The Bearcats had a very quick turn around after a high energy 5 set match with the Dayton Flyers, the Bearcats had less than two hours before they had to take on another tough opponent as they took on Texas State. The Bearcats had to get the Dayton game out of their head very quickly to focus on the the Bobcats. The Bearcats came out and found themselves in a great spot as they had their first run early in the first set when they went for 5 unanswered points to jump out and take a quick 12-8 lead which forced Texas State to call an early timeout to try to flip the momentum. The Timeout worked as it brought some momentum as it allowed the Bobcats to cut the lead to 1 when the Bearcats lead 18-17. Coach Alvey called a timeout after a big Texas State block to try to get some energy going and she did just that as the Bearcats went to score 7 of the last 10 points to take Set 1 25-20. The Bearcats found themselves in a early hole in set 2 after trailing 9-3, but the Bearcats stood tall and rallied back as this set would end up being tied 11 different times throughout before the Bobcats snuck out a 26-24 victory. The Bearcats fought hard the next two sets as Set 3 went back and forth but the Bearcats weren’t going down without a fight. Each team had a 4 point lead on multiple occasions, but it was just a dog fight back and forth of who wanted it more. The Bearcats did though, after trailing 24-22 the Bearcats fought back to win 26-24 after a statement kill from Shannon Williams, and a Bobcats error the Bearcats found themselves in a great spot leading 2-1.The Bearcats found themselves in a great spot leading 2-1 over the Bobcats and they didnt look back in set 4 as the jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead. The Bobcats tried to fight back but the Bearcats jumped out to a commanding 15-9 lead and they never looked back as they found themselves in a 21-20 battle, but then went on a 4-0 run to end the match to secure their first victory of the season.
Abby Walker a freshman middle blocker recorded a career high 17 kills, on 33 attempts to lead the Bearcats to their first victory. Shannon Williams also had a big day as she had 14 kills on 36 attempts as well. Maria Mallon recorded her second double- double for the bearcats as well with 12 kills, 14 digs. Maria Tobergte also had 7 kills, two aces for the Bearcats as her serving game gave the Bobcats a lot of problems in the serve receive game. Armania Heckenmueller had a outstanding game as she called a tremendous game for the Bearcats as she recorded a outstanding 59 assists as she is setting the standard for her senior season. The Bearcats had some momentum ahead of their big match versus reigning national champions Kentucky, who comes into the 2021 season ranked No. 3 in the country.
