Earlier this week woman’s volleyball player Payton Frederick announced she was a Crossnet Athlete via Instagram. Crossnet for people who aren’t familiar is a volleyball game that is played outdoors, a four square style volleyball game that is set up to be played outdoors whether it’s on the beach, backyard or even in a pool. Crossnet is a volleyball game that is partnered with AVP and USA Volleyball, which AVP is the premier pro beach volleyball league in the United States.
Payton Frederick is a Louisville, Kentucky native where she attended Assumption High School. Payton spent her first year of collegiate volleyball at Western Kentucky in 2019 before transferring to Cincinnati where she is currently a junior and is in her second year as the libero for the Bearcats. In her first year as a Bearcat Frederick played in all 13 matches, playing in 50 sets where she led the team in digs with 191 and averaged 3.82 digs per set for the Bearcats which was good for 8th in the American Athletic Conference. Frederick also recorded 46 assists, 12 service aces on the season, Frederick also played a key role as the Bearcats libero as she was a key factor for setting up the offense, as she was a vocal point in serve receive defense and was always reading opposing hitters to set her teammates up to be in perfect position for a great first ball for the setters Ashley Kozer and Armania Heckenmueller. However, for people who know volleyball, they know how important a great first pass is to run the offense in system and use all three options across the front row and to fire from all angles of the court to throw the opposing defenses off and throw the out of system, and Frederick did a fantastic job in 2021 doing just that. In the sport of volleyball being a libero is one of the toughest positions to play because not only are you controlling the defense but you are also playing a big role in communication and being a vocal leader to help your hitters out by communicating which angle is open in the defense, for example, the hard cross angle, or the straight line shot, every team plays certain hitters differently to make the adjustment to what the other team wants and can use to their advantage, Frederick was a prime example of that this year as she was always vocal helping her hitters find the open zones for the Bearcats in 2021.
The Front Office News staff would like to congratulate Payton Frederick for becoming a Crossnet Athlete. Payton Frederick is looking to help the lead the Bearcats volleyball team to a great 2021 season where they will play a very tough schedule as they will play three teams that made the NCAA tournament this spring including the reigning NCAA champions when the take on Kentucky when they travel to Dayton, Ohio to play in the Dayton Tournament on August 28th. The Bearcats will kick off their 2021 season when they play host to Pittsburgh on August 21st, and for many people who watched the last time the Bearcats played Pittsburgh history happened so make sure to tune in and check out the Bearcats volleyball team this fall.
