TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team opens Big 12 Conference play with a road trip to Orlando, Fla., as they take on the UCF Knights on Wednesday night.
Both programs enter their third year as members of the Big 12 and are both led by first-year head coaches.
MILESTONE WATCH
Cincinnati head coach Danijela Tomić earned her 400th career victory as a head coach as she led the Bearcats to a 3-1 win over Illinois State on Saturday.
She joins an elite group of 47 Division I coaches who have 400 or more victories.
Senior outside hitter Carly Glendinning is just three shy of 150 career blocks.
Junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan is on track to surpass 600 career kills as she sits at 597.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams have met a total of 28 times, the first meeting dating back to 1978.
Both teams were former members of the American Athletic Conference and made the move to the Big 12 in 2023.
UCF leads the overall series 10-18, but Cincinnati has won the last two matchups, completing the 2024 series sweep.
The Bearcats and Knights have met every year since 2012.
CAREER WEEKEND AT THE BALL STATE TOURNAMENT
Two Bearcats recorded career-high numbers in Cincinnati’s five-set thriller vs. Ball State on Sept. 18.
Sophomore Lilly Gillespie notched 27 digs vs. the Cardinals, 14 coming in just the first two sets.
Following suit, fellow sophomore Gretchen Sigman recorded 13 kills.
The following day, Sigman went on to set a new career-high of 20 kills against Eastern Kentucky, notching her fourth double-digit kill performance of the season.
QB1 SPIES
Sophomore transfer Andi Spies has been a strong force in the net this season, leading the offense. Spies has recorded 30+ assists in eight consecutive matches.
Against Ball State, she dished out 44 assists, her second match this season with 40+ (first was vs. Jacksonville State with 46).
Spies followed up with notching 47 assists in Cincinnati’s victory over Eastern Kentucky.
She has recorded a double-double (assists and digs) three times this season, including UC’s last two matches.
Spies’ career-high comes from Middle Tennessee, where she notched 55 against Louisiana Tech on 10/24/24.