With one final kill from Cardinal Chloe Chicoine, year one of the Tom Mendoza era of Marquette volleyball ended.
The unseeded Golden Eagles prolonged their 2025 season two sets on Saturday, but did not have enough to upset No. 2 seed and hosts Louisville, losing 3-2 (21-25, 25-11, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“A phenomenal match that we knew what Louisville was going to be like,” Marquette head coach Tom Mendoza said. “They killed the ball well. We were hoping we were able to slow them down a little bit, but their offense was pretty tough. But overall, just a phenomenal match, and we’re glad to be a part of it.”
Just over 24 hours after its sweep against Western Kentucky, Marquette stuck to its winning ways with a 25-21 first set victory behind a .429 hitting percentage.
The Cardinals started to play like their 2nd-seeded selves in the second frame, when they won 25-11 after hitting .633 to the Golden Eagles’ .143.
The potentially game-defining third frame, with the match tied 1-1, lived up to the billing.
It was 5-1 Marquette when Louisville called its first timeout. Then the Cardinals overcame an at-most seven-point deficit to trail 11-8 and force the Golden Eagles’ hand. Louisville called its final after Marquette made it 22-19, and Marquette used its final after Louisville scored four in-a-row to lead 23-22.
Down to the only players, the Golden Eagles closed the frame on a 3-0 run behind two kills from senior leader Natalie Ring.
But Louisville is Louisville. A team that beat Creighton. With their backs to the wall, the Cardinals took the fourth set 25-19 to force a game-deciding fifth to 15 points.
Marquette began the final frame with down 5-1, and Louisville looked poised to take care of business handily. Then the Golden Eagles scored four of the next five to trail two points, 8-6, when the teams switched sides. This slow-then-fast, up-and-down play continued through the entire set as Louisville went ahead 12-7 — after a potentially match-altering challenge call — before Marquette scored three in a row.
The Golden Eagles called their final timeout trailing 14-11, out of which they got a point after a service error, before Chicoine killed the match, and with it, the blue & gold’s season, dead.
Chicoine led Louisville with 28 kills, trailed by Payton Petersen (19), Cara Cresse (13) and Kalyssa Blackshear (11).
“When they’re swinging, the way they were swinging tonight, I think that makes them a pretty complete team,” Mendoza. “When they’re swinging as aggressively as they were tonight with the blocking and defense, I think that would match them up favorably against anybody.”
Ring finished the season extending her streak of leading Marquette in kills in every match, posting a career-high 29 kills. Hattie Bray finished with 11 on .310 hitting.
“That’s been an M.O. of my game this season and the past few years and just wanted to take big swings and going hard,” Ring said. “And believing that if I take those big swings that people won’t be able to stop me.”
The Cardinals hit .404 as a team compared the Golden Eagles’ .270.
Marquette ends its first year with Mendoza as head coach one set from making its second-straight Sweet 16.
“Wish we got to keep going another week or so, because we really like working together and playing together as a group,” Mendoza said, “but incredibly proud of our performance all weekend, but all season as well.”
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at jack.albright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.