Earlier, this week, University of Cincinnati head coach Molly Alvey met with the media as the Bearcats are in full go mode ahead of this weekend’s “Tribute to 10” tournament.
The Tribute to 10 tournament honors former Bearcat Stepanie Meinig-Rosfeld, who played at the University of Cincinnati from 1997-2000 before joining the staff as an assistant coach until her passing in. 2004. “This opening weekend is special for us because we honor one of our former Bearcats who passed away, Stephanie Meinig-Rosfeld,” said Molly Alvey. “She played and coached here. So, it’s a really special tournament for us. To be opening up at home and with our crosstown rival, it’s a fun way to kick off this inaugural Big 12 season. We’re looking forward to it. I know the players are super excited.”
Meinig-Rosfeld was a two-time First Team All-Conference USA selection, and to this day still holds the C-USA record for total blocks (593). Meinig-Rosfeld, played in 502 games during her Bearcat career, which is the most in program history. Meinig-Rosfeld also ranks second in program history in total blocks (593) and block assists (518), which shows the level of player she was during her collegiate career.
The Bearcats are ready to attack their inaugural Big 12 season, where they will kick off the season Friday night at 6pm vs Alabama State, before welcoming Xavier, (Saturday 6 pm), and Indiana State (Sunday 3 pm) to Fifth Third Arena.
On Joining The Big 12
“It’s really exciting. You feel like you’re finally there. We can only do so much as far as scheduling with our non-conference pieces to mimic what that next level looks like. That’s one thing people would say about me, I schedule really hard non-conference opponents. If you want to be at that level, you have to play at that level, and we’ve scheduled that way with non-conference games in the past. Now, you have to do that over a long period of time, but we are excited. There’s no question about that. The level of the volleyball in Big 12 is huge. They have the previous national champion Texas in the Big 12. The volleyball is tremendous. It’s a whole different ballgame. You have to be right in the mix of everything. Your goal is to get to the tournament. So, I think it opens up so many doors, the coaches are unbelievable as well. The value that the conference puts on the sport is tremendous. It is an important sport. You wouldn’t have a national championship team out of it if it wasn’t important.”
