Set 3- The Bearcats would take a 2-0 lead in Set 3, before the Seminoles rallied off a 5-0 run to take a 5-2 lead over the Bearcats, their first lead since Set 1. The Seminoles would take an 8-4 lead over the Bearcats in Set 3, forcing Coach Alvey and the Bearcats to take an early timeout. The Seminoles now would find the momentum after another 8-point run would give them a 14-4 lead over the Bearcats before a Seminole attacking error would give the ball back to the Bearcats as they were looking to rattle off some points to cut the lead. The Seminoles would keep their foot on the gas as they were looking to make a comeback here at Fifth Third Arena to avoid the sweep, as they would take set 3 25-9 and make this a 2 set to 1 match.
Set 4- A back and forth battle to start as the Bearcats were looking to shake off a rough Set 3 and put his one away here at Fifth Third Arena as the Bearcats would find themselves in a tough spot after a 3-0 run by the Seminoles forces coach Alvey to call timeout trailing 7-4. The Bearcats would rattle off a 4 point swing of things after the timeout to take an 8-4 lead following kills from Carly Glendinning, and Kailea Carrier, as they were looking to build some momentum to close the door on the Seminoles and get their first victory of the season. The Bearcats would settle in as this one was going back and forth here at Fifth Third Arena as the Seminoles weren’t shying away as they were starting to find their groove late in the match as we would be tied 17-17 late. The Bearcats would take a 22-20 lead following a huge service ace from Paige Pickering, as the Bearcats were looking to close the door. The Bearcats would hold on to win 25-23 and take the match three sets to one over a very tough Florida State team.
Overall, the Bearcats showed a lot of talent today as the five freshmen between the likes of Paige Pickering, Caroline Endres, Ligia Williams, Avry Tatum, and Carly Glendinning all played a significant part of the Bearcats success today. Caroline Endres did a fantastic job controlling the Bearcats offense as she starts her Bearcats Career.
“I think their talent level is incredible, and you can see that. We have five freshmen playing their first college match ever this weekend, but you look at what the skill level is, the athleticism, size, I would think our fans would be pretty excited to see those 5 out on the court,” said Head Coach Molly Alvey.
Bearcats head coach Molly Alvey Talked postgame the Bearcats 3-1 victory over FSU.
“You come out and lose two of your home openers to be able to come back and respond that way is really impressive. What I love about this team so far is the fact they will never give up on you. A lot of grit and strength with this team and I love it. To flip the script like we did after falling 25-9 in Set 3, it’s very hard to do against great teams, it’s hard because the momentum of the game. All we said was move on its over, and that’s a testament to who this team is, they are a complete group, they are bought into one another, willing to do whatever it takes, weather I’m on the court starting or coming off the bench, this is a complete group.”
Abby Walker finished the day with a team high 14 kills and two blocks, followed by a huge day from senior Kailea Carrier who recorded 11 kills and 2.5 blocks. Sophomore Shaye Eggleston had a great day as well where she finished with seven kills, eight digs and one ace. The Bearcats back line was continued to be anchored down by great defensive play from Libero Payton Frederick who finished with a team high 15 digs, as the senior continues to show why she is one of the top defensive players in the AAC. The Bearcats knocked off a very good Florida State team this afternoon and shows that this young team will be something very special to watch as the season moves forward now that the first weekend is in the books, the Bearcats know how special this team can be after facing a lot of adversity this weekend after falling to Dayton and Illinois State in back-and-forth battles on Friday.
The Bearcats will be back in action next Friday for their first road trip of the season as they travel to Utah to take on No. 6 ranked Pittsburgh at 12 pm, followed by No. 10 BYU at 9 pm in a double header to kick off the BYU Tournament followed by Utah State on Saturday at 6 pm.
