University of Louisville
NC State
No. 7 Cardinals Head to NC State and Wake Forest
November 06, 2025 | Women's Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 7-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will hit the road for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference matches this weekend. UofL will face off against NC State in Raleigh, N.C, on Nov. 7, at 7 p.m., before heading to Winston-Salem, N.C., to match up with Wake Forest on Nov. 9, at 1 p.m.
The Cards wrapped up a 2-0 week against ACC foe and travel partner Notre Dame, sweeping the Irish twice on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1. In the wins, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine posted 14 kills in both matches, adding 10 digs in the first match for her eighth double-double of the season. Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear totaled 18 kills on the weekend, with 10 coming in front of the home crowd at the KFC Yum! Center, and also stuffed three blocks in each match. Middle blocker Cara Cresse tabbed five kills and five blocks in the Nov. 1 match, and posted nine kills and four blocks on Oct. 29. Setter/libero Hannah Kenny served at least one ace in both matches, with libero Kamden Schrand and libero/defensive specialist Molly Urban both adding aces of their own.
Quick Peek at the Cards
· Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear, setter Nayelis Cabello and middle blocker Hannah Sherman each received ACC Weekly Honors for their performances against Duke and North Carolina. Blackshear was ACC Freshman of the Week and Cabello was ACC Setter of the Week, each for the second time this season and this month. Sherman was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week, her first career ACC honor.
· 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 23rd on UofL's all-time kills list with 1,093.
· Middle blocker Cara Cresse reached 400 career blocks on Sept. 26. She now sits at 451 total blocks, taking over 10th in program history, and is tied for seventh with 372 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. 10 in the NCAA RPI rankings as of Nov. 3.
· 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. 7 in the AVCA Coaches Poll released on Nov. 3.
· 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).
· 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.
· Middle blocker Cara Cresse received AVCA All-America honorable mention in 2024.
· 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.
Quick Peek at NC State
· Head coach Megan Wargo-Kearney is in her first year leading the Wolfpack. She took over for Luka Slabe, who became the head coach of the PVF Omaha Supernovas, and holds an 11-11 record in her first season.
· As a team, the NC State defense ranks third in the conference with 14.70 digs per set.
· The match will be a battle of the blocks as NCSU middle blocker Talia Francom is 12th nationally and second in the ACC with 1.42 blocks per set.
· Outside hitter Courtney Bryant is fifth in the conference in attacks per set with 10.61. The senior has 13 matches this year with 10+ kills, including three matches with 20+ kills.
· Freshman outside hitter Rebecca Ring logged 22 kills in the team's win over Cal last weekend.
Quick Peek at Wake Forest
· Wake Forest welcomed Jeff Hulsmeyer as its head coach this year. Hulsmeyer brought 12 years of head coaching experience with him and boasts a career record of 288-175.
· Middle blocker Sanaa Williams ranks 22nd among ACC blockers with 1.05 blocks per set.
· Libero Emma Farrell sits third in the conference, just behind Louisville libero Kamden Schrand, with 4.11 digs per set.
· Setter Rian Baker tabbed her fourth double-double of the season in the win over Cal with 16 assists and 13 digs.
· Outside hitter Paige Crawford has 16 matches with 10 or more kills, including nine of 12 ACC matches this year.
