Set 3- The Bearcats got the scoring started early with blocks by Walker, Carrier, followed by a Shannon Williams kill. The Bearcats went neck and neck as they were tied at 4, before going on a 4 point run forcing Tulane to call a timeout trailing 8-4, following kills from Maria Mallon, a combined block from Kailea Carrier, and Emme Madden, as well as two service aces from Abby Walker and the Bearcats had all the momentum as they were looking to finish this match here in set 3. The Bearcats jumped out to a 13-8 lead, but Tulane wasn’t shying away as they rallied off 3 points in a row to cut the Bearcats lead to 2, trailing 13-11. Tulane continued to rally back as they cut the lead to 1, before the Bearcats took a 18-15 lead. Tulane wasn’t backing away as they were trying to find some momentum to look to extend this match, but the Bearcats kept their foot on the gas, a big kill from Kailea Carrier, gave the Bearcats a 22-18 lead late in the set. The Bearcats rallied to win Set 3, 25-19 after Shannon Williams recorded the Bearcats last three kills.
Overall, this was a huge win for Coach Alvey and the Bearcats, after dropping their last 2 matches at Wichita State, and vs Houston Friday at Home, the Bearcats were looking to bounce back in the win column and they did that today. Coach Alvey went with a different lineup than what I have seen most of the season as she provided a lot of height at the net, as Alex Kwasnik got the start and gave the Bearcats a lot of great touches at the net, between her and Kailea Carrier, Tulane was having a very difficult time swinging around those big blocks. The Bearcats were sharing the ball around on offense, but Emme Madden has established a great connection with her middles Kailea Carrier, and Abby Walker, as both finished in double digit kills, as Carrier recorded 11 kills tied for the team high, Carrier also recorded a match high five blocks. Walker recorded 10 kills, two blocks, as well as three service aces. Madden having a great connection with her middles will start to free up Maria Mallon on the outside, as teams will start to leave her with one block once the Middles start to get going in matches. Maria Mallon finished with 11 kills, 12 digs her 4th straight double double. The Bearcats defense had a great day for Coach Alvey as freshman defensive specialist Molly Harrison was making her first career start and recorded six digs, tied with Libero Payton Frederick. Kerstin Ficker also played a big role with eight digs, so the Bearcats were getting a lot of great play from the defensive specialists in todays match. The Bearcats had brought the energy, after facing some adversity late in Set 2, trailing by as much as 6 points at one point, to rally back from that early deficit, showed how great this team is, as volleyball is a sport of runs and all about who can contain the momentum the longest.
The Bearcats are now 12-6 overall and now improve to 7-3 within the AAC, tied for 3rd coming into todays match with Tulane, and Wichita State, this was a huge win for the Bearcats. The Bearcats will be back in action when they travel to Dallas, Texas this Friday when they take on SMU to kick off a weekend road trip.
