No. 7 Louisville Falls to No. 5 Stanford in Five Sets

Saturday, November 29

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

24-6,16-4ACC

Stanford

27-4,18-2ACC

Stanford

Louisville

November 29, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Erin Hughes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Middle blocker Cara Cresse surpassed 500 career blocks, but it was not enough as the No. 7-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell in five sets (25-17, 16-25, 22-25, 26-24, 12-15) to No. 5 Stanford inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on Saturday night.

Louisville (24-6, 16-4 ACC) hit .234 with 59 kills, 65 digs, nine blocks and four service aces on the match. Cresse totaled seven blocks and eight kills and served two of the Cards' aces; she became Louisville's fourth leading blocker in the rally-scoring era. Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine matched her UofL career high with 17 kills, and outside hitter Payton Petersen logged 16 kills of her own. Both Chicoine and Petersen tabbed a team-high 15 digs, and Petersen added an ace and a block to the night. Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear posted 10 kills and one block, and setter Nayelis Cabello recorded three kills, four blocks and 46 assists. Setter/libero Hannah Kenny served an ace, logged one kill and dug 12 balls.

Stanford (27-4, 18-2 ACC) finishes the regular season with a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title and takes the automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA Tournament from Pittsburgh. The Cardinal hit .324 with 78 kills, 68 digs, 16 blocks and two service aces. Outside hitters Elia Rubin and Julia Blyashov each posted 21 kills and stuffed two blocks. Rubin added 14 digs and Stanford's two aces. Middle blocker Lizzy Andrew had a match-high nine blocks and contributed 14 kills.

UofL awaits their NCAA Tournament seeding, which will be revealed on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m.

Set 1: Stanford 17, Louisville 25
Louisville opened the first set by going ahead 8-2 with Payton Petersen serving an ace and Nayelis Cabello and Cara Cresse combining for three blocks, including Cresse's 500th career block. A kill from the Cardinal ended a 7-0 UofL run, but the Cards kept pushing, eventually going ahead 19-14 as Stanford burned its second timeout. Louisville got to set point at 24-15 after a kill by Blackshear, but the Cardinal added on two more points to stop a 4-0 scoring run. Another kill by Blackshear finished the set 25-17 for the Cards. Errors from Stanford and strong UofL defense kept the Cardinal hitting just .100 in the set.

Set 2: Stanford 25, Louisville 16
Stanford led 15-10 at the media timeout backed by four blocks early in the set. The Cardinal continued its run, now leading 18-12 as Louisville took its first timeout of the match. Stanford kept the momentum, and eventually got to set point at 24-15. Blackshear held off the end of the set for a point, but a kill by the Cardinal evened the match with the 25-16 set win.

Set 3: Stanford 25, Louisville 22
After Stanford began the set with a 4-0 run, Louisville pulled back within one at 9-8. Scoring remained tight until Sherman won a joust at the net to tie the score at 14-all before the Cardinal answered with a kill to send it to the media timeout. Stanford was the first to 20, leading 20-18, and the Cards took their first timeout down 23-20. UofL used up its second timeout after the Cardinal tipped in a kill to get to set point 24-21. Petersen tacked on her seventh kill to prevent the end of the set, but Stanford ultimately won 25-22 with a kill.

Set 4: Stanford 24, Louisville 26
Another close start to the set saw Stanford leading 15-14 at the media timeout, but Cresse, Schrand and Kenny all served aces in the front half of the set. Hannah Kenny dug a ball that landed as a kill to shift momentum for the Cards before Chicoine and Petersen rattled off back-to-back kills to knot the score at 20 and force a Stanford timeout. Petersen and Stanford traded kills until the Cardinal got to match point at 24-23. A kill from Petersen sent it to a deuce set, tied 24-24. A kill by Cresse and a block connection between Cresse and Reese Robins clinched the set win 26-24.

Set 5: Stanford 15, Louisville 12
Following its 16th block of the evening, Stanford led 8-4 at the court changeover. Kills from Blackshear and Cabello, a block connection from Cabello and Cresse and a solo stuff by Cresse got the Cards back within one at 10-9 as Stanford called its first timeout. A kill apiece from Cresse and Chicoine kept UofL in it, but consecutive kills by Stanford sealed the set and match at 15-12.