This afternoon the Bearcats honored their five seniors, which include Madison Waters, Payton Frederick, Kailea Carrier, Maria Tobergte, Kerstin Ficker. Ficker, Waters, and Tobergte were the last members of the historical 2019 team that went on to win the American Athletic Conference and make the first sweet sixteen in program history after defeating number two ranked Pittsburgh in a five-set thriller. Carrier and Frederick on the other hand transferred into Cincinnati ahead of the 2020 season that was pushed back to the spring of 2021 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Frederick started her career at Western Kentucky University while Carrier started her career at Kansas University after deciding to stay home out of high school.
“I think the biggest impact they have had truly is that this program is so important to them,” said Bearcats head coach Molly Alvey. “They have really impressed upon our younger players the importance of a positive culture, building relationships, and being strong teammates. Three of them were apart of the most historical season in program history, which is something that is so special to carry around on your resume for the rest of your career. Look back on what all five have accomplished, they went out on a high note, they played some of their best volleyball the last couple matches of the season. Overall, this is just such a positive group.”
Ficker, a Cincinnati native played a huge role the Bearcats success over the last four seasons where she finished her career with 75 service aces in her four-year career. Ficker, served the game winning point in their upset versus No. 2 Pittsburgh to advance to the Sweet 16. Ficker plans to stay around the sport of volleyball following graduation as she has a coaching job lined up where she will coach club volleyball here in the local Cincinnati area.
“When I came here as a freshman back in 2019, I never thought I’d touch the court. Being able to represent my city for the last four years, starting my career off with the Sweet 16 run, through the Covid, all the way to now, it’s been such a journey. Being able to represent Cincinnati, put everything I have onto the court for my teammates, it’s been a fun ride,” said Ficker.
Maria Tobergte has been a staple for this program, like Ficker was a member of the 2019 NCAA Tournament team as the Bearcats also won the American Athletic Conference that season. Tobergte finished her career with 405 digs, 117 kills, and 40 aces in her four seasons and has played a huge role for the Bearcats this season after overcoming a major injury sustained last season. Tobergte was a role model on and off the floor for the Bearcats during her career that many players have looked up to. We asked her what her message was to the younger Bearcats as she takes the next step in her career,
“I told them just control what you can control and let the things go that you can’t control,” said Tobergte. “I told them to focus on themselves and continue to put their best food forward, and if you do that every day you are going to do very well.”
Senior libero Payton Frederick has left her mark on the Bearcats where she finishes her career with just over 1400 career digs, 334 assists, and 88 service aces in her career. Frederick is currently ranked sixth in the AAC where she averages 3.96 digs per set and has been holding down the Bearcats defense since arriving to campus in 2020. Frederick, a Louisville, Kentucky native has embraced every moment wearing the red and black since coming to Cincinnati in 2020.
“It’s been such an honor to come in here and wear the Cpaw and Cincinnati every day,” said Frederick. “This group of women have been amazing. This team is something I will never forget. It’s been so special, the dynamic has grown and changed for the better since I got here in 2020. It’s been amazing, I can’t be more thankful for the staff, coaches, and this team. I will miss it for sure.”
Madison Waters finished her career with 232 kills, 153 digs and 32 blocks. Like Ficker and Tobergte, Waters was also a member of the 2019 NCAA Tournament team.
“Coach Alvey has been such a huge presence in my life the last four years, moving from Dallas to Cincinnati. She is like family to me,” said Waters. “The opportunity she gave me to come here and play volleyball the last four seasons has meant the world to me and I’m not sure if I could ever pay her back for everything, she has done for me”
TFON wishes nothing but the best on the future endeavors as they take the next step of their careers. These five young women left their everlasting mark on the Cincinnati volleyball program over the last 4-5 years between the 2019 historical NCAA tournament team, battling through a pandemic, all the contributions they made on and off the court. This was a very special group of Woman, and they will forever leave their mark on the Bearcats volleyball program.
