TicketsCINCINNATI — The Cincinnati volleyball team travels to Boulder, Colo., to face Colorado on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at the CU Events Center, then returns to Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, Nov. 1, to host West Virginia at 1 p.m. ET.
Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
// SERIES HISTORY
Colorado leads the all-time series 2-1. In the last meeting, Cincinnati swept the then-No. 21 Buffaloes, led by Sydney Nolan’s 19 kills (.531).
West Virginia owns a 17-4 advantage in the all-time series with Cincinnati. The Mountaineers beat the Bearcats earlier this season 3-1 on Oct. 16 in Morgantown (25-21, 25-14, 27-29, 25-19), hitting .366 in the match.
// NOLAN, NINOVA EARN BIG 12 WEEK 9 AWARDS
Nolan was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 5.25 kills per set on .298 hitting across two matches. She had a career-best 30 kills against Arizona, the most by a conference player this season, and followed it with 16 kills on .417 hitting against Kansas State. Freshman libero Viktoria Ninova earned a spot on the Big 12 Starting Seven, averaging 5.25 digs per set during the week’s sweep. She had a career-high 34 digs against Arizona, the most by a Big 12 player in a match this year.
// DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS VS. ARIZONA
Cincinnati had 110 digs against Arizona, the most by a Big 12 team this season and a program record in the rally-scoring era. Four Bearcats reached double-digit digs. Ninova had 34, Andrea Simovski 22, Ava Ledebuhr 15 and Kate Lijic 10. Cincinnati won 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 15-11) despite being out-blocked 16-5, rallying from a 2-1 deficit and a 24-22 hole in the fourth set.
// 20/20 VISION FOR SIMOVSKI
Junior outside hitter Simovski had a season-high 24 kills and a career-best 22 digs against Arizona. She is the first Power 4 player in the nation this season with 20-plus kills and 20-plus digs in a single match. It was her third double-double of the year, along with 13 kills and 13 digs against Illinois and 11 kills and 10 digs against Houston.
// PERFORMING AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL
Nolan and Lijic have been among the nation’s best this season. Nolan has one 30-kill match and six 20-plus-kill matches:
- 30 kills in the five-set win over Arizona, the most by a Big 12 player this season
- 25 kills in the reverse-sweep win at Illinois, the fifth-most in a Big 12 five-set match
- 23 kills against Michigan, the most in a Big 12 three-set match
- 21 kills each against West Virginia, UCF and Xavier
She ranks 16th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 in kills per set (4.43).
Lijic ranks fifth in the Big 12 and 70th nationally in assists per set (9.64). She set her career high with 54 assists against Illinois and had 43 assists and 10 digs against Arizona.
// EFFICIENT ATTACKING
The Bearcats have the sixth-highest team hitting percentage in the Big 12 and rank 38th nationally at .258. They own two of the five most efficient attacking matches in the conference: a .477 clip (42-8-76) against Syracuse on Aug. 29 and a .435 clip (53-6-108) against Ball State on Sept. 15.
Cincinnati hit .447 against Syracuse, led by Simovski’s 11 kills on .500 hitting. Nina Scrucca added nine kills on .368 hitting, Nolan and Audrey Rome each had six kills, and Lilian Entenmann had five kills on an .833 clip.
Against Ball State, Nolan led three Bearcats in double figures with 14 kills. Scrucca added 13 on .591 hitting and Izzy Busignani had 10. Scrucca also had a career-high 17 kills against Xavier while hitting .652, the sixth-best single-match hitting percentage by a Big 12 player this season.
// NEWCOMER IMPACT
Cincinnati has received significant contributions from its newcomers, with juniors Lijic and Simovski and freshmen Ninova and Scrucca making immediate impacts. Lijic has 40-plus assists in six matches and 30-plus in 12. Ninova leads Cincinnati in digs with 237 (3.76 per set), ranks fourth in the Big 12 in digs per set, and has had 10-plus digs in 13 matches. She and Lijic lead the team in service aces with 20 each. Scrucca is second on the team in kills with 165 (2.66 per set) on a .280 clip.
