The No. 16 Indiana Hoosiers lost to the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals on Friday night in Louisville in straight sets, 25-20, 25-12 and 25-11 to kick off the 2026 season.
Louisville started off hot early in set one thanks to an attack that could not be answered by the Hoosiers. Chloe Meester and Chloe Chicoine dominated for the Cardinals, providing big-time points at the net and on defense. The Hoosiers closed the distance toward the end of the set thanks to multiple kills by Ella Boersema and Kiki Granberry, but could not prevail, losing 25-20.
In the second set, multiple service errors by the Hoosiers gave the Cardinals side outs often and throughout. Louisville’s Kalyssa Blackshear and Hannah Sherman had multiple kills apiece, and a huge rally won in the teens helped Louisville punctuate a dominating set 25-12.
In the third set, the Hoosiers started slow once again. Louisville scored the first five points of the set and built up a lead to 13-4. The Cardinal attack continued to confuse the Hoosiers, and a key kill by Nayelis Cabello extended what was already a big lead to 15-4. The teams traded points, but in the end, it was all Louisville, the theme of Friday’s match. The Cardinals took the set 25-11, capping off a dominating performance at home.
The Hoosiers have a lot to work on before next week’s primetime slate, and a point of focus has to be on their attack. Much of their attack was done by Boersema and Granberry, and once Louisville seemed to figure that out, they adjusted accordingly. Louisville, on the other hand, seemed to involve almost everyone on every possession, limiting Indiana. Their rotation of Blackshear, Chicoine and Meester produced 29 points alone.
Indiana had a lot of success mixing in Teodora Krickovic and Victoria Gray early in the game, but for some reason they went away from that as the game went on. Indiana is extremely talented up front, but it’s ultimately on coach Steve Aird to find a rotation that mixes up their looks.
The Hoosiers return to Indiana next week to take part in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge Week hosted at Purdue’s campus in West Lafayette. Games are scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Georgia and on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Texas A&M.
