This evening the Bearcats (4-12) (2-4 AAC) welcomed in the Wichita State Shockers (9-8) (4-2 AAC) to Fifth Third Arena for the Bearcats annual pink game in honor of breast cancer awareness as they look to kick off a four game homestand spanning over the next two weeks. The Bearcats lead the all time series 5-3, as they have won four of the last five meetings between the AAC rivals.
The Bearcats are coming off a week where they went 1-1 after defeating ECU in five sets last Friday before falling to Temple in another five-set thriller on Sunday. The Bearcats were led by Avry Tatum who finished the weekend with a team high 40 kills, including a career high 22 in the teams three set to two victories over Temple. Tatum, a Cardiff, California native finished the weekend averaging 4.40 points, 4.0 digs, and 1.9 digs per set, where she earned a spot on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for the first time of her Bearcat career as she continues to make a case for AAC Freshman of the Year.
The Bearcats also are coming off a 5-set loss to ECU, where they saw three players record a double-double for the first time since March 26, 2021, as Avry Tatum lead the way with 18 kills, 14 digs, while Emma Madden dished out 52 assists and finished with 11 digs, along with sophomore hitter Shaye Eggleston who finished with 14 kills and 17 digs as the trio looks to have another stellar performance here at Fifth Third Arena vs the Shockers.
Starters for the Bearcats- Kailea Carrier, Abby Walker, Carly Glendinning, Abby Walker, Avry Tatum, Payton Frederick, Emme Madden.
Starters for the Shockers- Brylee Kelly, Kayce Litzau, Lily Liekweg, Annalie Heliste, Natalie Foster, Lauren McMahon, Morgan Weber.
Set 1- The Shockers would take an early 3-0 lead over the Bearcats after a service ace from Katie Gilligan, but the Bearcats would respond with a kill from Avry Tatum and the Bearcats were on the board after a slow start. The Bearcats would respond with a 3-point run of their own that started with a Shocker attacking error, followed by consecutive kills from Carly Glendinning on the outside, as the freshman continued to make an immediate impact for the Bearcats. The Bearcats would see themselves trail 16-14 after a service ace from Brylee Kelly, after a three-point run from the Shockers. The Shockers weren’t stopping there as they kept their foot on the gas and would take an 20-16 lead behind their five service aces, as the Shockers were giving the Bearcats a lot of trouble in the serve receive game that forced Molly Alvey to call a timeout to try to flip the momentum back to the Bearcats. The Shockers would take a 23-18 lead after a three point run that consisted of kills from Kayce Litzau, and Natalie Foster, along with a block from Litzau and Foster and the Bearcats were forced to use their final timeout trailing 23-18. The Bearcats would respond with a three point run after consecutive errors by the Shockers, following a Tatum kill, the Bearcats would then trail 23-21 as they were looking to make a late comeback here in set 1. The Bearcats would fall 25-21 as the Shockers were dominating the serving game as the Bearcats struggled in serve receive early as the Shockers recorded six service aces compared to the Bearcats 2, en route to a 25-21 victory.
Set 2- The Bearcats would tie this match at 3 following a kill from Tatum, where she followed right up with a huge service ace and the Bearcats were looking to build some momentum early. The Bearcats would rattle off 5 straight to take a 9-5 behind consecutive kills from Abby Walker, along with a huge solo block from Elissa Alcantara, Walker also chimed in with a huge block and all the momentum was favoring the Bearcats as they forced the Shockers to call an early timeout where they looked to stop the run. The Bearcats would see a long rally break out that started with a great defensive pancake save from Libero Payton Frederick that followed with great defense in a back and forth rally, before Elissa Alcantara ended it with a huge solo block to give the Bearcats an 11-7 lead. The Bearcats wouldnt look back from there as they jumped out to an 18-13 lead following three kills from Tatum and a huge block from Walker, and just like that the Bearcats were starting to take control of this match here at Fifth Third Arena. The Shockers were slowly biting away at the Bearcats lead however, following an Emerson Wilford kill and an error by Emme Madden, the Shockers trailed just 21-19. The Bearcats would respond with consecutive kills from Alcantara to take a 23-21 lead as the transfer from Florida Southwestern Community College was continuing to make a huge impact for the Bearcats. The Shockers would come back and tie this set at 24 behind a Bearcats attacking error as the Shockers were looking to complete the comeback, but could the Bearcats hold on and make this a 1-1 match. The Bearcats would slam the door and even this match at one set a piece after a huge solo block from Abby Walker gave the Bearcats a 28-26 victory over the Shockers.
