The Bearcats got some exciting news after coming off a weekend where they played three games vs 3 teams who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago where they would take on Illinois State, Dayton and Florida State. The Bearcats would fall to Illinois State in a hard fought 5 set matchup to kick off the season Friday, followed by a tough 3 set to 1 loss to Dayton.
Walker finished day one of the Tribute to 10 tournaments with a team high 27 kills, and 13 blocks as she was vocal point for the Bearcats, after coming off her first season as a Bearcat in 2021 where she earned freshman of the year honors, Walker was looking to show early why she was named to the preseason AAC All-Conference Team.
Frederick recorded a team high 35 digs in the Bearcats to matchups vs Illinois State and Dayton, where she eclipsed her 1000th career dig between here careers at Western Kentucky and Cincinnati. Frederick anchored the defense for the Bearcats as the senior looks to finish her Bearcat career in the record books in the digs category.
Walker and Frederick played significant roles in the Bearcats 3 set to 1 win over Florida State yesterday, as the Bearcats knocked off a very solid Florida State team to finish the Tribute to 10 tournament 1-2 to start off the season, in where the Bearcats play an absolute gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, as they kick off the season with 7 teams who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Walker finished the match vs Florida State with a team high 13 kills and three blocks to power the Bearcats to victory alongside teammates Kailea Carrier and Ligia Williams on the offensive aspect as those three combined for 31 of the teams 47 kills in their victory over Florida State.
Frederick anchored the Bearcats defense once again with a team high 15 digs, one short of a game high behind Florida State’s Lauryn Burrows. Fredrick really set the tone for the Bearcats in the serve receive game and did a great job setting up the Bearcats for success as they were looking to get some momentum with a big win over Florida State before heading to Utah to take on No. 6 Pittsburgh and No. 10 BYU in the Utah Tournament this upcoming weekend.
Walker finished with 41 kills, 16 blocks, recording a hitting percentage of .303 in the Bearcats first three matches to kick off the 2022 season. Frederick would finish the weekend with 50 digs, four service aces over the weekend, as the Louisville, Kentucky native was making a statement to be one of the top defensive players in the AAC.
Congratulations Abby Walker and Payton Frederick for earning selections to the first AAC Weekly Honor Roll of the season. The Bearcats will be back in action this Friday where they travel to Utah to take on top ranked teams No. 6 Pittsburgh at 12 pm followed by a night match vs No. 10 BYU where first serve is slated for 9 pm. The Bearcats will then follow right back up in what will be a three-game span in 24 hours where they will finish the weekend with a matchup vs Utah State Saturday September 3rd at 6 pm.
