The Tigers found momentum early in Set 3 and stayed neck and neck with the Bearcats early as they were trading kill for kill. Shannon Williams got the scoring started for the Bearcats with a kill, followed by a block to tie this set at 4. Emme Madden had a big service ace to give the Bearcats a 8-6 lead before Memphis answered back with a kill of their own. The Bearcats got some momentum following a kill from Sarah Norcom that sparked a 4-0 run that included 2 service aces by Maria Tobertge to take a quick 12-8 lead. The Bearcats kept their foot on the gas as they extended their lead to 8 when they went on a 5-0 run that started with kills from Maria Mallon, and Abby Walker followed by a service another ace for the Bearcats. The Bearcats produced big kills from Sarah Norcom and Shannon Williams late in the set to give the Bearcats a 24-16 lead. The Bearcats finished it off with a very nice designed “31” ball as Madden fed Carrier for the final kill to seal the set for the Bearcats 25-16 giving them a 2-1 lead over Memphis.
The Tigers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but the Bearcats went on another 5-0 run to take a 5-3 lead shortly after. The Tigers on the other hand knew they had to get something going to avoid the Bearcats taking a big lead like they did in Set 2 and 3. Memphis continued to find a way to put some balls away as they jumped out to take a 11-10 lead over the Bearcats in Set 4. The battle went back and forth, trading point for point, the Bearcats found themselves with an 1 point lead at the media timeout leading 15-14. The Bearcats then went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 22-14. The Tigers found a little momentum late as they went on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 4 as they trailed 22-18. The Bearcats on the other hand didn’t want this set to go any longer as they hung on to eat the Tigers 25-21 to seal a 3-1 victory.
Overall, the Bearcats dominated the Tigers after a slow start in Set 1, the Tigers really struggled in the serve receive aspect, as the Bearcats rallied off 12 service aces compared to their own three. That’s a huge stat to hit on as the Tigers just had no way of stopping the Bearcats dynamic float serves as they caused a lot of problems for Memphis. The Tigers had a hard time hitting around the Bearcats at the net because of all the height and versatility this team has. The Bearcats were getting touches on just about every swing by the Tigers it felt like. That played a huge factor as well as the Tigers didn’t have one player with double digit kills as Maiya Smith led the Tigers with nine. Somehow the Tigers out blocked the Bearcats 11.5 to 9, but the Bearcats really capitalized off the Tigers mistakes at the net and that really gave the Bearcats an advantage in tonight’s match. The Bearcats got a lot of production out of Shannon Williams, Abby Walker and Sarah Norcom as they all had double digit kills. Williams finished with 15 kills and three blocks. Abby Walker had a very big day for the Bearcats as she had 15 kills, tied with Williams for the match high, led the match with seven blocks, as well as five service aces. The freshman is continuing to show why she was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll this past weekend, but tonight’s performance might just set her up for AAC Player of the Week, because that was an impressive performance she put on tonight for the Bearcats. Maria Mallon finished with seven kills, 14 digs and two aces, While freshman setter Emme Madden recorded 47 assists. Maria Tobertge also had a big night with three aces, 10 digs, and a block. Payton Frederick had a match high 24 digs as well, as she was all over the back row for the Bearcats. The Bearcats continuing to pick up where they left off prior to their loss at UCF last weekend. Overall the Bearcats had a great night, the Bearcats are just so deep and talented that this team will give a lot of teams trouble as the season moves forward, and we saw that tonight as the Bearcats had three players in double digit kills.
The Bearcats are now 7-4 (2-1 AAC) as they are coming off that five game winning streak prior to last week’s loss versus UCF, they have all the energy and momentum as they head into their next matchup this Sunday when they welcome SMU to Fifth Third Arena at 1 pm. This will be a great match here at Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats are 2-1 in the ACC while SMU is 3-0 in the AAC. A big chance looms ahead for the Bearcats this Sunday as they look to make a statement come Sunday.
