diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 5c92923c7..4ff7fc1a5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ augmentations = [
 ]
 cli = ["click == 8.0.1"]
 cloudvol = [
-  "cloud-volume[all_codecs] ~= 11.0.2",  # support for NaN bg color
+  "cloud-volume[all_codecs] ~= 11.1.0",  # raw LRU cache support
   "zetta_utils[tensor_ops]",
 ]
 tensorstore = [
diff --git a/zetta_utils/layer/volumetric/cloudvol/backend.py b/zetta_utils/layer/volumetric/cloudvol/backend.py
index ca3c7bb67..bdffea6de 100644
--- a/zetta_utils/layer/volumetric/cloudvol/backend.py
+++ b/zetta_utils/layer/volumetric/cloudvol/backend.py
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ def _set_cv_defaults(self):
         self.cv_kwargs.setdefault("fill_missing", True)
         self.cv_kwargs.setdefault("delete_black_uploads", True)
         self.cv_kwargs.setdefault("agglomerate", True)
+        self.cv_kwargs.setdefault("lru_encoding", "raw")
 
     @property
     def name(self) -> str:  # pragma: no cover