University of Louisville
Loyola University Chicago
No. 9 Cardinals Set to Host Loyola in First Round
December 03, 2025 | Women's Volleyball
If UofL advances, the Cards will face the winner of Marquette/WKU
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 2-seeded University of Louisville volleyball team will open its 34th NCAA Tournament appearance by hosting Loyola Chicago on Friday, Dec. 5, 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The first match of the day will be between No. 7 seed Western Kentucky and Marquette starting at 4 p.m.
The winners of each match will face off on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. in L&N Arena to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the Lincoln, Nebraska Regional.
Louisville (24-6, 16-4 ACC) makes its 34th appearance in the Tournament after finishing 2024 as the National Runner-Up. The 2025 regular season concluded on Nov. 29, with UofL ending the season tied for third in the ACC title race. The Cards are coming off an 0-2 week following a three-set loss to No. 4 Pitt last Wednesday and a five-set loss to No. 5 Stanford on Saturday.
Outside hitter Payton Petersen recorded her 11th and 12th double-doubles of the year against Pitt and Stanford, logging 13 kills and 12 digs at the Panthers and 16 kills and 15 digs versus the Cardinal. Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine matched her UofL career-high with 17 kills against Stanford and added 15 digs. Middle blocker Cara Cresse totaled 18 kills across both matches in addition to stuffing 11 blocks and four aces. Against the Cardinal, Cresse surpassed 500 career blocks to become the fourth leading blocker in Louisville's rally-scoring era. Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear knocked down 10 kills versus Stanford and added three blocks on the weekend. Chicoine, Petersen, Cresse and setter/libero Hannah Kenny each served aces over the weekend, with Kenny adding 10 total assists, 19 digs and a kill to the matches. Setter Nayelis Cabello posted 32 assists at Pitt and 46 against Stanford while also adding three kills in each match and four blocks versus Stanford.
Five different Cardinals were given ACC yearly honors this season. Cabello, Chicoine and Cresse were each selected to the All-ACC First Team, marking each of their first time taking home the honor. Blackshear and Petersen were added to the Second Team, and Blackshear was voted ACC Freshman of the Year and named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Since joining the conference in 2014, UofL players have accounted for 18 ACC individual yearly honors, including three ACC Freshman of the Year since 2020 (Anna DeBeer, 2020; Nayelis Cabello, 2024; Kalyssa Blackshear, 2025).
Quick Peek at the Cards
? Nayelis Cabello, Chloe Chicoine and Cara Cresse were named First Team All-ACC on Dec. 1. Kalyssa Blackshear and Payton Petersen received All-ACC Second Team honors, and Blackshear was selected ACC Freshman of the Year and added to the All-ACC Freshman Team.
? Setter Nayelis Cabello and middle blocker Hannah Sherman received ACC Setter of the Week and ACC Defensive Player of the Week following matches against Georgia Tech and Clemson.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse was selected fifth overall by the Indy Ignite in the 2025 MLV Draft.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse was selected as the ACC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season on Nov. 17 following her performances against Florida State and No. 14 Miami.
? Opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear was named ACC Freshman of the Week and setter Nayelis Cabello was selected as ACC Co-Setter of the Week on Nov. 10, their third time taking home their respective honors this season.
? 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. 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 19th on UofL's all-time kills list with 1,191.
? Middle blocker Cara Cresse surpassed 500 career blocks against No. 5 Stanford. She currently sits at 505 total blocks, making her the fourth leading blocker in UofL's rally-scoring era and is fourth in UofL history with 414 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. 9 in the NCAA RPI rankings as of Dec. 1.
? 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. 9 in the AVCA Coaches Poll released on Dec. 1.
? 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 2024 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.
Quick Peek at Loyola Chicago
? The Ramblers grabbed an automatic qualifier to their eighth NCAA Tournament after winning the Atlantic 10 Championship title for the third time in four seasons following a five-set victory over Virginia Commonwealth University.
? LCU went 17-15 in the regular season with a 12-6 bid in conference play.
? Middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes was named First Team All-A10, owning a .332 hitting percentage that put her second in the conference.
? Middle blocker Avary DeBlieck and outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke were added to the All-A10 Second Team and middle blocker/outside hitter Karli Molnau was voted to the A10 All-Rookie Team.
? Loyola Chicago is led by eighth year head coach, Amanda Berkley. With the Rambles, Berkeley has a 153-92 record and led LCU to its first NCAA Tournament win with a 3-0 upset over BYU in 2024.
Quick Peek at Marquette
? The Golden Eagles finished tied for third in the Big East with a 17-10 overall record and an 11-5 record in conference play. Marquette makes its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 15 seasons.
? Middle blocker Hattie Bray was voted to First Team All-Big East after posting a .369 hitting percentage with 267 kills and 120 total blocks.
? Setter Isabela Haggard was named Big East Co-Freshman of the Year and joined Bray on the all-conference first team. Haggard is fourth in the Big East with 9.17 assists per set.
? Calli Kenny, a multi-tool player for Marquette, is the sister of Louisville setter/libero Hannah Kenny.
? Tom Mendoza is in his first year leading the Golden Eagles. Mendoza is in his 10th year as a head coach, owning a 170-118 record.
Quick Peek at Western Kentucky
? WKU earned an automatic bid after winning its third straight Conference-USA title and also took the No. 7 seed in the Nebraska regional.
? Setter Callie Bauer was named the C-USA Alyssa Cavanaugh Player of the Year and C-USA Setter of the Year. Bauer is 22nd nationally with 10.42 assists per set and has led the Tops on a 10-game win streak to finish the regular season.
? Middle hitter Izzy Van De Wiele was named C-USA Defensive player of the Year after logging 212 kills, 103 total blocks and 33 digs on the year.
? Right side Kaira Knox earned Freshman of the Year honors, hitting at a .320 clip with 279 kills to average 3.40 kills per set.
? Travis Hudson has led the Hilltoppers for 31 seasons, owning an 807-239 career record.
