No. 7 Cardinals Sign Five for Class of 2026

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 7-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team welcomes five new faces to its 2026 roster on signing day, head coach Dan Meske announced.

Setter Blair Thiebaud, outside hitter Jordyn Gray, libero Elsi Karjanlahti and middle blockers Amirra Bailey and Elli Strecker will continue their volleyball careers with UofL. The class was ranked No. 5 by volleyballadrenaline.com.

Blair Thiebaud joins the Cards from College Station, Texas. The 6-0 setter from College Station High School was a member of the Houston Skyline Volleyball Club and entered her senior year of high school as the No. 1 setter in Texas, according to Prep Dig. This past summer, Thiebaud earned a spot on the U21 USA women's volleyball team, competing at the world's championship in Indonesia. Among her honors are being named to the AGVA Phenom List, the AVCA All Region Team, the AVCA All American Watch List, as a two-time TGCA All-State selection, the THSCA Super Elite Team and earning All Texas Team TVI kudos. She was voted Setter of the Year in 21-5A and GHVCA 5A as well as being named to the All Brazos Valley First Team.

Jordyn Gray comes to Louisville via Charlotte, North Carolina. The 6-2 outside hitter played under Coach Jan Dowlng at Cox Mill High School, where she has been a three-time all-state selection. A member of the Carolina Juniors Volleyball Club under coach Corey Sarrubi, Gray is a consensus four-star recruit among volleyball rankings making the Under Armor Next Dream Team and the All-American Watchlist. She is a four-time USA Volleyball NTDP member and was an Athlete of the Year finalist in 2025. She was voted to the All-Tournament Team in 2025 at the MLK Invitational 17 Open and a PrepDig AAU Standout.

Amirra Bailey, the 6-4 middle blocker from Bowling Green High School, is in the top two amongst players in the state of Kentucky for the 2026 class. Bailey was a key contributor in her team taking home the 2025 AAU national championship, making the all-tournament team. For club, she plays for Tennessee Performance Volleyball's 18 Paragon squad. Bailey has been a first team all-state selection three times. Among her honors, she also won KVCA Region 4 player of the year honors in 2024 and was an AVCA All American in 2024.

Elli Strecker joins UofL from Zionsville, Indiana where she is a 6-4 middle blocker and is a top prospect in the state of Indiana for the 2026 class. Strecker plays club for Team Indiana, under head coach Rich Coleman and earned All American Freedom USAV honors in 2023 and 2025. She is also a nine-time NTDP invite. In the 2024 season at Zionsville High School under coach Jenna Tadros, Strecker took home first team all-conference honors, all-district and first team all-state honors.

Elsi Karjanlahti makes the trip to Louisville from her home country of Finland. The 5-7 Libero comes with international experience as the starting Libero for multiple European Championships, including Finland's U17, U18, and U20 national teams where she won age group national championships with U16 in 2022, U18 in 2023 and 2024. Karjanlahti currently plays for LP Kangasala, a professional team that competes in one of Europe's best leagues, Mestaruusliiga. She helped her team win silver in the Mestaruusliiga in 2025 and was on the First League Champion team in 2024. Her play earned her Northern European Dream Team Libero honors in 2023.

University of Louisville Athletics

Related News

Related Videos