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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team attempted a comeback but ultimately fell 3-1 (21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-25) to Central Michigan University as part of the UC Invitational from Fifth Third Arena.
The loss was the first home loss of the season for the Bearcats, who are now 3-1 in the arena.
// Notables
- Cincinnati falls to 7-4 on the season while Central Michigan improves to 5-7.
- Freshman Maya Muldrow (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) made her Bearcats debut when she entered the match in the third set and immediately blocked a CMU attack. She finished with four blocks and one kill.
- Redshirt junior Caitlin Ogletree (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery) recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-high 48 assists and 10 digs.
- Jamie Netisingha (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded 20 digs in the match and has now tallied double-digit digs in each match this season.
- Junior Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville) tallied a game-high 17 kills and has recorded double-digit kills in five consecutive matches.
- Junior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) had 11 kills in the match and has produced double-digit kills in four consecutive matches.
- The Bearcats hit at a .248 attacking clip, its highest percentage in any loss this season.
- Cincinnati topped Central Michigan in total kills (56 to 48), assists (56 to 43), and digs (52 to 44).
- The Chippewas connected on 10 service aces in the match, the most for a UC opponent since UC Irvine tallied 11 on Aug. 30.
// Alvey's Additions
"It's just making little plays" head coach Molly Alvey said. "That's something we did really well last weekend and all week at practice. We just need to take care of the small plays and play good volleyball for a longer period of time."
// Set Breakdown
Set 1: CMU 25, UC 21
- CMU's Jordan Bueter served two service aces to open the match and help CMU open a 3-0 lead.
- The Bearcats tied the score at 15-15 on a kill by Roberson from the right side.
- Cincinnati worked to tie the score at 15-15 but the Chippewas rallied for four straight points to go ahead 19-15 and force Alvey into a timeout.
- CMU held the four-point lead and a kill by Kalle Mulford ended the game at 25-21.
- The Bearcats hit .393 in the set and were led by Roberson with a .375 clip (four kills) and sophomore Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) with a .364 clip (five kills).
Set 2: CMU 25, UC 22
- Central Michigan went on another run to start a set, this time registering four points before UC managed to get on the board with a kill by Roberson.
- Cincinnati scored four straight points with kills by senior Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff), redshirt sophomore Alison Kimmel (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and junior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) to go ahead 10-8 for cause a UCM timeout.
- Coach Alvey called a timeout with her team trailing 18-16 but the Bearcats responded for three straight out of the break. Nicholson tallied two kills in the run for a 19-18 UC lead.
- The Chippewas rallied again with five of the next six points for a 23-20 lead and another UC timeout.
- CMU closed the set at 25-22 for a 2-0 match lead.
- The back-and-forth second game featured eight tie scores and six lead changes.
Set 3: UC 25, CMU 23
- UC raced to an 11-6 lead behind three blocks from Muldrow in her first appearance of the season.
- Cincinnati scored six straight points on a strong service rotation by Ogletree to go ahead 14-6.
- A handful of UC errors helped the Chippewas climb back to within 20-17.
- CMU put on a furious rally, coming back from seven points down to within 24-23 but a kill by Hill gave UC the 25-23 win to preserve the Bearcats' life in the match.
Set 4: CMU 25, UC15
- The Chippewas raced out to a 16-5 lead for forced a timeout by Coach Alvey.
- Following the break, the Bearcats responded with three straight points, again on an Ogletree serve rotation, to get within 16-9.
- Roberson tallied three consecutive kills as the Bearcats scored four straight points to get within 18-13 but CMU answered with three points of its own for a 22-14 lead and a Cincinnati timeout.
- CMU scored six of the final seven points to win 25-15.
// Up Next
The Bearcats finish the UC Invitational by hosting Tennessee State tonight at 7 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.
// Follow the Bearcats
For all of the latest information on Cincinnati volleyball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up to the minute updates, follow Cincinnati Volleyball (@cincinnativball) and Coach Alvey (@CoachAlveyUC) on twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Facebook and Instagram.
// Ticket Information
Season tickets for all 15 home matches can be purchased for as little $10. For more information, visit GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.
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