// CINCINNATI DIGS DEEP
Cincinnati ranks fourth in the Big 12 in digs per set (14.03). Ninova’s 18 digs (6.0 per set) against Michigan and Ball State are each tied for the sixth-best by a conference player in a three-set match. The Bearcats’ 59 digs against Michigan on Sept. 5 are the third-most in a three-set match by a Big 12 team this season.
// PINPOINT ACCURACY
Cincinnati is averaging 1.75 aces per set, the second-best mark in the Big 12 and 57th nationally. The Bearcats had 12 aces against Illinois, the second-most by a conference team this season. Scrucca had five of those, the second-most in a five-set match and the third-most by a conference player in any match this season. Simovski and Ninova each had four aces against Syracuse, and Nolan had four against Houston.
// RECAPPING LAST MATCH
Cincinnati beat Arizona 3-2 on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Fifth Third Arena (25-16, 19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 15-11). Nolan had a career-high 30 kills, her sixth 20-plus-kill match of the season. Simovski had 24 kills and 22 digs, Ninova had 34 digs and Lijic had 43 assists. Destin Ndam-Simpson led Arizona with 19 kills, 19 digs and three blocks. The win improved Cincinnati to 10-8 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12, and the Bearcats have won two straight.
// SCOUTING THE BUFFALOES
Colorado (14-5, 5-4 Big 12) is led by 11th-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, who is 178-140 (.560) at CU and 358-219 (.620) in 19 seasons overall. The Buffaloes dropped out of the AVCA-Taraflex Coaches Poll this week after nine straight weeks ranked.
The strength of this team is at the net. Colorado leads the Big 12 in blocks per set (3.01), fifth nationally, and has held that top spot for seven straight weeks. Middle blocker Cayla Payne is second in the league at 1.33 blocks per set.
Pin attacker Ana Burilovic is the top offensive threat, ranking fifth in the Big 12 in points per set (4.78) and seventh in both kills per set (4.11) and aces per set (0.42). She reached 150 career aces in the Buffaloes’ last match, against Utah, when Colorado had 14 blocks and no blocking errors. Setter Jenna Ylivainio is fourth in the conference in assists per set (9.68), and libero Tinons Munar Galmes is 10th in digs per set (3.40).
// SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia (11-8, 4-5 Big 12) visits Fifth Third Arena on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, one day after the Mountaineers play at Iowa State on Friday. Third-year head coach Jen Greeny is 34-44 at WVU and 381-243 in 19 seasons overall.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-1 win over Arizona on Oct. 23 in which they hit .374, their best Big 12 hitting percentage in program history. Freshman outside hitter Macie Smith earned Big 12 Starting Seven honors for a 15-kill, zero-error night, the first by a WVU freshman. Her season stats: 2.09 kills per set.
Senior outside hitter Nina Horning, a former Bearcat who played at Cincinnati in 2023 and 2024, leads the team with 269 kills (3.41 per set) and 303.0 points. She had 20 kills against Arizona. Senior middle blocker Maddy McGath hits a team-best .306 and has 77 blocks, and freshman middle blocker Mirjam Karoliine Kask leads the team at 1.12 blocks per set. Senior setter Alexis Finnvold has 527 assists (6.67 per set) and recently passed 1,500 for her career. Freshman libero Reagan Turk leads the Big 12 freshmen with 283 digs (3.58 per set).
As a team, West Virginia ranks third in the Big 12 in assists (928) and fourth in kills (985). It beat then-No. 9 Arizona State 3-2 on Sept. 25, the highest-ranked win in program history.
// GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY
Single-match tickets are $15 for courtside seating, based on availability, and $10 for general admission. Group general admission tickets are available for $5. Family 4-Packs are also available for all weekend matches (Friday through Sunday), which include four tickets and a $20 concession voucher.
To secure your spots for the upcoming season, click HERE to purchase your tickets online, or contact the Bearcats Ticket Office at 513-556-2287 today.