Louisville volleyball enters the season with plenty of respect from the ACC - and plenty of firepower to back it up.
The Cardinals were picked third in the league’s preseason coaches poll and landed four players on the Preseason All-ACC team, the second-highest total in the conference behind Stanford. Louisville collected 257 points in the voting and also picked up one first-place vote.
Stanford sits at No. 1 in the preseason pecking order after earning 10 first-place votes and 280 points. Pitt followed at No. 2 with seven first-place votes.
The Cardinals’ quartet on the preseason all-conference team features opposite hitter Kalyssa Blackshear, setter Nayelis Cabello, and outside hitters Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen.
Blackshear, the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year, is coming off a rookie season that produced 336 kills, a .299 hitting percentage and 123 blocks. That performance earned her Second Team All-ACC and Freshman All-ACC recognition.
Cabello was one of the league’s top setters last season, finishing second in the ACC and ninth nationally with 1,271 assists. The junior also helped Louisville post a .270 team hitting percentage, which ranked among the top 25 in the NCAA a year ago. She was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-ACC.
Chicoine made an immediate impact in her first season at Louisville after transferring from Purdue. The senior started all 33 matches in 2025, led the Cardinals with 413 kills, and added 340 digs. She, too, earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-ACC honors.
Petersen rounds out Louisville’s preseason selections after a sophomore year that included starts in all 33 matches and a spot on the All-ACC Second Team. The junior led the team with 13 double-doubles and finished with 393 kills and 319 digs. Over the summer, she helped the United States U21 National Team win gold at the NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup and was named Best Spiker of the tournament.
Louisville opens next month in Milwaukee at the AVCA First Serve, where it will face a pair of national semifinalists from last season. The Cardinals begin Aug. 21 with a rematch against defending national champion Texas A&M before taking on Wisconsin on Aug. 22.
2026 Preseason ACC Volleyball Coaches Poll
- Stanford (10) - 280
- Pitt (7) - 277
- Louisville (1) - 257
- SMU - 245
- North Carolina - 225
- Georgia Tech - 198
- Miami - 193
- Florida State - 180
- NC State - 148
- Wake Forest - 131
- Virginia - 119
- Notre Dame - 104
- California - 93
- Clemson - 89
- Boston College - 87
- Duke - 70
- Syracuse - 37
- Virginia Tech - 21
2026 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team
Kyleene Filimaua, Sr., OH, Florida State
Nayelis Cabello, Jr., S, Louisville
Kalyssa Blackshear, So., OPP, Louisville
Chloe Chicoine, Sr., OH, Louisville
Payton Petersen, So., OH, Louisville
Ariana Rodriguez, R-Jr., S, Miami
Safi Hampton, Sr., OH, North Carolina
Chelsea Thorpe, Gr., OH/OPP, North Carolina
Blaire Bayless, Sr., OH, Pitt
Olivia Babcock, Sr., OPP, Pitt
Izzy Starck, Jr., S, Pitt
Favor Anyanwu, So., MB, SMU
Suli Davis, So., OH, SMU
Lizzy Andrew, Jr., MB, Stanford
Julia Blyashov, Sr., OH, Stanford
Spencer Etzler, So., L, Stanford
Jordyn Harvey, Sr., OPP, Stanford
Logan Parks, So., OPP/S, Stanford
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The receiving group is where the intrigue really starts to build, with transfers Lawayne McCoy and Tre Richardson stepping into spots created by major departures. Richardson, in particular, arrives with the chance to become a central part of the passing game, and Louisville will need that kind of immediate production if it wants to keep pace in ACC play after the opener sets the tone. [Read more 🡒]
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Louisville Could Be Counting On A Quiet Local Linebacker Soon
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Smith is aiming for a bigger role in 2026, with the hope that he can work his way into the linebacker rotation and give Louisville another homegrown option on defense. For now, the intrigue is less about what he has already done and more about what kind of opportunity opens up next, especially for a player whose first two seasons have not yet produced the kind of extended run that would answer all the questions. [Read more 🡒]