California Golden Bears Athletics
California
12-4,2-3ACC
Louisville
15-2,5-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 17 | 17 | 25 | 18 | 1 |
| Louisville | 25 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 3 |
Cal Falls To No. 3 Louisville Despite Late Surge
10/8/2026 7:28 PM | Volleyball
The Golden Bears Were Unable To Pull Off The Upset Victory
For the third time in ACC play, the California Golden Bears faced off against a top-five opponent on the road as they traveled to Kentucky for a clash with the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals.
With five ranked wins under their belt this season, the Cardinals have quickly emerged as one of the premier programs in the ACC and the country, and they showed as much in the first two sets. They beat Cal 25-17 in both sets and relinquished the lead just once, while Cal was only able to knot things up three times across the two sets.
However, the Golden Bears flipped a switch and reached a level that no other ACC team has been able to achieve against the Cardinals thus far this season. The Bears handed Louisville its first set loss in ACC play all season, knocking off the No. 3 squad 25-23.
They also carried some of that momentum into the fourth set, taking the lead twice. However, the Bears eventually went cold while the Cardinals got hot. With Cal trailing 16-14, Louisville rattled off six unanswered points to make it 22-16.
The Cardinals went on to clinch a 25-18 victory and win the match 3-1, improving to 15-2 on the season. As for Cal, the loss drops the Bears to 12-4, with three of their four losses coming against teams ranked in the top five at the time of their matchups.
KEY FIGURES
16 — The number of kills senior middle blocker Sawyer Thomsen totaled, setting a new career high in the category.
44 — The number of assists freshman setter Anna Flores racked up.
2 — The number of sets Cal has won against top-five teams this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will hit the road again for their next two matches, facing the Louisville Cardinals and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
STAY POSTED
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