PREVIEW: Volleyball hosts Xavier Thursday, Travels to Oxford Saturday

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team is back in action this week. The Bearcats will play in their last two non-conference matchups before beginning American Athletic Conference (AAC) play. 
 
Cincinnati (3-3) is coming off three games at the Notre Dame Tournament where they went 2-1, defeating Notre Dame (3-1) and Bowling Green (3-2) but falling to Milwaukee (1-3). 
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS

• The Bearcats earned their first top 25 victory of the season when they defeated Notre Dame in four sets September 4th.
• Maria Mallon was named to the Notre Dame All-Tournament team after posting 55 total kills, 70 total digs and 58.5 points between the three matches. Mallon tied her career high for kills in a single match against Notre Dame (24) and had another career high in digs (32) against Bowling Green. She was also named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week.
• Kailea Carrier was also named to the Notre Dame All-Tournament team after posting 13 blocks, 1.08 blocks per set and a .356 hitting percentage across the three matches. 
• Sarah Norcom set a new career high in kills (16) against Notre Dame. 
• Another career high was set by Emme Madden, who recorded 60 assists in the win against Notre Dame. 
• Shannon Williams had 34 kills total on the weekend, recording 11 or 12 in every match.

 
GAMES THIS WEEKEND
Cincinnati vs. Xavier – Cincinnati, Ohio / Fifth Third Arena – Thursday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. ET | WATCH - LIVESTATS
Doors open 60 minutes prior to game time | Admission is free thanks to Experience UC

• Xavier is 4-4 on the season. It is coming off a loss (0-3) to No. 10 Louisville this past Saturday at its own Xavier University Tournament, where the Musketeers also played Lipscomb, defeating them 3-2. 
• As a team, Xavier is outscoring its opponents 461-444 on the season. The Musketeers have 368 kills compared to their opponents' 348 kills. 
• Xavier is led on the on offensive side by Moriah Hopkins and Kelly Franxman, who have 71 and 67 kills on the year, respectively. 
• On the defensive side, the block leaders for the Musketeers are Delaney Hogan (25) and Ellie Chaffee (24).
• Stevie Wolf has a team-leading 139 digs.
• UC leads the all-time series against Xavier 26-12. Xavier won the last matchup 1-3, which was played on Feb. 6, 2021.

Cincinnati vs. Miami (OH) – Oxford, Ohio – Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET | LIVESTATS

• The RedHawks have started this season 2-6, dropping their last two games. 
• Sophie Riemersma leads the team with 76 kills, closely followed by Gaby Harper, who has 74.
• Gracie Norris has 148 assists on the year and Brooke Cirigliano has a team-high 0.77 blocks per set.
• Miami (OH) has been outscored by opponents 353-396 this year. 
• The RedHawks average 16 digs per set but are getting out blocked by opponents, 51-74.
• The Bearcats lead the all-time series between these two teams 22-15. The last matchup was Aug. 25, 2018, when Miami (OH) won 2-3. 
• The game will be streamed via MiamiRedhawks.com, you can click here to watch.

TRAVELING TO OXFORD
If you are planning on making the trip up to Oxford for the Bearcats vs Redhawks matchup, here is the gameday information: 

• Doors open 60 minutes before match time.
• You can purchase tickets to the game here.
• Parking is free, but there is a home football game that day at 3:30 p.m., so there will be some traffic around Millett Hall. Plan accordingly.
• Here is the link to the Healthy Together/COVID-19 Campus Update Site: https://miamioh.edu/covid19/index.html 
• Masks are required indoors due to COVID-19.

FOLLOW THE BEARCATS 
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.