The University of Arizona volleyball team (16-12, 10-8 in Big 12) will face the University of Cincinnati at home for its final game of the season on Friday, Nov. 28, at 3 p.m. in McKale Center. This is the Senior Day game to pay tribute to the seniors for all their hard work and dedication over their years in the Arizona volleyball program.
History vs. Cincinnati
Arizona and Cincinnati have a short history as this is only the second time they have fought each other. The teams met last on Nov. 14, 2024, in Ohio in the Fifth Third Arena, where the Wildcats dominated in four sets.
Cincinnati this season
Cincinnati is currently 15-12 for their regular season and 7-10 in their conference season. Before heading down to Tucson, Cincinnati faced the Wildcats’ rivals, ASU, in Tempe on Wednesday, Nov. 26. The Bearcats lost to the Sun Devils in four sets. They recently beat the University of Colorado, Boulder in five sets at home before they went on the road for their last two games of the season.
This season, junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan has been leading offense for the Bearcats, totaling the highest amount of kills at 426. In the lead for defense is sophomore libero/defensive specialist Lilly Gillespie who has totaled 368 digs with 3.75 digs per set.
In December 2024, Cincinnati made significant changes to their head coaching staff. It was announced that former coach Molly Alvey would not be returning next season, and Danijela Tomić would be taking her place as head coach. In January, Tomić added two new assistant coaches to their staff, Alison Cooke and Sean Drexl.
Arizona this season
The Wildcats are coming into this match off of a clean sweep victory against West Virginia University. Arizona dominated this match, winning the third set 25-12. Leading offense for the Wildcats was senior Jordan Wilson who tallied 13 kills and 1 ace for Arizona. Adrianna Bridges was also essential to this win for defensive efforts, gathering six blocks for the Wildcats.
Before this comeback game and getting their momentum back, Arizona lost three consecutive games on the road about two weeks ago. They lost to ASU for the second time this season then headed up to Utah to take on BYU and the University of Utah. Arizona lost in four sets to BYU and five sets to Utah.
As they come into the last game of the season, Arizona needs to maintain the confidence and momentum from their previous win against West Virginia. The Wildcats are going to want to finish their season strong with a Senior Day victory.
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