No. 4 Cards Dominate Notre Dame in Three Sets

Saturday, October 3

South Bend, Ind.

1:00 pm

University of Louisville

14-2,4-0ACC

Notre Dame

4-9,1-3ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Louisville	25	25	25	3
Notre Dame	15	12	17	0

Photo by: Mallory Peak | Louisville Athletics

October 03, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Louisville remains undefeated in conference play

By: Zach Zsido

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team earned its second sweep against Notre Dame (25-15, 25-12, 25-17) in the last four days on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

Louisville (14-2, 4-0 ACC) dominated on the offensive side of the floor, hitting .379 with 40 kills and adding seven aces. The Cards' defense also showed out against the Notre Dame (4-8, 1-2 ACC) offense, holding the Fighting Irish to just a .061 clip while stuffing 10 blocks and tallying 40 digs.

"Great win against Notre Dame on the road," said Dan & Maria Durbin Head Coach Dan Meske. "Obviously, we were dealt a pretty interesting challenge right before the match with Chloe Meester being unavailable, but we were more than ready to have Payton Petersen step up in that spot and then also have [Kamden Schrand] at libero. I thought the team did a really good job adjusting to things at the last minute. We also did really well in first contact, we were super aggressive with our serve which has been a theme for us lately, and then it was also great to see the block continue to come alive. It's always hard to play a team back-to-back, and I like that we improved on our stats from the first round."

Middle blocker Brooke Bultema showed out on both ends of the court, posting nine kills with no errors on a .750 clip while stuffing five blocks. The stellar outing marks her fifth match with at least a .600 hitting percentage this season.

Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine recorded her sixth double-double of the season, totaling 11 kills and 11 digs. The senior added a pair of blocks and an ace to cap her balanced performance. Opposite Kalyssa Blackshear added nine kills on a .444 clip while notching four blocks to help the Cards on both offense and defense.

Setter Nayelis Cabello continued her all-around impact after dishing out 29 assists to orchestrate the Cards' attack to a .379 hitting percentage. The junior added seven digs and a pair of both aces and blocks to help UofL on both ends of the court.

With Chloe Meester unavailable due to injury, Payton Petersen stepped into the outside hitter role for the first time this season, posting seven kills while tallying nine digs. Kamden Schrand and Elsi Karjanlahti split libero duties for Louisville's defense, helping the Cards hold Notre Dame to 26 kills.

SET 1
Petersen opened the match with an ace to ignite a 5-2 run for the Cards early in the first. Notre Dame fought back to tie up the score at 6 apiece, but UofL powered another 9-3 run that featured a pair of kills by both Bultema and Petersen to earn the 15-9 lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, Addison Makun stuffed a solo block and tallied a kill to help maintain separation for Louisville at 17-9. The Fighting Irish scored the next two, but the Cardinals secured the 25-15 win with an 8-4 run that included multiple kills by Blackshear, Chicoine and Bultema.

SET 2
The Cards carried their momentum into the second, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead as Chicoine fueled UofL with a pair of kills and an ace to begin the set. Notre Dame scored three of the next four, but the Cardinals kept the pedal to the metal with another 9-2 run highlighted by four blocks and two kills by Bultema, extending their advantage to 21-9. The Fighting Irish inched back, but it wasn't enough as a pair of kills by Blackshear helped earn UofL the 25-12 victory. The Cards' defense showed out in the second with six blocks while holding Notre Dame to a -.031 hitting percentage.

SET 3
Chicoine opened the third with a pair of kills as the Cards scored the first four of the set before Notre Dame got on the board. UofL stayed hot with another 10-1 run that saw a pair of both kills and blocks by Chicoine to improve its lead to 14-2. The Fighting Irish came back with a 9-5 run to cut Louisville's lead to 19-11. Three kills by Chicoine helped the Cardinals earn set point at 24-14, but the Fighting Irish scored three straight to hold UofL within a point of victory. A kill by Elli Strecker capped the 25-17 win to claim the sweep for the Cards. Louisville's defense once again shut down Notre Dame's offense, holding them to a .061 clip in the third.

UP NEXT
The Cards return home to host California at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on Thursday, Oct. 8. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET and the match will be streamed on ACCNX.