The Louisville Cardinals had their second pre-season warmup event with fans present. This was a scrimmage against “Alumni All-Stars”. The staff got 7 alumnae to return to L&N FCU Arena and strap the knee-pads back on. Of course, some of these haven’t been off the court long, with several playing in pro leagues, several having just finished their eligibility with the Cards in December, and in some cases, both.

On the alumnae side of the net was, Elena Scott of the Indy Ignite, Charitie Luper of the Orlando Valkyries, Aiko Jones of the Atlanta Vibe and Assistant Coach at cross-town Bellarmine, Claire Chaussee of LOVB Madison and Athletes Unlimited, Elle Glock, Jamie Vasilou, and Emily Scott. Coaching the Alumni All-Stars were Anna DeBeer of the Indy Ignite, and Sarah Petkovic - Chief of Staff for Louisville volleyball.

The alumnae team was leavened in few of the sets with a middle hitter/blocker from the varsity squad, Addison Makun taking a set, and Hannah Sherman crossing the net for 2.

This was the first chance the public got to see what will likely be the starting line-up for the Cards as they open the season. Most was pretty much what was expected from earlier looks, both in the spring and in the Red & Black last week. It consisted of: Outside Hitters: Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen Setter: Nayelis Cabello Right Side: Kalyssa Blackshear Middle Blockers: Cara Cresse and Hannah Sherman Libero: Kamden Schrand Beyond the official starters, we saw Hannah Kenny playing as a DS in place of right side Blackshear.

The varsity squad took the match 3-1 with substantial wins in the first two sets and the fourth, which was a set to 15. The alumni shook up their lineup quite substantially in the 3rd set, and maintained it in the 4th, shifting Charitie Luper to Libero, letting Elena Scott return to her high school and club playing days of setting, splitting the setting duties with Elle Glock. When Glock was in setting, Scott was over on the left side and had several really impressive swings and at least one block! Similarly out-of-expectation was Vasilou taking swings and blocking, again with some success. Clearly the match was contested in a spirit of fun and joy, as was evidenced by the good natured glare from Aiko Jones when she got convincingly blocked by Hannah Sherman.

Chaussee and Jones led the alumni with 10 kills and 6 kills respectively. Jones also had 5 digs and a pair of aces, which was particularly nice in front of the Bellarmine volleyball squad that was in attendance to support their Assistant Coach.

On the varsity side, Ava Utterback came off the bench to lead the team with 8 kills, with Petersen and Chicoine adding 6. To put some context on those numbers, the varsity squad mostly played reserves, including Utterback, Alanna Bankston, and Chloe Meester, after the first two sets, limiting the opportunities for Petersen and Chicoine.

After the match was over, which was going to be limited to just 3 sets but for intense lobbying, particularly by Elena Scott, to go ahead and play the 4th, the Cards held their “Block Party”. During the Block Party, the players from 2024 were presented their National Finalist rings by the alumnae. Of course, a few of the alumnae themselves were recipients. They did some brief Q&As with alumnae Anna DeBeer and Aiko Jones,, then varsity players Kamden Schrand and Nayelis Cabello, and finally Head Coach Dan Meske. After the agenda, the fans were invited down onto the court to mix and mingle with the alumnae, get their picture taken with the Regional Champion and National Runner-up trophys, and get autographs from the team.

All in all, this was a fun and heartwarming event. To see former player return and play on this court is always a joy. Meske shared two themes for the team, “Us Always”, and “Fun” as a way to describe the culture and identity of this program, and it was certainly on display.

Thanks, as always, to Jared Anderson for the photos in the gallery below.