The Bearcats were fighting with one of the top teams in the country, but the Wildcats were just too strong as they took a 3 set to 0 victory over the Bearcats. The Bearcats started off neck and neck in Set 1 before the Wildcats took control and went on their runs to jump out and hold the early lead. The Bearcats knew they were in for a tough matchup as they welcomed the reigning NCAA champions to Dayton, but they held their ground and competed with the best team in college volleyball. A great game to have a the early parts of the season because it builds toughness and shows that if they can compete with the former NCAA champions, they can compete with anyone. Although the Bearcats fell 3 sets to 0 it shows the toughness, grit, passion this team has, as they were making the most and never giving up vs a very strong Kentucky team.
The Bearcats have a very solid team this year and are very fun to watch for many reasons. Maria Mallon is back for her senior year as she is looking to help lead the Bearcats back to the NCAA tournament after playing a big role in 2019 to help guide the Bearcats to the sweet 16. Mallon is looking to join the 1000/1000 club this season as she is just about 130 kills and 280 or so digs away from joining the elite club of 1000 kills, 1000 digs. The last person to accomplish this feat in Bearcat history was Jordan Thompson as they’re are only 6 others in that elite club. Adria Oliver is back off to a hot start for her junior year and is someone that brings a lot of energy to the Bearcats team, weather its her big kills, her big time blocks at the net, Oliver overall is someone many people enjoy watching as she can simply do it all. The freshman middle blocker Abby Walker is making her presence known early at the net as she was a dominant force this past weekend as she recorded 17 kills in only her second game as a Bearcat, the future is very bright for her as a member of the Bearcats. The Bearcats have so much depth on all aspects of the court and it brings so much upside to this team because having depth like the Bearcats do weather its on the outside, middles or opposite pins, they can cause so much trouble as they have a roster so talented the can fire on many different angles on offense. The Bearcats also have a great group of freshman that Coach Alvey did a fantastic job at getting them to Cincinnati as Molly Harrison, Abby Walker, Emme Madden have all seen some action here early in the season and have played a big role here in the first week of the season. Walker led the team in kills in their victory over Texas State where she had 17 kills. Harrison has stepped in and played tremendous defense as she mad a few great saves to keep rallies extended over the weekend.
The Bearcats will be back in action this weekend when they travel to South Bend, Indiana to play in the Notre Dame tournament where they will kick off the weekend versus Milwaukee this Friday at 4:30 pm, No. 25 ranked Notre Dame Saturday at 6 pm, before finishing the weekend when the take on Bowling Green this Sunday at 11:30 am. This is a big opportunity for the Bearcats to show what they can do and show they can compete with anyone in the country. The Bearcats are looking to get back in the win column and get on a hot streak before they kick off conference play.
