Over the weekend the Bearcats were looking to continue the hot streak and bring home two wins on the road as they traveled to SMU, then Memphis on Halloween. Heading into the weekend road trip the Bearcats were 12-6 overall, (6-3 AAC), as they were looking to make a push in the American standings, as they were sitting in a three way tie for second place with Houston and Wichita State. The Bearcats however were looking to complete the series sweep versus SMU on the season, after defeating the Mustangs 3 sets to 1, back in the beginning of October.
The Bearcats got off to a hot start as they took a early 1-0 lead over the Mustangs after they dominated from the start as they found themselves with an early 9-4 lead as freshman Abby Walker started to get involved in the offense and recorded three kills for the Bearcats during an early four point run to open the set up for the Bearcats. The Bearcats came out firing and were finding ways to put the ball away as they finished with 19 kills in Set 1, while only committing four errors, while holding the Mustangs to only 14 kills while committing five errors, so this was a huge state to hit on, as the Bearcats were finding ways to not only put the ball away, but keep the ball in play, as when it comes to volleyball it’s like a game of chess, you want to limit your errors as much as possible and that really allowed the Bearcats to control the momentum heading into Set 2, knowing they just got off to a hot start where the offense was clicking very well, the ball as being distributed between all three hitters, the Mustangs really didn’t have an answer for the Bearcats early on in this match.
However, the Mustangs came out in Set 2 and really started to find their momentum as the match went back and forth, before the Bearcats took a 7-4 lead after kills from Alex Kwasnik, Abby Walker, and a block that was assisted by Emme Madden and Abby Walker, that created a 3 point swing of things for the Bearcats. However, the Mustangs rallied back and cut the Bearcats lead to 9-8 following a kill, and a big service ace, that really got the Mustangs offense starting to roll. The Bearcats lead 14-11 before the Mustangs went on a 5 point run that really set the pace for the second half of Set 2, as the Bearcats were struggling to keep the ball in play as they recorded four straight errors to allow the Mustangs to come back and take a 16-14 lead. Unfortunately the Bearcats couldn’t get anything going after the Mustangs took that 5 point run that opened up this set, which led to the Mustangs holding on to win Set 2, 25-22.
The Bearcats were looking to come out and flip the script, as they started to gather some momentum late in Set 2, but knew they had to find a way to limit the errors and get back to putting balls away like they did in Set 1. The Bearcats did just that, as they jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, after kills by Shannon Williams, Kailea Carrier. The mustangs rallied back though as they went on to tie this match at 5, before back to back kills from Maria Mallon. The Bearcats controlled the lead until the Mustangs tied it at 14 after a 3 point run, but that didnt stop the Bearcats from creating a run of their own, as we all know this sport is all about runs, and finding them at the right time, the Bearcats bounced out to a 17-14 after a kill from Abby Walker, followed with a big time block. However, the Mustangs answered with a 4 point run that really sparked some momentum as they jumped out to their first lead of the match since the set was 2-1. After being tied at 21, the Mustangs took advantage of the Bearcats errors and that really allowed them to hang on and win Set 3, 25-21 as the Mustangs ended Set 3 on a 4 point run, giving them all the momentum to try to finish this match heading into the 4th set. Volleyball is a sport of runs, and its all about when you create those said runs, as they can really make or break a match, and that is what was starting to be a big factor within this match for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats never lead in Set 4 after they found themselves in an early hole and just couldnt find a way to overcome that early deficit. That’s where that run at the end of Set 3 plays a factor in this match, as that run really strung all the momentum to the Mustangs and they carried it over from Set 3. The Bearcats However, rallied back late in Set 4, but the Mustangs were fighting back and not letting up as they held their early lead the whole set as they took Set 4, 25-23 to defeat the Bearcats 3 sets to 1, as they split the season series 1 game a piece.
The Bearcats, However had a strong game defensively as they had three players record double digit digs, as Payton Frederick led the way with 18, which was a match high, followed by Emme Madden with 15 and Maria Mallon with 10. The Bearcats had big performances on offense as well as Maria Mallon finished with a match high 20 kills, as she recorded a double double. Abby Walker continued to dominate as she rallied 12 kills of her own, Walker also recorded four blocks and two service aces. The freshman middle has been very effective at the net but also in the serving game as she recorded her 24th service ace of the season which is second on the team, as float serve has became a weapon for the Bearcats as it has given a lot of teams problems this season and has caused teams to run an out of system offense very frequently. The Bearcats also had a big day from Shannon Williams as she recorded nine kills as well, as the senior opposite hitter continues to show a lot of consistency on the opposite pin for the Bearcats.
The Bearcat bounced back with a huge 3-2 victory over Memphis on a Halloween in what turned out to be a 5 set thriller and the Bearcats would finish off the season sweep over the Tigers, to improve to 13-7 overall, (8-4 AAC).
