LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dan Meske had coached plenty of matches in L&N Arena. But not like this.
Not with his name on the lineup card. Not with the camera pointed squarely at him. Not with a No. 4 ranking in front of his team’s name and a Final Four shadow hanging just behind it.
Friday night was new territory — not just for Meske, but for Louisville volleyball. And while it wasn’t perfect, it was plenty good.
Louisville 3, Auburn 0.
The sweep didn’t come easy, but it did come — 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 — and so did the first win of the Meske era.
“It’s hard to win,” he said afterward. “I’ve always known that. And it is a little bit different as the head coach.”
A pause. A breath.
“You know, we had five or six players that that was their first extended time with us ever, and I thought they did great playing against a really gutsy Auburn team. Auburn was fantastic tonight. And I thought it was just a very resilient, gutsy win by us.”
The hard part isn’t just winning. It’s following a legend.
Meske was the top assistant to Dani Busboom Kelly. He helped build the program into what it is — a perennial power, a Final Four fixture, a team whose losses now feel more surprising than its wins.
But when you move one chair over, everything changes. The expectations stay high. The margin for error gets tighter. And the opener starts to feel less like a debut and more like a final exam.
Especially when you begin the season ranked No. 4 in the country, with a sold-out crowd behind you and three All-Americans — Anna DeBeer, Elena Scott, and Charitie Luper — sitting just a few rows up.
“We had those former legends in the crowd,” Meske said. “And you know, we’re building new legends now, and that doesn’t happen overnight. So we’ve got to give them opportunities and continue to put them in tough situations like this.”
That’s what Friday was — a tricky situation that still ended in a win.
Balance, belief, and the beginnings of something
Louisville didn’t dominate the stat sheet. Auburn actually out-blocked the Cards 11-6 and applied pressure throughout. But when it mattered, Louisville made plays.
Freshman Kalyssa Blackshear showed power and poise, finishing with 11 kills on a .409 hitting percentage. Purdue transfer Chloe Chicoine matched her with 11 kills of her own. And fifth-year veteran Cara Cresse also tallied 11, including a stretch at the end of the first set where she simply took over.
Setter Nayelis Cabello — running a 5-1 for the first time — looked like she belonged, posting 31 assists, three blocks, two aces, and a handful of smart decisions when the action got tight.
“She set in a 6-2 last year. Played half the game,” Meske said. “She played the 5-1 and didn’t come out at all. That was her first opportunity doing that. So for her to get that experience in front of this crowd, I thought she did fantastic.”
Payton Petersen led the team with 16 digs and delivered the final kill on match point.
It wasn’t a fireworks show. But it was what the moment called for.
‘Not everybody gets to win.’
In the locker room after the match, Meske kept it simple.
“Not everybody gets to win,” he told his players. “It’s really precious.”
The Cards weren’t flawless. There were errors. There were stretches they’ll revisit on film. But they won — and they learned. And sometimes, that’s the best start.
You don’t have to be sentimental to know what this night meant — for Meske, for a reloading team, for a program that intends to stay exactly where it is in the national conversation.
When it was over, Meske didn’t dwell on his milestone.
“It’s a big relief,” he said. “Just want to get that first one off your back.”
Off his back and into the books — especially in a place where every win is measured against banners.
But on opening night, there was something for everyone.
The head coach got the stat that matters: 1-0.
The players got a game they can build on.
And the fans — including a few who once wore the jersey — got a glimpse at what’s next.
Not everybody gets to win.
Louisville still does.
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