Set 4- The Bearcats just repeated themselves from yesterday as Set 4 was where they found their momentum and completely dominated the Bulls to flip the narrative. They found their momentum late in Set 3 and knew it was their time to step on the gas and go now. The Bearcats were down 6-4 before they got hot and found their spots. The Bearcats went on two runs very quick to escalate for 7 points very quick as the Bulls service error from Eke Denessen. This sparked a 4-0 run and the Bearcats jumped 8-6 lead that quickly turned into a 11-7 lead after the Bearcats found stride late. This set was all runs by the Bearcats as they had three runs including a late 6-0 run late in the set to go up 19-13 before a Bulls a 5-0 run late in the set to go up 24-14. The Bearcats willed out a big Set 4 victory 25-15 just as they did yesterday to send this to a 5 set thriller again, their second in consecutive days.
Set 5- Set 5 was all Bearcats as they started out big with a 5-1 run early as it was a race to 15 for the Bearcats. The Bearcats had a run in that span that went for 3 points behind a Adria Oliver, Madison Waters kill on back to back plays before USF committed an attacking error from middle Ally Barnhart. Maria Mallon had a big kill to give the Bearcats a 8-4 lead, before setter Ashley Kozier came in and recorded a service ace to extend the lead. The freshman Sarah Norcom had a statement kill to put the Bearcats ahead 10-5 over late in the set as the Bearcats were looking to finish the Bulls off in back to back 5 set matches. Middle Dimitra Tziarli had a big kill at to put the Bearcats up 12-6. Kerstin Fisher stepped back to the line and continued to be the serving specialist she is as her serve gave the Bulls serve receive some trouble as she had a big service ace to put the set to 14-6 right in the hands of the Bearcats. The Bulls tried to create a run after a Ficker serving error, but it just couldn’t happen as Madison Waters absolutely buried a set from Kozer to put this match away 15-7.
The Bearcats knew coming into today this match was going to come down to the end. The Bearcats were put to the waters in the first match of the season as they went to their first 5 set match of the covid season and they fought all kinds of adversity to pull out the upset win. The Bearcats repeated themselves here tonight as they fought hard late to overcome a 16-10 deficit in Set 1 to win 27-25. The Bearcats couldn’t escape the Bulls big Set 2 as they dropped a tough set which was 25-11 and in this sport they knew they had to quickly forget about that set or they could have found themselves in a bigger hole than a 1-1 match heading into the 3rd set. The Bearcats fought neck and neck in the 3rd set but fell short, but they created a big game changing run late in the set even though they fell 25-23, they created enough momentum to flip the script very quick. They did just that after a hot start in Set 4 including multiple runs that had the Bearcats outscore the Bulls 7-1 at one point. The Bearcats had a big 6-0 run late in the set and that was the key to Set 4 was the runs they took. They knew they had to go and it went back and forth and they kept their foot on the gas to take a 20-13 lead before the Bearcats went ahead and put the Bulls away 25-15. It was a repeat of yesterday for the Bulls as the Bearcats found themselves in Set 5 holding a 6-3 lead and never looking back. The Bearcats were getting everyone involved in Set 5 to throw multiple different looks at the Bulls as the Bearcats had kills from Adria Oliver, Maria Mallon, Sarah Norcom, Dimitra Tziarli and Madison Waters all late in the set to put the match away, but we also can’t forget Kerstin Fickers big service ace at 13-6 to put the match point on the line and thats where Madison Waters kill came into play to give the Bearcats the win to remain undefeated in conference play.
This Bearcats volleyball team fought adversity and came back for the 2nd straight day after trailing 2 sets to 1 to give the bearcats a big victory in 5 sets. The Bearcats fought hard all week in this series and they showed how deep they are as Shannon Williams, Maria Mallon, Madison Waters, Maria Mallon, Dimitra Tziarli and Hannah Bolinger all had big games in the series weather it was on the offense or defense as the bearcats played very well on both aspects of the game weather putting balls away on swings or blocking balls at the nets. This Bearcats team is a very fun team to watch and they continue to show that game in and out.
Stat leaders for tonight’s match were as followed. Adria Oliver had a big game with 13 kills, seven blocks. Seven blocks in the college level is crazy good as she continues to show why she was an All-AAC Preseason selection. Madison Waters had 12 kills, 16 digs and two blocks. Shannon Williams had 11 kills and three blocks as she continued to play very well for the Bearcats giving the Bearcats a force on the right side of the pin. Maria Mallon had eight kills and 12 digs. After a steller performance in Game 1 Mallon didn’t have the night she did Game 1, but defiantly still showed why she’s in the running for potential AAC Player of the Year talks. Hannah Bolinger and Sarah Norcom each recorded four kills in this match. The Bearcats had a tremendous night from setters Armania Heckenmuller and Ashley Kozer as they continued to control the offense for the Bearcats and hold it down as they did a great job making sure the Bearcats controlled the match. Heckenmueller recorded 25 assists and two aces, while Kozer had 21 assists and two big service aces.
The Bearcats are now sitting at 6-3 (4-0 AAC) which is tied for 1st place in the AAC heading down the stretch late in the season. The top two teams from each division will be the teams playing in the AAC tournament so it’s key to stay hot coming down the stretch. The Bearcats are allowed to have fans in attendance for their games now and I will say it they won’t disappoint so come give this team the support they deserve as they are very fun to watch. The Bearcats will be back in action when they welcome UCF to 5/3rd for a 2 game series that kicks off March 12th-13th as both games start at 1 pm.
