TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will open the 2022 season with the inaugural Tribute to #10 tournament, scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Bearcats will host 2021 NCAA Tournament teams Illinois State, Dayton and Florida State for the six-match, three-day tournament, with the latter two teams each receiving votes in this year's preseason poll.
UC kicks off Tribute to #10 at 11 a.m. on Friday against Illinois State. The Bearcats will then face Dayton at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night, which will also serve as the tribute match for former UC volleyball student-athlete and coach Stephanie Meinig-Rosfeld. Cincinnati wraps up the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against Florida State on Sunday.
Cincinnati's matches will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+ and all matches can be followed via live stats. For the full tournament schedule, visit the tournament central here.
// INAUGURAL TRIBUTE TO #10
UC announced that its home tournament will be renamed Tribute to #10 in honor of former volleyball student-athlete and coach Stephanie Meinig-Rosfeld. Meinig-Rosfeld was a standout middle hitter for the Bearcats from 1997-00, who also served as an assistant coach for the program before passing away in 2004. A two-time First Team All-Conference USA selection, Meinig-Rosfeld still holds the C-USA record for total blocks (593). She also holds Cincinnati's record for most games played (502) and ranks second in program history in total blocks (593) and block assists (518).
// WALKER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Sophomore middle blocker Abby Walker was named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. She was named the 2021 AAC Freshman of the Year after an impressive rookie campaign. She was the second-ever Bearcat to win the honor, and the first to do so since Jordan Thompson in 2015. She also garnered Second Team All-Conference honors. She started and played in every match (28) and set (113) as a freshman. She finished with 286 kills, 73 blocks and 39 service aces to go along with a .312 hitting percentage. She finished fifth in the conference in service aces (39), eighth in hitting percentage (.312) and 17th in kills per set (2.53).
// CINCINNATI PICKED TO FINISH THIRD BY CONFERENCE COACHES
The Bearcats were picked to finish third in the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll with 77 points, behind preseason favorite UCF (100) and Houston (88). UC finished third in league standings in 2021 with an overall record of 19-9 and AAC mark of 14-6.
// STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Bearcats will face seven 2021 NCAA Tournament teams this season: Illinois State, RV Dayton, RV Florida State, No. 6 Pitt, No. 10 BYU, South Carolina and RV UCF. UC will see three of those teams in its season-opening home tournament at Fifth Third Arena. Dayton and Florida State are receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll while Illinois State was the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference champion.
The Bearcats will continue non-conference play at the BYU Tournament (Sept. 2-3) where they will face No. 6 Pitt, No. 10 BYU and Utah State. No. 6 Pitt reached the national semifinals a season ago before falling to Nebraska, 3-1. No. 10 BYU is coming off a 30-2 season in 2021, going a perfect 18-0 in conference and reaching its second straight NCAA Sweet 16.
UC will also take on 2021 NCAA Tournament participant South Carolina for a pair of matches on Sept. 9-10 in Columbia, S.C.
// SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series, 13-5-1. The two teams last met in 2020-21, splitting a pair of matches. UC holds a slim advantage in the all-time series against Dayton, 24-23-1, but fell to the Flyers a season ago, 3-2. Florida State leads the all-time series, 16-3. The two teams will be meeting for the first time since 2018 when Bearcats defeated the Seminoles, 3-2, for its first win over FSU since 1982.
// RETURNING TALENT
The Bearcats return 11 letterwinners from a season ago. The roster features the return of sophomore duo Emme Madden and Abby Walker. Madden, team leader in assists, ranked sixth in the AAC with 9.49 assists per set in 2021. Walker ranked seventh in the AAC in hitting percentage (.312) to go along with 2.53 kills per set. Anchoring UC's backline will be senior libero Payton Frederick. Frederick appeared in 110 sets last season, registering 380 total digs – good for 3.62 digs per set.
// FRESH FACES
Cincinnati welcomes six newcomers to the 2022 roster, including four true freshmen and two transfers. UC's freshman class features outside hitters Carly Glendinning (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) and Paige Pickering (Downers Grove, Ill.), setter Caroline Endres (Cincinnati, Ohio) and right side Avry Tatum (Cardiff, Calif.). Transfers Shaye Eggleston (Alabama) and Elissa Alcantara (Florida Southwestern CC) also join the Bearcats.
// UP NEXT
UC will head to Provo, Utah for the BYU Tournament where they will face No. 10 BYU, No. 6 Pitt and Utah State.
