Kentucky Volleyball dropped its final spring exhibition match against Louisville in four sets.
After winning 22 straight regular-season matches at Historic Memorial Coliseum, Kentucky dropped the spring exhibition at home.
There is only so much that can be taken from a spring exhibition, with about four months remaining until the regular season begins, but there are three things worth noting as the Wildcats head into the summer.
Morgan Gaerte showed out
Three days after the Wildcats 3-0 loss to Texas A&M in the National Championship, Kentucky announced the signing of Notre Dame’s Morgan Gaerte.
Kentucky lost just one senior after its incredible 2025 season, however that one senior was a huge loss. Outside hitter Eva Hudson ended her storied collegiate career at Kentucky, where she was named as the 2025 SEC Player of the Year.
Gaerte is also an outside hitter which makes her seem like a natural replacement for Hudson.
“[Gaerte] has a really big presence. She is a big personality, and adds a lot to our team,” Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner said. “Such a good add off the court for us, and then obviously you see her presence on the court.”
Against Louisville, Gaerte was one of two players to record 10 kills or more in the match. She finished with 11 kills with a .250% hitting percentage, also finishing third on the team with seven digs.
Gaerte and Lizzie Carr were the only Wildcats to record a solo block.
While it doesn’t show on the stat sheet, Gaerte also showcased her skill from the service line. Her serve was powerful and consistent throughout the match.
Kentucky was simply out executed.
Louisville dominated Kentucky in nearly every facet of the game to pick up a relatively lopsided win. Kentucky struggled with serve receive and its attack, specifically on the front line.
“Credit to Louisville, they are a well oiled machine. Their experience and time they played together, it showed.” Skinner said. “Both teams will be highly ranked to begin the season.”
None of the three sets that Kentucky lost were necessarily close. Louisville took set one 25-15, set three 25-10 and set four 25-16.
Each of these dominant set wins were allowed by long Cardinal runs.
A 9-1 run allowed Louisville to take a 17-9 lead in set one.
Set three saw Louisville pull ahead 19-8 with a 13-2 run, before closing the set with a 6-1 run.
Then in set four Louisville broke a 9-9 tie with a 9-0 run to pull away in the match-deciding set.
The Cardinals had 45 kills in the match with a .257% hitting percentage, Kentucky had 46 kills at a .148% clip.
Kentucky surrendered 11 service aces in the match, the Wildcats didn’t let up more than eight service aces in a match in the 2025 season.
Louisville tallied 14 team blocks in the four-set match. Only Auburn (16.5) recorded more team blocks in four sets against the Wildcats in 2025.
Not worth hitting the panic button
Although Kentucky had a rough showing to close out its spring schedule, the result isn’t overly alarming.
“You don’t benefit as much when you beat a team handily… So playing a team that you know will be projected as a Final Four team, you learn a lot about what you’re doing,” Skinner said. “We’re running a very different system than we ran in the fall, we need to be in situations where a team can expose the things that you need to work on.”
The Wildcats showed a few holes and areas that need improvement, but Louisville is a top team and the regular season is still about four months away.
Kentucky will have plenty of time to address issues that arose in its spring exhibitions, and this exposal will give the Wildcats a better idea of the areas that need improving the most.
“This stings for us,” Carr said. “This is our motivator for every day this summer, and will really carry with us and help us have a good energy headed into summer.”
The Wildcats earliest scheduled match at this point is a Final Four rematch against Wisconsin in the 2026 AVCA First Serve event on Friday, August 21.