No. 4 Cards Set to Host Cardinal Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will open its regular season by hosting the Cardinal Classic with St. John's, Morehead State and Auburn this weekend, Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

The Cardinals are coming off an historic run in 2024 in when they advanced to the NCAA National Championship match, finishing 30-6. Starters Nayelis Cabello, Cara Cresse, Reese Robins along with Purdue transfer Chloe Chicoine will head the Cards' 2025 campaign. UofL was chosen to finish second in the ACC and is currently ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. The Auburn match on Friday will mark Dan Meske's regular season debut as the Louisville head coach after serving as associate head coach for eight seasons.

Schedule
Friday
3:00 p.m.   Morehead State vs. St John's
6:00 p.m.   Louisville vs Auburn
Saturday
12:00 p.m.   Auburn vs Morehead State
Sunday
12:00 p.m.   St John's vs Auburn   3:00 p.m.   Louisville vs Morehead State
Monday
3:00 p.m.   Louisville vs. St. John's

A Peek at the Cards

Louisville was voted to No. 4 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. The Cards were also picked to finish second in the ACC in the 2025 Preseason Poll, taking home six first-place votes.
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.
Chloe Chicoine and Cara Cresse were voted as team captains for the 2025 season.
The Cardinals finished 2024 as the 2nd-ranked team in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
An NCAA record 21,860 fans attended the National Championship in the KFC Yum! Center.
An NCAA record 21,726 fans watched the National Semifinal matches in the KFC Yum! Center.
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).
Outside hitters Charitie Luper and Sofia Maldonado Diaz finished their careers being named to the NCAA All-Final Four team following their performances against Pitt and Penn State.
The win over No. 1 Pittsburgh 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.
Both of Louisville's NCAA Finals appearances have come after wins over Pitt. In 2022, the Cards advanced following a five-set victory.
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.
Anna DeBeer was named Most Outstanding Player of the Louisville Regional following wins over No. 4 seed Purdue and No. 2 seed Stanford. Charitie Luper and Elena Scott also received honors for their performances, with both players being named to the All-Region Team.
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.
Scott, Anna DeBeer, and Charitie Luper were named as First Team All-ACC players for the second consecutive year. Cara Cresse was again selected to the Second Team All-ACC.
On Nov. 25, Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, and Charitie Luper were all drafted during the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft. Going to the Indy Ignite, DeBeer was selected as the second pick in the first round, while Scott was the first pick in the second round. Luper was the eighth pick in the third round to the Vegas Thrill.
Setter Nayelis Cabello was named ACC Freshman of the Week six times in 2024. Cabello had the most ACC weekly honors of any player in any category last year.
On Nov. 15, Anna DeBeer became the fourth player in Louisville history to join the career double-double club after recording her 1,000th dig against Duke. DeBeer finished her career with 1,493 kills and 1,082 digs.
On Nov. 13, libero Elena Scott was named a semifinalist for the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award presented by Nike Volleyball.
wIn 2024, Louisville was named to the Top 16 by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Cards were picked 4th.
Charitie Luper became the 26th Cardinal to join the 1,000 kill club. She finished her career with 1,208 career kills, 725 of which came at Louisville.
UofL's RPI was No. 4 in the nation in 2024, with the fourth-most difficult schedule in Division I NCAA Volleyball.
UofL played 11 opponents in the Top 25 in 2024 and are 8-5 in those matches.
The Cards swept 18 opponents and were 3-1 in five set matches in 2024.

Quick Peek at Morehead State
Morehead State posted an 18-15 overall record, a 12-6 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2024. The Eagles picked fourth in the 2025 preseason poll of the OVC's coaches. MSU is led by M.E. Hargan, a 6-1 senior outside hitter who has been a First Team All-OVC selection the past two seasons. Last season she led the Eagles with 393 kills. Hargan has help from middle blocker Amelia Nott, who piled up 119 total blocks last season and led MSU with 35 service aces. The Eagles are led by head coach Kyrsten Becker-McBride, who is in her third season as head coach after joining the staff as director of operations in 2011. She served 2012-22 as an assistant coach and was the associate head coach since the 2016. Louisville leads the series record with the Eagles 26-17 with the last meeting being a 3-0 win for UofL in 2014.

Quick Peek at Auburn
Auburn head coach Brent Crouch returns for his sixth season at the helm of the Tiger program with a 164-146 record. Auburn posted a 14-13 record in 2024, going 4-12 in the SEC. The Tigers struggle on the road with a 2-8 mark away from the Plains. AU has 10 players returning from the 2024 campaign. including four starters. Chief among them will be Lauren Dreves, a sophomore from Vancouver, Washington, who was a standout as a freshman, finishing second on the team in digs per set (3.13). Five transfers join the Tigers, including two with ACC Ties. Belle Patrick transferred in from Virginia Tech where the 6-1 outside hitter was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Kate Mansfield posted six double-digit kill performances as a freshman for Cal. UofL leads the series record 3-2 with the last matching being a 3-2 loss in 2016.

