TicketsCINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team fall in four sets to Western Kentucky University 3-1 at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday evening. A trio of seniors led the Bearcats offense with Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) recording 18 kills, Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) with 13 kills and Becca Refenes (Westland Mich./Lutheran Westland) registering 12 kills.
The deciding fourth set saw the Lady Toppers (6-2) use a seven-point run to go ahead of the Bearcats (1-6) 14-5. WKU used three services aces from Sarah Rodgers to build the insurmountable lead. Hayden and senior Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) put together back-to-back kills to bring the score to 21-13, but the Bearcats would not get any closer. Western Kentucky closed the set with a 25-15 advantage and a 3-1 match victory.
Overall, Cincinnati outhit WKU, recording 56 kills to the Lady Toppers' 50. UC attacked for a .256 percentage while Western Kentucky had a .336 mark for the match.
After falling in the first set, Cincinnati opened the second stanza in strong fashion. A WKU kill made the score 8-7 in favor of the Bearcats, but UC responded, rolling out seven straight points to take a 14-7 lead. Scott and sophomore Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) each recorded two kill during the Bearcat run. The Lady Toppers climbed back to within two points at 23-21, but Hayden hit two kills to close the game at 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.
The match opened with a 25-19 first set win for Western Kentucky. The teams traded points to open play until a service ace by the Lady Toppers gave WKU an 8-7 lead. After a kill by Nicholson brought the Bearcats to within a point at 9-8, WKU rattled off five consecutive points to bring the score to 14-8. Cincinnati would not recover from the WKU run, falling by the final margin of 25-19 to give Western Kentucky the 1-0 match lead.
Western Kentucky grabbed the third set 25-21, and a 2-1 lead in the match. While trailing 15-13, the Bearcats scored two consecutive kills from Refenes and Scott to tie the set at 15-15. Cincinnati was unable to hang on, however, as a kill from WKU's Jordyn Skinner ended the game at 25-21.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8 when they host the BIG EAST/Big 10 Challenge at Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati will face No. 20 Illinois on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. and will match up against No. 11 Purdue on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.
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