It was another busy week across Cincinnati Athletics, with the Bearcats putting together strong performances on the football field and continuing their fall schedules across several other sports.
From a dominant football victory to a standout individual performance on the volleyball court and the unveiling of a new player-development facility for baseball, there was a lot happening around Clifton this week.
Football
Bearcats Throttle Catamounts in 62-10 Victory
The Cincinnati football team delivered one of its most dominant offensive performances of the season Saturday, cruising past Western Carolina, 62-10.
The Bearcats racked up 690 yards of total offense, including 418 yards on the ground. Cincinnati’s rushing total ranks sixth in single-game program history and marked the team’s highest rushing output since it ran for 419 yards against Xavier in 1970.
The 690 total yards also rank fifth in Cincinnati history for a single game and represent the most offensive production during the Scott Satterfield era.
Cincinnati’s ability to consistently move the ball on the ground allowed the Bearcats to control the game from start to finish, providing plenty of momentum as the team continues through its early-season schedule.
For a full breakdown of the victory, check out Hunter’s game recap and on-site photography below.
Women’s Volleyball
Lijic Earns Big 12 Starting Seven Honors
Cincinnati setter Kate Lijic was recognized by the Big 12 this week after an impressive showing at the Popcorn Classic, earning a spot on the conference’s Starting Seven.
Lijic helped lead the Bearcats to a 2-1 record and a runner-up finish at the tournament, which included sweeps over Valparaiso and Oakland. The junior was also named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.44 assists per set and recording 112 assists across nine sets.
The Split, Croatia native has been one of the conference’s top setters throughout the early portion of the season. Lijic currently leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally in assists per set at 11.50. She opened the season with a career-best 54 assists during Cincinnati’s reverse-sweep victory over Illinois.
Cincinnati Sweeps Morehead State
The Bearcats continued their strong start to the season Thursday, sweeping Morehead State at Johnson Arena.
Sophomore Izzy Busignani tied her career high with 16 kills, doing so on an impressive .406 hitting percentage. She also matched her career best with eight digs.
Sydney Nolan added 11 kills while hitting .476, while Nina Scrucca recorded nine kills on a .467 clip to go along with six digs and two blocks. Lijic finished with a match-high 42 assists, while Viktoria Ninova paced Cincinnati with 12 digs.
As a team, Cincinnati recorded 47 kills while hitting .387 and held Morehead State to 32 kills on a .196 clip. The Bearcats also dominated the digging battle, 51-27.
Cincinnati took control early in the opening set and never relinquished the momentum, winning 25-18. Morehead State made things more interesting in the second, but the Bearcats held on for a 25-23 victory. The third set remained competitive before Cincinnati pulled away late, closing out the sweep with a 25-20 win.
The victory moved Cincinnati to 5-2 on the season.
Bearcats Fall to Michigan State
Cincinnati faced its first setback of the weekend Friday, falling to undefeated Michigan State in straight sets at Johnson Arena.
Nolan led the Bearcats with 11 kills, six digs and a block, recording her fifth double-digit kill performance of the season.
Michigan State controlled the match statistically, finishing with 42 kills while hitting .364 compared to Cincinnati’s 29 kills and .122 hitting percentage. The Spartans also held advantages in service aces, digs and blocks.
The opening set was tightly contested, featuring 11 ties before Michigan State eventually created separation and won 25-20. The Spartans then used a 9-1 run to take control of the second set and finished with a 25-17 victory.
Michigan State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third and never allowed Cincinnati to recover, taking the final set 25-14.
The loss dropped the Bearcats to 5-3 on the season, while Michigan State remained unbeaten at 7-0.
Women’s Soccer
Cincinnati Draws Eastern Illinois on Sunday
The University of Cincinnati women’s soccer program played to a scoreless draw against Eastern Illinois on Sunday, moving the Bearcats to 2-2-3 on the season. Cincinnati controlled the offensive pace throughout the match, outshooting the Panthers 15-2 and putting five shots on goal compared to two for Eastern Illinois. The Bearcats also held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Amber Brandon recorded two saves to secure her third shutout of the season. Tiana Campbell led Cincinnati with five shots, while Lexi O’Shea added three. Molly Cochran recorded two shots, including one on target, while Jade Dubois and Joelle Bader each added a shot on goal. Braelyn Even, Amber Branum and Brandon played all 90 minutes.
Cincinnati returns to action Friday, Sept. 18, hosting Kansas at 7 p.m. at Gettler Stadium for the Bearcats’ Big 12 home opener.
Baseball
Cincinnati Unveils ‘Cheetah Lab’
Cincinnati baseball unveiled a new player-development space Wednesday, introducing the Cheetah Lab, a facility dedicated specifically to improving the Bearcats’ bunting and baserunning.
Located on the first floor of the Richard E. Lindner Center, the new space gives Cincinnati players an area specifically designed to work on two facets that have become defining characteristics of the program under head coach Jordan Bischel and coach Tom Winske.
Since Bischel and Winske arrived ahead of the 2024 season, Cincinnati has established itself as one of the nation’s most aggressive and efficient teams on the bases. The Bearcats have led all Power Four programs in bunt hits in each of the last three seasons, including 31 bunt hits this past year.
Cincinnati has also stolen 364 bases since the start of the 2024 season, including a program-record 134 steals in 2025. The Bearcats ranked fourth among Power Four programs in stolen-base success rate this year at 87.1%, following a remarkable 90.5% success rate in 2025.
The development of those areas has coincided with the most successful three-year stretch in program history. Cincinnati has won 103 games since 2024, the most in any three-year span in program history, while advancing to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time ever.
The Bearcats are also one of just five Big 12 programs with at least 50 conference wins since 2024 and one of only three teams. Alongside Oklahoma State and West Virginia, to post a winning conference record in each of the last three seasons.
Cincinnati held its first official fall practice Monday and will have four exhibition games on the schedule in the coming weeks. The Bearcats will travel to Purdue on Sept. 27 before facing Kentucky on Oct. 4, Dayton on Oct. 10 and Xavier on Oct. 17.
The Kentucky exhibition will take place at Prasco Park, while the Dayton and Xavier matchups will be played at UC Baseball Stadium.
Looking Ahead
With football riding high after its dominant victory over Western Carolina, volleyball continuing its early-season slate and baseball beginning its fall development period, Cincinnati Athletics has plenty of momentum heading into the next week.
The Bearcats will look to build on that momentum across the fall while fans get their first opportunities to see several programs continue their push toward conference play and the heart of their respective seasons.
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