Volleyball Ready for Season Opening Weekend in Dayton

CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team is ready to head right up the road to Dayton, Ohio for a three game tournament from August 27-28th to start off the 2021 fall season.

The three day tournament gets started with a 12:30 p.m. ET matchup against Dayton on Friday, August 27th in the Frericks Center. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
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The Bearcats then quickly get set for a Friday night matchup against Texas State at 7:00 p.m. ET in University of Dayton's UD Arena. The game will not be aired but you can follow live-stats and social media for game updates.  LIVESTATS

And then the team rounds out the weekend facing off against the 2020 NCAA Champions and #3 ranked Kentucky Wildcats Saturday, August 28th at 12/noon ET in the Frericks Center. The game will not be aired but you can follow live-stats and social media for game updates. LIVESTATS

INFORMATION FOR THOSE ATTENDING THE MATCHES

• University of Dayton does not ticket for volleyball. All matches are open to the public at no charge. At this time, there are no restrictions on fan attendance. 
• Frericks Center gym is NOT air conditioned. Please dress accordingly. Forecasted highs are 92 for both days.
• For the first two matches on Friday, there will be no open parking. Those attending will either have to find street parking or park in U lot and take the shuttle over to campus. Map can be found here. For the remaining matches at Frericks Center, folks can park in the two P lots in front of the building and on the side of the Cronin Center. 
• The Cincinnati vs. Texas State match Friday night at 7 p.m. played in UD Arena has no parking restrictions.
• The University does have a mask mandate in place and masks are required inside Frericks Center and UD Arena unless you are inside the gym. While masks are not required inside the gym, it is recommended that you wear them.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS

• Molly Alvey is back for her 10th season as head coach of the Bearcats. After an unusual season last year, she is looking for get the team back into its 2019 form, where they finished with a 27-7 overall record along with a 15-1 conference record. The Bearcats were the 2019 outright AAC Champions and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons, making it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history.
• The Bearcats were 6-7 last year with a 4-4 conference record in a shortened and unorthodox spring season. 
• Madison Waters, who led the team with 112 kills, is back this year, along with Maria Mallon, who led the team in kills per set with 3.35 and earned Second Team All-AAC honors. Adria Oliver is also back for the Bearcats after also earning Second Team All-AAC while leading the Bearcats in blocks (29) and finishing second in kills (95). 
• Maria Mallon is 164 kills and 311 digs away from joining Jordan Thompson, Carly Nolan, and six other Bearcats' in the 1,000 kills / 1,000 digs club.

SCOUTING THE DAYTON FLYERS

• Dayton went 14-2 last season, with the only losses being in its first (Saint Louis) and last (No. 6 seeded Washington) games of the year. They were 8-1 in conference games, and undefeated at home (7-0). 
  • The loss at the end of the year to Washington came in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
• Dayton is returning Jamie Peterson, redshirt senior, who led the Flyers in kills last season (240). They also return Lexie Almodovar, Amelia Moore and Alayna Yates, who were second, third and fourth on the team in kills, respectively. In addition, Maura Collins, who led the team in digs (232) will return. 
• Matchup History: 24-22-1 all-time vs. Dayton. Last matchup was on October 30, 2019, where UC won 3-1.

SCOUTING THE TEXAS STATE BOBCATS

• Texas State went 31-9 last season with a 15-1 conference record. Its season ended with a loss to No. 5 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 
• They will return Janell Fitzgerald, who led the team in kills (483), Tyeranee Scott (2nd in kills, 325), Caitlan Buettner (3rd in kills, 270), Lauren Teske (4th in kills, 225) and Jillian Slaughter (5th in kills, 197). Also returning Emily DeWalt, who led the team in assists with 1,501 and was 2nd in digs with 415. Her 1,501 assists were the most in the nation in Division-1. 
• Matchup History: 0-1 vs. Texas State. The only matchup was in 2017,  where UC lost 3-2.

SCOUTING THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS

• Kentucky won the national championship last season, beating Texas 3-1 in the final. 
• The Wildcats ended their season with a 24-1 record, with their only loss coming against Florida, 2-3. 
• All Stumler, who led the team in kills last season (364), is back for this year. The Wildcats also return Azhani Tealer and Madi Skinner, who were third and fourth on the team in kills, respectively. 
• Matchup History: 8-15 all-time vs. Kentucky. Last matchup was on August 26, 2017, with Kentucky winning 3-0. 

FOLLOW THE BEARCATS 
For all the latest information on Cincinnati volleyball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.