On Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, at the KFC Y.U.M. Center, the No. 3 ranked Cardinals lost in five sets to the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats in the Battle of the Bluegrass.

This loss to Kentucky marks the first time the Cards were not in the win column against the Cats since before 2021. Despite the loss, Payton Peterson had 14 kills, and Hannah Sherman had 11 blocks and 9 kills.

Set 1: Cards 25-21

Payton Peterson led the way for Louisville in the first set with 6 kills and 3 blocks. The Cards found the seams early, having a total of 16 kills.

Louisville was the first to 15 in the set, despite a 3-0 scoring run by Kentucky soon before. Once reaching 15 points, the Cards put on the pressure, leading to Kentucky Head Coach Craig Skinner taking two timeouts in the span of 4 points.

In contrast, Dan Meske did not use his first timeout of the match until the third set point for the Cards in set one. On the fourth set point, Louisville closed out, taking the first set 25-21.

Set 2: Wildcats 25-21

Set two was a battle between the Cards and the Cats, neither having substantial scoring runs.

The defense was stellar, with Louisville recording 7.5 blocks and Kentucky 7 blocks. Louisville was once again the first to 15 points; the first break of the set was an official timeout. After the break, the Wildcats went on a 4-0 scoring run, which led to a Dan Meske timeout with the score 19-16, Cats.

The latter part of set two was all Wildcats, as Louisville struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Once reaching set point for Kentucky, the Cardinals denied three set point attempts before ultimately the Wildcats took the set, 25-21.

Set 3: Cards 26-24

Set three started with a challenge by Craig Skinner, which afterwards gave the first point of the set to Kentucky. The Wildcats started this set just as they finished set two; a 4-0 scoring run put the Cardinals down 5-1.

Despite the lead, Kentucky found themselves making attacking and service errors, leading the Cards to take the lead 9-7. After a block-heavy second set, it took 27 points for a block to be tallied for either team.

Set three was a tight finish. Chloe Chicoine finished the set for the Cards on a major kill. Louisville now has a set advantage leading into set four.

Set 4: Wildcats 25-12

Set four was all Wildcats, not giving any breathing room for the Cards to come back from. Louisville only totalled 5 kills for the entirety of the set; eventually Kentucky took the set quickly, 25-12.

Set 5: Wildcats 15-7

Continuing the dominance and momentum from the previous set, Kentucky finished strong, not letting the Cardinals’ blockers and big hitters get any momentum. The Wildcats took the match with a set five win of 15-7.

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Morgan Schmidt

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