No. 6 Cardinals Sweep No. 9 Texas in Nashville

Sunday, September 6

Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena

12:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

5-1,0-0ACC

#9 Texas

3-3,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Louisville	25	28	25	3
Texas	12	26	16	0

Louisville celebrates sweeping Texas in Nashville

Photo by: Mallory Peak | Louisville Athletics

September 06, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Three Cardinals finished with double-digit kills, led by 13 from Chloe Meester.

By: Sam Gercak

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 6-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team swept No. 9 Texas (25-12, 28-26, 25-16) on Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

The victory marks Louisville's (5-1) fourth straight sweep, as the Cardinals have now defeated four ranked teams, including two top-10 opponents, through the first six matches of the season.

"Card Nation really showed out," said Dan & Maria Durbin Head Volleyball Coach Dan Meske. "There was a lot of red in here. I know we've got the football game [vs. Ole Miss] later today, but that was a really cool neutral match that felt like a home match, so huge credit to everyone from Louisville that made the trip down."

"It was a great match against a storied program with a ton of talent," added Meske. "They have some bombers, and it was hard to weather the storm at times, but I just thought our team was really resilient. Good defensive gameplan by [Assistant Coach] Parker Mikesch, and [our players] executed it really, really well. We weathered the storm in the second set – it could've gone either way – and I thought our team showed a bunch of poise. I'm just really proud of the group, it's a great team win."

A trio of Cardinals recorded double-digit kills with outside hitter Chloe Meester leading the charge once again, as the sophomore racked up 13 kills on a .565 hitting percentage. After redshirting her freshman year in 2025, Meester has now notched at least 10 kills in five of the first six matches of her collegiate career.

Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine notched 12 kills and opposite Kalyssa Blackshear recorded 10, as the pair also both hit over .300. Blackshear also chipped in a season-high six blocks, while libero Payton Petersen led the Louisville defense with 16 digs.

Louisville finished the match with a team hitting percentage of .350, their fourth straight match hitting over .300, to continue their hot stretch offensively. The Cards excelled on the defensive end of the floor as well, holding Texas (3-3) to a .174 clip while tallying 50 digs and recording nine team blocks.

SET 1
Louisville came out of the gates firing, quickly opening a three-point advantage and holding the Longhorns there for much of the early going. With the lead at 10-7, the Cardinals scored six consecutive points to go up by nine while tightening the screws on Texas defensively, forcing four Longhorn errors over that stretch. A kill from Chicoine brought the Cardinals to a 23-10 lead, their largest of the set, before a pair of service errors brought the first set to a close with a score of 25-12.

SET 2
The two teams played one another even through much of the second set, with neither squad leading by more than three. The Cardinals held a 15-12 lead at the media timeout, continuing to force Texas errors while Blackshear racked up three quick kills in the early going. The Longhorns took a 22-20 lead, scoring three straight points and forcing a Louisville timeout after a Brooke Bultema kill got the Cards to the 20-point mark first. A Texas kill and a Louisville service error brought the Longhorns to set point at 24-22, but back-to-back kills by Meester tied the score at 24 and extended the set. Another Louisville service error gave Texas another chance at set point but kills from Meester and Chicoine flipped the advantage to Louisville. Texas tied the match at 26, but a kill from Blackshear and a block from Blackshear and Bultema gave Louisville the second set victory at 28-26.

SET 3
The Cardinals hit the ground running in the third set, opening an early 4-1 lead with Petersen at the service line. Louisville continued to keep the Longhorns at arm's reach, continuing to ride the hot hands of Chicoine and Meester to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Texas scored the first point out of the break, but the Cards reeled off five consecutive points, three of which came off kills from Meester, to claim a 20-12 advantage. The two teams went back and forth until a bad set from the Longhorns ended the match with the final set score at 25-16.

For the latest information on Louisville Volleyball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram and X account at @louisvillevb or on Facebook at facebook.com/LouisvilleVB.