No. 5 Cards Look to Stay Hot with Four-Match Week

Wednesday, September 9

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Missouri

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Louisville celebrates a point against Texas

Photo by: Mallory Peak | Louisville Athletics

September 08, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

UofL will host Missouri at the KFC Yum! Center on Sept. 9, before heading to Houston for the Rice Invitational on Sept. 11-13.

By: Zach Zsido

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 5-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team will start its busy week against Missouri on Wednesday, Sept. 9, before traveling to Houston to face Rice, Creighton, and Northern Iowa on Friday-Sunday, Sept. 11-13.

Wednesday's contest against Missouri is part of the ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net. It will also be the first of Louisville's three matches played at the KFC Yum! Center this season. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ACC Network.

UofL's weekend in Houston is part of the Rice Invitational that features host-school Rice, No. 15 Creighton, and Northern Iowa. The Cards will face Rice on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, Creighton on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, and Northern Iowa on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Cards are coming off another successful weekend after sweeping both No. 18 TCU and No. 9 Texas. The pair of victories marked Louisville's third and fourth ranked wins of the season, respectively, while extending the Cardinals' streak of consecutive sweeps to four.

TEAM NOTES

UofL continued its dominance at home against No. 18 TCU on Sept. 4, handling business in three sets (25-23, 25-14, 27-25). The Cards excelled offensively, earning 51 kills on a .412 hitting percentage and topped it off with five aces. On the defensive side of the ball, Louisville held the Horned Frogs to 42 kills on a .299 hitting percentage while recording 36 digs.
The Cards brought the heat to Nashville, Tenn. against No. 9 Texas on Sept. 6, earning their fourth straight sweep of the season. Louisville defeated the Longhorns in straight sets (25-12, 28-26, 25-16) for their second top-10 victory of the year. Offensively, UofL posted a .350 hitting percentage, its fourth straight match hitting over .300. The Cardinals also locked down the Longhorns defensively, holding them to a .174 hitting percentage and totaling 50 digs and nine team blocks.
Louisville improved to No. 5 in the AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll, moving up one spot from its Week One ranking of No. 6.

PLAYER NOTES

Outside hitter Chloe Meester became the third player in program history to be named the AVCA National Player of the Week after a week where she recorded 4.11 kills per set and hit .531 across three matches. She was also selected as the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Meester has now recorded double-digit kills in five of the first six matches of her collegiate career after redshirting the 2025 season.
Setter Nayelis Cabello continued her all-around dominance, notching a double-double with 36 assists and a career-high 18 digs against TCU. She stayed hot against Texas, earning another double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs. She was named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Setter of the Week for her performances.
Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine also continued her hot start to the season on the offensive side of the ball, recording 29 kills between both contests. The senior put down 17 kills on a .433 hitting percentage to power the Cards' offense against the Horned Frogs before recording 12 kills and 6 digs against Texas.
Payton Petersen continued to excel defensively in her first season as libero, posting a team-high 16 digs against the Longhorns to go with a pair of aces. She also stuffed the stat sheet against TCU with five digs, five assists and three aces.

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.