Quick Peek at St. John's
After finishing fourth in the BIG EAST last season, St. John's was picked fourth in the preseason coach's poll. The Red Storm put up a 24-13 record in 2024 with a 10-8 conference mark. A trio of St. John's volleyball players were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, as seniors Erin Jones and Lucrezia Lodi and junior Rashanny Solano Smith were selected for the honor. Head coach Joanne Persico is in her 32nd year at St. John's and is the all-time winningest head volleyball coach in the BIG EAST with 593 career wins and is a two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year. St. John's, a former conference foe during UofL's BIG EAST days, trails UofL 7-3 in the series record. The two teams last clashed in 2012, with the Cards sweeping the Johnnies 3-0.

Cards Voted Fourth in AVCA Preseason Poll
Louisville was voted No. 4 in the American Volleyball Association's 2025 Preseason Poll, released on Aug. 6. Nebraska tops the poll, with 2024 champion Penn State at No. 2, ACC rival Pitt at No. 3, and Texas at No. 5 after the Cards. UofL finished 2024 ranked at No. 2 after advancing to their second-ever National Championship appearance.

Golden Girls: Chicoine and Cresse Win Gold for USA at 2025 Pan Am Cup
Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Cara Cress took home the gold medal with USA Volleyball at the NORECA Women's U23 Pan American Cup. Team USA swept Team Canada in the finals, 25-16, 25-15, 25-19.

Dilfer Stringer Joins Cardinal Staff
Tori Dilfer Stringer, a two-time All-American setter for UofL, has joined the Cardinal volleyball staff as an Offensive Consultant. Dilfer Stringer currently plays for the PVF Columbus Fury. With the Cards, she was the program's first ever First Team All-American and helped the team to its first ever NCAA National Semifinals in 2021. Dilfer Stringer was an AVCA Third Team All-American in 2020 and named ACC Setter of the Year in 2020 and 2021. .

Louisville Picked Second in ACC Poll; Three Cards Named to ACC All-Preseason Team
In the ACC Preseason Poll, voted by coaches, Louisville was picked to finish second for the 2025 season. Reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, setter Nayelis Cabello, was named to the All-Preseason team, along with outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Cara Cresse. The Cards received 271 points in the poll and six first-place votes.

Chicoine and Cresse Named to AVCA Player of the Year Watchlist
Junior outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and graduate middle blocker Cara Cresse were named to the AVCA Division I Player of the Year Watchlist, presented by Nike Volleyball, announced on July 24. Both players were named to the U23 National Team and competed in the 2025 NORCECA Pan American Cup.

Cards Play Texas in Showdown at the Net
In the first ever Shriners Children's 'Showdown at the Net', Louisville will play the Texas Texas Longhorns on Sept. 10. The tournament will host 16 ACC and SEC teams in Fort Worth, Texas, between Sept. 9th and 10th. The Cards and Longhorns will play at 9 p.m. ET, following the conclusion of the match between Pitt and Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. ET. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN; the other matchups will be featured on ESPN2, SECN, ACCN, SECN+, and ACCNX. This is the first time Louisville and Texas will face off since the 2022 National Championship. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 4-1.

Home Sweet Home
Since 2020, Louisville only has two losses in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. That span also includes a 17-0 home record during the 2021 season and an 8-0 bid at L&N Arena in 2024.

Oh Captain, My Captains
Senior middle blocker Cara Cresse and junior outside hitter Chloe Chicoine were voted team captains for the 2025 season

Cards Graduate 70% of Offensive Production
The 2024 season saw six strong players graduate from Louisville and take with them a big chunk of the Cards' talent. Anna DeBeer, Phekran Kong, Elena Scott, Sofia Maldonado Diaz, Charitie Luper, and Elle Glock all contributed outstanding numbers to the UofL squad. Of 1,707 total team kills, the group was responsible for 1,189 of them. On defense, those six combined for 1,367 of 1,786 total digs and 298 of 693 total blocks. Also lost was 113 of 175 total service aces and 849 of 1,558 total assists.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nayelis Cabello

Chloe Chicoine

Cara Cresse

Anna DeBeer

Elle Glock

Phekran Kong

Charitie Luper

Sofia Maldonado Diaz

Reese Robins

Elena Scott

University of Louisville Athletics