The Bearcats are also returning one of the best middle blockers in the AAC as Adria Oliver is back for her senior year after a strong 2021 spring season where she led the Bearcats in blocks with 29, and was second in kills behind Maria Mallon with 95. Oliver, joined Mallon last season as she was also tabbed with the honor of Second Team All-AAC. Oliver is someone very exciting to watch as she is very effective at the net and brings a lot of energy to the team. She can cause a lot of problems for opposing teams as she is very effective when the ball is in her hands. She’s a threat on offense but an even bigger threat on defense as you can tell as she led the teams in blocks last season.
This Bearcats team is looking to bounce back after a tough ending to the 2021 spring season, as they played many games back to back days due to the pandemic which is very uncommon in the sport of volleyball, as they kick back off to a more normalized season. The Bearcats have a very tough schedule, but that is what makes programs better, in this sport anything can happen as volleyball is a lot more of a mental sport than people may think, any team can beat anyone on any given day. It comes down to who has their runs in the match at the right time basically as this sport is predominantly known as a sport of runs.
The Bearcats look to kick their 2021 season off later this afternoon when they take on Dayton at 12:30 pm on ESPN+, followed by Texas State at 7pm. They bounce right back and take on the reigning national champions Kentucky this Saturday at 12 pm that will include a busy opening week for coach Alvey and the Bearcats.
