week on Oct. 13 following her performances against Virginia Tech and Virginia. Blackshear totaled 30 kills on the weekend, including 20 against UVA, and added six blocks.
? Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine became the 27th Cardinal to reach 1,000 career kills on Oct. 10 against Virginia Tech. Chicoine is now 24th on UofL's all-time kills list with 1,042.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse reached 400 career blocks on Sept. 26. She now sits at 433 total blocks, taking over 10th in program history, and is tied for 10th with 355 block assists.
? Setter Nayelis Cabello and middle blocker Cara Cresse were named the ACC Setter and the ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6, for their performances against Cal and No. 4 Stanford.
? Louisville was ranked No. 7 in the NCAA RPI rankings as of Oct. 20.
? Outside hitter Payton Petersen and middle blocker Hannah Sherman both set new career highs in blocks against Kentucky. Petersen stuffed five and Sherman added 11 of the team total 18.5 blocks.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 for her performances against No. 2 Texas and at the Bluejay Invitational. Through four matches, Cresse posted 28 blocks and 49 kills and took home Bluejay Invitational MVP honors.
? Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear and outside hitter Payton Petersen were named to the All-Bluejay Invitational Team after combining for 71 kills, 16 blocks and 35 digs.
? With a 3-1 win, Louisville handed Creighton its first home loss since 2022.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse matched her career-high with 14 blocks against No. 2 Texas. Outside hitters Chloe Chicoine (13 kills/14 digs) and Payton Petersen (18 kills/10 digs) both posted double-doubles against the Longhorns. Nayelis Cabello tallied a career-high seven blocks against UT.
? Five different Cardinals posted new career highs against Illinois on Sept. 7. Outside hitters Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen along with middle blocker Kalyssa Blackshear set new highs in kills (17, 20 and 13), setter Nayelis Cabello extended her career high in assists (52) and libero Kamden Schrand added 28 digs, besting her previous high by 10.
? Libero Kamden Schrand was voted MVP of the Cardinal Classic. Outside hitters Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen were named to the All-Tournament Team.
? Louisville was voted to No. 8 in the AVCA Coaches Poll released on Oct. 20.
? Setter Nayelis Cabello, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Cara Cresse were selected to the ACC All-Preseason Team.
? Chloe Chicoine and Cara Cresse were named to the 2025 AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award Watch List.
? Nayelis Cabello and Cara Cresse were voted as team captains for the 2025 season. Chloe Chicoine joins them as a court captain.
? UofL finished 2024 ranked No. 1 in the nation in blocks/set (3.09) and No. 10 in opponent hitting (.154). Cara Cresse was seventh in blocks/set (1.50) and Elena Scott was No. 71 in digs/set (4.40).
? The win over No. 1 Pittsburgh in the National Semifinals was the program's highest-ever ranked opponent win. The Cards' previous record was the win over No. 2 Texas in 2019 to advance to the Austin Regional Final.
? Libero Elena Scott was named a First Team All-American by the AVCA on Dec. 18. Outside hitter Anna DeBeer was added on the Second Team, while outside hitter Charitie Luper and middle blocker Cara Cresse received honorable mentions.
? Five Cardinals racked up AVCA All-Region Honors. Cara Cresse, Anna DeBeer, Charitie Luper, and Elena Scott were named to the All-Region Team, Reese Robins was All-Region Honorable Mention, and Nayelis Cabello was selected as Region Freshman of the Year.
? Setter Nayelis Cabello was named the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year and libero Elena Scott was selected as ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Quick Peek at Duke
? Duke is led by 27th year head coach Jolene Nagel. With the Blue Devils, Nagel is 5-14 in 2025 and 2-6 in conference play.
? Duke is third in the ACC in digs per set (14.94) and first in the conference in attacks per set (36.54).
? Libero Mailinh Godschall is 40th nationally and first in the ACC with 4.54 digs per set. The sophomore is also first in the conference with 318 total digs on the season.
? Middle blocker Ngozi Iloh ranks 26th in the ACC with 1.00 blocks per set.
? Freshman outside hitter Ashby Zubchevich has nine matches with over 10 kills this season and two matches totaling over 20 kills.
Quick Peek at North Carolina
? Head coach Mike Schall is in his third season in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are 15-2 this season and 8-0 in conference play, making them the only unbeaten team in the ACC.
Louisville assistant coach Parker Mikesch was a vital part of Schall's staff for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
? UNC has held opponents to a collective .144 hitting percentage, good for fourth nationally and first in the conference.
? Outside hitter Safi Hampton is fifth in the ACC with 3.95 kills per set. The junior has logged 10 or more kills in all but one of North Carolina's matches this season and was named to the AVCA Player of the Year Watchlist on Oct. 2.
? Middle blocker Jackie Taylor comes in at 16th nationally and second in the ACC with 1.43 blocks per set.
? Libero Maddy May is fourth in the conference with 4.00 digs per set. May has 252 digs on the season and is 80 digs away from 1,500 career digs.
