TicketsUniversity of Cincinnati volleyball heads to Pittsburgh this week for NCAA Tournament action. The Bearcats will open with a first-round contest against VCU at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 6. The winner of that match and the Pittsburgh/Howard match will then face off on Saturday, December 7 at 7 p.m. in the second round.
UC is making its 12th NCAA appearance all-time and its third in the past four years. The Bearcats were also an at-large selection in 2016 and 2018.
// COVERAGE
• All three matches will be aired online at ESPN3
• The host Panthers will provide live stats at PittsburghPanthers.com
// TICKETS
• An all-session pass can be purchased for $20 for adults and $15 for youth and seniors
• Single-match tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth and seniors
• All matches will be played at the Petersen Events Center
// BEARCATS VERSUS THE FIELD
• The Bearcats are 2-0 all-time against VCU with the meetings coming in 1987 and 1977
• UC won 2-0 the first meeting and 3-0 in 1987
• The Rams enter the NCAA postseason at 24-6 after losing in four sets to Dayton in the A-10 Tournament championship match.
• UC began the 2019 season at Pitt in the Panther Challenge
• The Bearcats fell 3-0 to the then No. 16 Panthers in the second game of the season
• UC is 9-9 all-time against Pitt
• The Panthers are ranked No. 2 in the nation in the latest AVCA ranking and hold the No. 6 overall seed in the tournament
• Howard is 20-12 this season and won its fifth MEAC title this year
• It is the Bison's sixth NCAA appearance
• UC and Howard have never met on the volleyball court.
// NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• The Bearcats are making their 12th NCAA appearance with five victories in the tournament
• Last season, UC traveled to Marquette where it swept Illinois in the opening round and advanced to the second round for the fifth time in program history
• The season ended at the hands of national-host Marquette in a 3-0 loss
• UC faced Florida State in 2016 in Gainesville, Florida, and lost to the No. 16 Seminoles 3-1
• Prior to that, UC beat Samford 3-2 in 2011 before dropping a 3-2 decision to Florida State
• The Bearcats also earned a NCAA victory in 2010 when they defeated Western Kentucky in straight sets before falling at No. 14 Illinois 3-1
• UC also made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009, 2008, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1981
• The Bearcats are the only AAC team to ever receive and at-large bid into the tournament and have now earned it three times in the past four years
// ALVEY APPROACHING A MILESTONE
• With one more win, Head Coach Molly Alvey will earn her 200th victory as a head coach
• Alvey earned her first 24 wins in one season at Southern Indiana and went on to go 28-24 at Houston in two seasons
• At Cincinnati, Alvey currently holds a 137-189 record for a .535 win percentage through eight seasons
• She is currently in her 11th season overall as a head coach with a record of 199-150 for a win percentage of .571
// ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
• For an unprecedented third time, Jordan Thompson was the unanimous AAC Player of the Year
• Thompson once again leads the nation in kills, kills per set, points and points per set
• She became the AAC career leader in kills last season and the UC leader this season
• She holds the AAC and UC records for single-season and single-match kills, resetting the latter with a 50 kill match this season, becoming just the seventh player in the NCAA to ever do so
• In the final regular season match, Thompson reached 2,500 career kills, putting her at No. 9 in the NCAA record book
• She is also on pace to become the first player in UC history to ever average more than 5.00 kills per set in her career
• Maria Mallon landed on the All-AAC First Team for the second-straight year
• The sophomore ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set, third in aces, fourth in points and 13th in digs per set, proving to be an all-around threat
• Armania Heckenmueller leads the nation in assists per set and has led the Bearcats to the fourth-best hitting percentage in the nation, earning herself a spot on the All-AAC Second Team
• Adria Oliver also was named to the second team as she leads the conference in hitting percentage entering the weekend
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
UC is making its 12th NCAA appearance all-time and its third in the past four years. The Bearcats were also an at-large selection in 2016 and 2018.
// COVERAGE
• All three matches will be aired online at ESPN3
• The host Panthers will provide live stats at PittsburghPanthers.com
// TICKETS
• An all-session pass can be purchased for $20 for adults and $15 for youth and seniors
• Single-match tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth and seniors
• All matches will be played at the Petersen Events Center
// BEARCATS VERSUS THE FIELD
• The Bearcats are 2-0 all-time against VCU with the meetings coming in 1987 and 1977
• UC won 2-0 the first meeting and 3-0 in 1987
• The Rams enter the NCAA postseason at 24-6 after losing in four sets to Dayton in the A-10 Tournament championship match.
• UC began the 2019 season at Pitt in the Panther Challenge
• The Bearcats fell 3-0 to the then No. 16 Panthers in the second game of the season
• UC is 9-9 all-time against Pitt
• The Panthers are ranked No. 2 in the nation in the latest AVCA ranking and hold the No. 6 overall seed in the tournament
• Howard is 20-12 this season and won its fifth MEAC title this year
• It is the Bison's sixth NCAA appearance
• UC and Howard have never met on the volleyball court.
// NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• The Bearcats are making their 12th NCAA appearance with five victories in the tournament
• Last season, UC traveled to Marquette where it swept Illinois in the opening round and advanced to the second round for the fifth time in program history
• The season ended at the hands of national-host Marquette in a 3-0 loss
• UC faced Florida State in 2016 in Gainesville, Florida, and lost to the No. 16 Seminoles 3-1
• Prior to that, UC beat Samford 3-2 in 2011 before dropping a 3-2 decision to Florida State
• The Bearcats also earned a NCAA victory in 2010 when they defeated Western Kentucky in straight sets before falling at No. 14 Illinois 3-1
• UC also made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009, 2008, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1981
• The Bearcats are the only AAC team to ever receive and at-large bid into the tournament and have now earned it three times in the past four years
// ALVEY APPROACHING A MILESTONE
• With one more win, Head Coach Molly Alvey will earn her 200th victory as a head coach
• Alvey earned her first 24 wins in one season at Southern Indiana and went on to go 28-24 at Houston in two seasons
• At Cincinnati, Alvey currently holds a 137-189 record for a .535 win percentage through eight seasons
• She is currently in her 11th season overall as a head coach with a record of 199-150 for a win percentage of .571
// ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
• For an unprecedented third time, Jordan Thompson was the unanimous AAC Player of the Year
• Thompson once again leads the nation in kills, kills per set, points and points per set
• She became the AAC career leader in kills last season and the UC leader this season
• She holds the AAC and UC records for single-season and single-match kills, resetting the latter with a 50 kill match this season, becoming just the seventh player in the NCAA to ever do so
• In the final regular season match, Thompson reached 2,500 career kills, putting her at No. 9 in the NCAA record book
• She is also on pace to become the first player in UC history to ever average more than 5.00 kills per set in her career
• Maria Mallon landed on the All-AAC First Team for the second-straight year
• The sophomore ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set, third in aces, fourth in points and 13th in digs per set, proving to be an all-around threat
• Armania Heckenmueller leads the nation in assists per set and has led the Bearcats to the fourth-best hitting percentage in the nation, earning herself a spot on the All-AAC Second Team
• Adria Oliver also was named to the second team as she leads the conference in hitting percentage entering the weekend
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.