Set 4- The Cougars came out right where they left off in Set 3, with a quick 3 point lead to start the set, forcing the Bearcats to play from Behind early. The Bearcats chipped away at the Cougars early lead, as they tied this set up at 5. Houston went on a 3 point run to push their lead to 9-6 before a kill from Kailea Carrier flipped the momentum back to the Bearcats. After trailing 9-8 early the Bearcats were forced to take a timeout early after the Cougars took an 11-8 lead. The Bearcats then went on a 3 point run to tie this set at 11, behind consecutive kills from Carrier, followed by a Mallon kill of the block, it was a new set. However, the Cougars weren’t going away easily, they went on a 4 point run themselves to take a 17-13 lead, forcing Bearcats head coach Molly Alvey to take her final timeout of the set. The Cougars however, continued that run that forced the Bearcats timeout, and went on a 9-0 run before a kill from Abby Walker, to take a 21-14 lead late in set 4. The Bearcats just couldn’t overcome that late run from Houston as the Cougars held on to win Set 4, 25-18, taking the match 3 sets to 1.
Overall, the Bearcats played a very tough Houston team, a team that is very experienced as they have had 20 games under their belt before tonight’s match. The sport of volleyball is all about runs, and unfortunately Houston found their run at the right time and kept their foot on the gas. The Bearcats had big nights from Maria Mallon, Kailea Carrier, and Abby Walker, as they all dominated up front for the Bearcats as all 3 had double digit kills. Mallon recorded a match high 16 digs as well for the Bearcats. Payton Frederick and Kerstin Ficker were all over the place in the Bearcats back row, as they both were picking up everything Houston threw at them on defense. They both ended with double digit digs, as Ficker recorded a season high with 15 in tonight’s matchup. The Bearcats just couldn’t find their runs at the right time after a huge Set 2 win, to tie this match 1-1. The sport is all about runs as I mentioned, but those 3 and 4 point runs, add up in the sport of volleyball, and if you cant adjust to them quickly, you’ll find yourself in a tough spot if you cant escape and find a way to shift the momentum. The Bearcats were right there in multiple sets, but just couldn’t find a way to create that jump to push open the gates and put some points on the board when they needed to the most. The Bearcats were tied at 13 late in Set 4, before the Cougars took a 9-0 run to take a big 21-14 lead over the Bearcats, this was a huge turning point in the match, as the Bearcats had just created a surge of momentum to tie the set up, as they knew they had to find a point to terminate some swings, put some points on the board, However, Houston was just capitalizing on every opportunity they had to make sure the Bearcats didn’t come back and force a 5th set and flip the momentum late in the match. The Bearcats fell short as they couldn’t find a way out of that 21-14 hole as they ended up falling 25-18, in Set 4.
The Bearcats now sit 11-6 overall, (6-3 AAC), after a tremendous start to their season, where the went on to win 10 of their last 13 matches after starting 1-3 on the season. This Bearcats team is a very fun team to watch and I have been saying that all season, so much energy, passion, grit, this team is special and is very capable of making another NCAA Tournament run like they did in 2019.
The Bearcats will be back in action for a quick turn around when they welcome Tulane to Fifth Third Arena this Sunday at 1 pm as they will look to bounce back in the win column.