The Bearcats will host 2021 NCAA Tournament teams Illinois State, Dayton and Florida State for the six-match, three-day tournament, with the latter two teams each receiving votes in this year's preseason poll.
UC kicks off Tribute to #10 at 11 a.m. on Friday against Illinois State. The Bearcats will then face Dayton at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night, which will also serve as the tribute match for former UC volleyball student-athlete and coach Stephanie Meinig-Rosfeld. Cincinnati wraps up the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against Florida State on Sunday.
Cincinnati's matches will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+ and all matches can be followed via live stats. For the full tournament schedule, visit the tournament central here.
// INAUGURAL TRIBUTE TO #10
UC announced that its home tournament will be renamed Tribute to #10 in honor of former volleyball student-athlete and coach Stephanie Meinig-Rosfeld. Meinig-Rosfeld was a standout middle hitter for the Bearcats from 1997-00, who also served as an assistant coach for the program before passing away in 2004. A two-time First Team All-Conference USA selection, Meinig-Rosfeld still holds the C-USA record for total blocks (593). She also holds Cincinnati's record for most games played (502) and ranks second in program history in total blocks (593) and block assists (518).
// WALKER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Sophomore middle blocker Abby Walker was named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. She was named the 2021 AAC Freshman of the Year after an impressive rookie campaign. She was the second-ever Bearcat to win the honor, and the first to do so since Jordan Thompson in 2015. She also garnered Second Team All-Conference honors. She started and played in every match (28) and set (113) as a freshman. She finished with 286 kills, 73 blocks and 39 service aces to go along with a .312 hitting percentage. She finished fifth in the conference in service aces (39), eighth in hitting percentage (.312) and 17th in kills per set (2.53).
// CINCINNATI PICKED TO FINISH THIRD BY CONFERENCE COACHES
The Bearcats were picked to finish third in the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll with 77 points, behind preseason favorite UCF (100) and Houston (88). UC finished third in league standings in 2021 with an overall record of 19-9 and AAC mark of 14-6.
// STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Bearcats will face seven 2021 NCAA Tournament teams this season: Illinois State, RV Dayton, RV Florida State, No. 6 Pitt, No. 10 BYU, South Carolina and RV UCF. UC will see three of those teams in its season-opening home tournament at Fifth Third Arena. Dayton and Florida State are receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll while Illinois State was the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference champion.
The Bearcats will continue non-conference play at the BYU Tournament (Sept. 2-3) where they will face No. 6 Pitt, No. 10 BYU and Utah State. No. 6 Pitt reached the national semifinals a season ago before falling to Nebraska, 3-1. No. 10 BYU is coming off a 30-2 season in 2021, going a perfect 18-0 in conference and reaching its second straight NCAA Sweet 16.
UC will also take on 2021 NCAA Tournament participant South Carolina for a pair of matches on Sept. 9-10 in Columbia, S.C.
// SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series, 13-5-1. The two teams last met in 2020-21, splitting a pair of matches. UC holds a slim advantage in the all-time series against Dayton, 24-23-1, but fell to the Flyers a season ago, 3-2. Florida State leads the all-time series, 16-3. The two teams will be meeting for the first time since 2018 when Bearcats defeated the Seminoles, 3-2, for its first win over FSU since 1982.
// RETURNING TALENT
The Bearcats return 11 letterwinners from a season ago. The roster features the return of sophomore duo Emme Madden and Abby Walker. Madden, team leader in assists, ranked sixth in the AAC with 9.49 assists per set in 2021. Walker ranked seventh in the AAC in hitting percentage (.312) to go along with 2.53 kills per set. Anchoring UC's backline will be senior libero Payton Frederick. Frederick appeared in 110 sets last season, registering 380 total digs – good for 3.62 digs per set.
// FRESH FACES
Cincinnati welcomes six newcomers to the 2022 roster, including four true freshmen and two transfers. UC's freshman class features outside hitters Carly Glendinning (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) and Paige Pickering (Downers Grove, Ill.), setter Caroline Endres (Cincinnati, Ohio) and right side Avry Tatum (Cardiff, Calif.). Transfers Shaye Eggleston (Alabama) and Elissa Alcantara (Florida Southwestern CC) also join the Bearcats.
// UP NEXT
UC will head to Provo, Utah for the BYU Tournament where they will face No. 10 BYU, No. 6 Pitt and Utah State.