Bearcats Head West to Boulder Before Returning Home for West Virginia Clash
The Cincinnati volleyball team is packing its bags for a trip to Boulder, Colorado, where the Bearcats will face the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at the CU Events Center. The opening leg of this road swing leads right into a quick turnaround back to Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. ET to host West Virginia. Both matches will stream live on ESPN+.
The road trip arrives just as Cincinnati finds its stride following a five-set win over Arizona on Oct. 25. That victory brought the Bearcats to 10-8 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 play, and the Bearcats have won two straight. Freshman libero Viktoria Ninova anchored that effort with a career-high 34 digs against Arizona, marking the most by any Big 12 player in a single match this season and earning her a spot on the Big 12 Starting Seven.
Alongside Ninova, junior outside hitter Andrea Simovski put up a historic stat line with 24 kills and 22 digs, making her the first Power 4 player in the nation this season to notch 20-plus kills and 20-plus digs in a single match. Junior setter Kate Lijic distributed 43 assists, while Sydney Nolan hammered down a career-high 30 kills. That performance earned Nolan the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor after she averaged 5.25 kills per set on .298 hitting across the week’s matches.
Defending the Net in Boulder
Colorado enters Thursday’s matchup holding a 14-5 overall record and a 5-4 mark in conference play under 11th-year head coach Jesse Mahoney. The Buffaloes recently dropped out of the AVCA-Taraflex Coaches Poll after spending nine straight weeks ranked. Their strength remains at the net, where they lead the Big 12 and rank fifth nationally with 3.01 blocks per set, a top spot they have held for seven straight weeks.
Middle blocker Cayla Payne anchors that frontline defense by ranking second in the conference with 1.33 blocks per set. Offensively, pin attacker Ana Burilovic powers the Buffaloes as the seventh-leading attacker in the Big 12 with 4.11 kills per set and fifth in points per set at 4.78. When Cincinnati last met Colorado, the Bearcats swept a then-No. 21 Buffaloes squad behind a stellar 19-kill performance from Nolan hitting .531, though Colorado still holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.
Mountaineers Await Sunday at Fifth Third Arena
After wrapping up in Colorado, Cincinnati returns home to face West Virginia on Sunday afternoon. The Mountaineers enter the week at 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12, led by third-year head coach Jen Greeny. West Virginia plays at Iowa State on Friday before traveling to Cincinnati for the 1 p.m. ET showdown.
West Virginia holds a 17-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a 3-1 victory earlier this season on Oct. 16 in Morgantown where the Mountaineers hit .366. The visitors lean heavily on former Bearcat Nina Horning, a senior outside hitter who played in Cincinnati in 2023 and 2024. Horning paces West Virginia this year with 269 kills, averaging 3.41 per set, and is coming off a 20-kill night against Arizona.
For Cincinnati, efficient attacking will be vital to breaking through West Virginia’s defense, which features freshman middle blocker Mirjam Karoliine Kask leading the team with 1.12 blocks per set. The Bearcats currently rank sixth in the Big 12 and 38th nationally with a .258 team hitting percentage, helped by early-season matches like their .477 clip against Syracuse and .435 against Ball State. Single-match tickets are available through the Bearcats Ticket Office for $15 for courtside seating and $10 for general admission, with family 4-packs and group options also on offer.
