.png){kind=logo}
Champs Fall in Season Opener
Louisville beat Texas A&M 3-1 behind 19 kills from Chloe Chicoine, while the champions' NCAA Tournament MVP Kyndal Stowers was scratched in warmups with a back issue.
Kyndal Stowers was the Most Outstanding Player of the last NCAA tournament. On Friday night she watched Texas A&M's title defense open from the bench, wearing a back brace, per NCAA.com.
The senior outside hitter was scratched before first serve with a back issue that came up in warmups, and Jamie Morrison held her out. No. 7 Louisville beat the eighth-ranked champions 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21 at Fiserv Forum, in a rematch of last December's Sweet 16.
Texas A&M will be better than this by October.
Chicoine Carried an Offense Full of Debuts
Chloe Chicoine finished with 19 kills on 38 swings and three errors, good for .421, and added nine digs and two block assists. She was named match MVP.
Around her, Louisville started two players making their first appearance as Cardinals. Brooke Bultema went for 11 kills on .350, and Chloe Meester matched the kill count on 34 attempts and .059.
Nayelis Cabello ran all of it and passed 2,000 career assists on the way, finishing with 45 of them and nine digs. Payton Petersen made the first start of her career at libero and dug 23 balls.
That is a strange night to be handed.
Meske Called It a No Fail Mission
Louisville led two sets to none and then lost the third 25-20. Dan Meske was asked afterward what he had told his team between sets, per SI's Creighton Harley.
"We call it a no fail mission, and that's not just based on the result – it's how we bounce back. I thought we exuded that point for point. The third set, the way we came out, we've seen that song and dance before. We go up 2-0, then we are down 8-2. This team, you know, was the first match ever for this team. You know we aren't bringing that baggage with us, but what I also saw too, it just felt different."
"The way they looked at each other, it was a great and confident vibe. At no point did I feel any panic. It's a new team, this team is 1-0."
The Volume Went to the Wrong Player
Stowers put away 385 kills last season. Without her the swings went mostly to Natalie Ring, the Marquette transfer making her Aggie debut, and Ring took a team-high 54 attempts and hit .037.
Chicoine took 38 and finished with eight more kills. Two players on opposite benches, 16 attempts apart, and the match sat in the gap.
The Aggies did not fold. Eliza Sharp hit .333 with 10 kills and six block assists, Taryn Morris added 10, and freshman libero Gabi Rodriguez dug 18 balls with two aces in her first college match.
They out-blocked Louisville 10 to nine and out-served them four aces to two. They also hit .152.
A&M took the third set 25-20 and led early in the fourth before Louisville closed it out 25-21. An announced 6,345 watched the opening session, and the Aggies get No. 11 SMU at noon Central on Sunday.
Nobody has said when Stowers plays again.
