Boston College volleyball’s first ACC matchup of the year was a rude awakening.

After an impressive 11–0 start, followed by the Eagles suffering their first loss of the season last week to Bryant, BC was rolling into conference play with confidence.

But they were quickly brought back down to Earth. Facing a tough challenge with No. 6 Louisville (10–2, 2–0 Atlantic Coast) on Friday night, the Eagles (11–3, 0–2 ACC) failed to win a single set and were swept 3–0 by the Cardinals.

The Eagles began the matchup by posting their lowest point total of the season, putting up a mere 12 points to Louisville’s 25.

Audrey Ross notched three of BC’s first four points off kills, but the Cardinals jumped to an early 12–6 lead and reached 19 points before BC could even get to double digits.

An attack error from Cornelia Roach topped off an unmemorable opening to the 2025 ACC season for the Eagles, and BC had to play the second set down 1–0 for only the fourth time this season.

It seemed BC just couldn’t find its footing for the rest of the match.

Besides getting ahead 4–3 in the third set, BC never held a lead the whole game, and Louisville quickly grabbed a 16–8 lead in the second set.

The Eagles rattled off five straight points that featured a Ross service ace and a kill from Sequoia Layne. After cutting the Cardinal’s lead to 18–14, BC kept the gap to four or five points for some time. But a quick 7–3 rally from Louisville pushed them to a demanding 2–0 lead.

Now trailing by two sets—uncharted territory for BC so far this season—the Eagles had to find a way to put up some kind of fight.

Anna Herrington’s kill, Hanna Hoffman’s service ace, and two attack errors had BC at a 4–3 third-set lead. But that advantage was never to be seen again.

Louisville built a 14–6 lead thanks to six kills and three service aces, then Cardinals finished off its convincing 3–0 sweep of BC with a 25–15 win in the third set.