Tonight the Bearcats welcomed in crosstown rival Xavier to Fifth Third Arena for their home opener. The fans packed Fifth Third Arena knowing both schools are just miles apart, you could sense the energy of what this rivalry is about. The Bearcats kicked off their home opener by honoring head coach Molly Alvey ahead of tonight’s match for her 10 years as the Bearcats head volleyball coach.
The starters for the Bearcats were Shannon Williams, Maria Mallon, Emme Madden, Maria Tobergte, Adria Oliver and Payton Frederick. The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead following two big kills from Maria Mallon, that was followed with a service ace from Payton Frederick. The Bearcats and Musketeers went back and forth exchanging point for point before Xavier jumped out to a 12-11 lead forcing the Bearcats head coach Molly Alvey to call a timeout. That timeout didn’t quite give the Bearcats the momentum they were hoping for as Xavier used it to their advantage and went on a 5-0 run to take a 18-13 lead. The Bearcats fought back after Xavier took that run to push the gates open and found the momentum they needed. A big kill from Adria Oliver after a Xavier overpass at the net, followed by a huge solo block by Alex Kwasnik, followed by another kill from Kwasnik the Bearcast cut the lead to 2. The fans and student section really rallied behind the Bearcats and brought the energy for this crosstown rivalry after back to back kills by Shannon Williams to secure the comeback victory to end Set 1 27-25. When I mean the energy was rocking here at Fifth Third, I mean you could feel this building rocking again for the first time since 2020.
The Bearcats brought that same energy to start Set 2 as Sarah Norcom started off with a quick kill, followed by a block the Bearcats found their pace early. After the Bearcats leading 6-5 the Musketeers jumped out to a quick 4-0 run to push the lead to lead to 9-6, forcing Coach Alvey to call a timeout to stop the run. A great rally that included two great one handed saves by Molly Harrison and Payton Frederick, led to a big kill by Maria Mallon. That play brought Fifth Third to their feet as the Bearcats showed the hustle to keep the rally going. The Musketeers didn’t let the rutkus get to them though after that long rally, they went on a 4-0 run to jump out to a 15-11 lead in Set 2. The Bearcats did exactly what they did in set one, found momentum and forced the musketeers to call a timeout after cutting the lead musketeers lead to 2 when they lead the Bearcats 19-17 late in the set. The Bearcats got another big overpass kill from Adria Oliver, followed by a big solo block from Maria Mallon and just like that we were tied 19-19. The Bearcats followed up to go on a 3-0 run after Xavier lead 21-19, but the Bearcats used that momentum to keep their foot on the gas. The Musketeers weren’t going down easily on the other hand, as they kept right with the Bearcats and snuck out a 27-25 victory over the Bearcats in Set 2.
The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead in Set 3 before pushing the gas and extending to a 8-4, forcing a musketeer timeout early. The Bearcats just kept their foot on the gas and jumped out to a big 14-6 lead that quickly extended to 17-8 as the Bearcats just continued to force Xavier to make mistakes. In that run Abby Walker had back to back service aces to push the Bearcats lead. The early run from the Bearcats just was to much for the musketeers to overcome as they couldn’t dig themselves out of that early 14-6 hole, but they fought hard and the Bearcats jumped out to win Set 3, 25-16 after a huge statement block by Adria Oliver.
The Bearcats rallied off Adria Oliver’s big block to end Set 3, as they came out firing in Set 4 and jumped out to a big 7-3 lead as they were looking to finish this match right here in Set 4. Xavier on the other hand wasn’t going down without a fight as they rallied to make it a 10-9 game. The Bearcats kept fighting behind kills from Alex Kwasnik and Shannon Williams the Bearcats were able to quickly extend their lead to 15-12 before the Musketeers called a timeout. The Bearcats just kept momentum rolling as they took a big Set 4 victory 25-18 to seal the match 3 sets to 1 for their 3rd consecutive victory.
