#3 Louisville Volleyball Turns Back Tobacco Road, Takes Sole Possession of First in ACC

After sweeps against Duke and North Carolina, the Louisville volleyball team is alone at the top of the ACC Standings with an 8-0 conference record.

Chloe Meester with a solo block at the net. | William Caudill

Louisville Volleyball held steady at No. 3 for the third straight week after another dominant weekend, this time against “Tobacco Road” rivals Duke and No. 23 North Carolina.  Coming into the weekend Louisville had won 12 straight matches against the Blue Devils and 11 straight against the Tar Heels.  The two matches wrapped up a four-match homestand where the Cards also beat California in four sets and swept then-No. 14 Stanford on ESPN. 

Friday night, Louisville made quick work of Duke, sweeping the Blue Devils (25-19, 25-11, 25-15).  The Cards offense hit at a .370 clip while putting down 42 kills.  On the defensive side they held the Blue Devils to just a .120 hitting percentage, recording 12 blocks and tallying 47 digs. 

Outside hitter Chloe Chicoine had her best match of the season, with a .607 hitting percentage while totaling 18 kills. She also hit a career milestone with her 1,500th kill in the middle of the third set. Middle blocker Brooke Bultema followed up her strong week against the California schools, hitting .636 with eight kills to mark her seventh match with at least a .600 hitting percentage.  She added five blocks as well. 

Nayelis Cabello facilitated UofL’s offense to a .370 hitting percentage, dishing out 36 assists while adding four kills on a .571 hitting clip.  She added five blocks and six digs on the defensive side. Libero Payton Petersen led the Cardinals with 16 digs while also tallying three aces. 

Kalysaa Blackshear, Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen celebrate a point. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sunday’s match against North Carolina was for sole possession of first place in the conference, with both teams coming in 7-0 for the season.  Louisville excelled on the defensive end of the floor, notching 14 blocks and totaling 59 digs to help shut down the North Carolina offense. 

The Cards swept the Tar Heels (29-27, 25-22, 25-23) to remain the only unbeaten team in conference play at 8-0.  Louisville is 24-1 in sets throughout conference play, only dropping one to California. 

Louisville’s coach Dan Meske consults with the official on a call. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Coach Dan Meske on the win:

“It’s a great win at home – we needed every bit of L&N Arena,” said Coach Dan Meske. “I think after the Cal match a week ago, I kind of challenged the fanbase to bring some energy, and it was popping today. What a great match and just a great team win. UNC is clearly an excellent team. We were the last two undefeated teams in the ACC and you can see why. They block well, they attack well, they exposed some things for us that we need to get better at, but it was just our composure. That’s the biggest word that comes to mind. It was just a very composed win by a group that’s battled together a lot.”

Chicoine led the charge for Louisville’s offense with 14 kills. Outside hitter Chloe Meester added eight kills of her own while stuffing four blocks to help UofL on both sides of the ball. 

 Bultema powered the Cards’ defense after stuffing eight blocks to lock down UNC’s attack. The senior added seven kills and served up an ace to cap her balanced performance. Cabello continued her all-around dominance, dishing out 32 assists to lead the Cards. The junior contributed defensively with six blocks and 11 digs to close out her stellar outing. 

For her efforts over the weekend, Chicoine was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week.  She averaged 5.33 kills per set on a .384 hitting percentage.  The senior has double-digit kills in 17 of Louisville’s first 20 matches and is averaging over four kills per set on the season. 

Coach Meske and the Cards head south for a trip to the sunshine state.  Friday night at 6 pm, Louisville faces Florida State in Tallahassee.  The Noles are 10-8 on the season, including 4-3 in ACC play.  On Sunday, Louisville will head to Miami and face the Canes in a 3:30 match televised on the ACCN.  Miami is 8-9 on the season, but 6-2 in ACC play, including a perfect 5-0 at home.