TicketsHOUSTON - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team faced a 2-1 deficit but came back to win the final two sets for a 3-2 (27-25, 15-25, 22-25, 26-24, 15-11) victory over the University of Houston on Friday night in Texas.
The match was the first of the season in the American Athletic Conference for both teams.
The Bearcats scored seven straight points in the final set to take a 9-5 lead and never looked back. Sophomore Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) tallied three kills during the run to pace Cincinnati to the victory.
Hill finished the night with a team-high 21 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the season.
// Notables
- With the win, Cincinnati improves to 9-4 on the season and 1-0 in the American while Houston falls to 8-5 and 0-1.
- The match was the first five-set match of the season for the Bearcats, giving them a 1-0 record when going the distance. The team is currently 2-2 in three-set matches and 6-2 in four-set matches.
- Senior Jamie Netisingha (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded 25 digs in the match and has now tallied double-digit digs in each match this season. She also has recorded 20 or more digs in four straight matches.
- Junior Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville) tallied 13 kills and has recorded double-digit kills in seven consecutive matches.
- Junior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) had 10 kills in the match to extend her double-digit kills mark to six straight matches.
- Senior Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) finished the night with five blocks and has produced as least five blocks in three of the last four matches. She currently leads the conference with 1.18 blocks/set.
- Redshirt junior Caitlin Ogletree (Montgomery, Texas/Houston) recorded 30 assists, five digs and four blocks in her return to her previous school.
- Head coach Molly Alvey also made a homecoming of sorts after serving as the head coach of the Cougars for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
- Houston's Destiny Patterson broke an American Athletic Conference volleyball record with 66 assists in the match.
- The Bearcats and the Cougars will meet again on Sunday, Nov. 16 in Fifth Third Arena.
// Alvey's Additions
"I am so very proud of this team for taking on the mental challenge of this match" head coach Molly Alvey said. "We battled to the end, game point for game point, and overcame the challenge. We found a way to stick together and play as an entire team through the end. Ciara (Hill) had a very consistent match for us and took some smart swings on the attack. Amelia Wegman also had a terrific match. When it got tough down the stretch we needed someone to make some specific plays for us and she delivered. She definitely gave us the edge tonight."
// Set Breakdown
Set 1: UC 27, UH 25
- The Bearcats were behind for much of the game, and by as many as 20-15 late, but fought back to overcome a Houston set point and tie the score at 24-24 on a Kadi Kullerkann attacking error.
- Houston called a timeout and a second consecutive Kullerkann error put UC ahead 25-24 out of the break.
- With the score tied at 25-all, a block by Ogletree and freshman Maya Muldrow (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and a UH error gave the Bearcats the 26-24 win to go ahead 1-0 in the match.
- Hill totaled seven kills in the game.
Set 2: UH 25, UC 15
- The Cougars scored 10 consecutive points, including five kills and two blocks, to jump out to a 13-8 lead.
- Another scoring run, this time of four points, gave Houston a 23-14 lead and set up the 25-15 win to even the match at 1-1.
Set 3: UH 25, UC 22
- Coming out of the intermission, the Bearcats again fell behind early, allowing the Cougars to build momentum to a 6-4 lead.
- Another set of four points for UH put the home team ahead 20-14 but Cincinnati responded with four points of its own, from four Cougar errors, to get within 22-20.
- Back-to-back kills by Courtney Warren and Sarah Afflerbaugh gave Houston the 25-22 win.
Set 4: UC 26, UH 24
- Facing a must-win fourth set, Cincinnati used two straight kills by Roberson to gain a 19-15 advantage and force a UH timeout.
- Two blocks and two kills by Houston tied the score at 21-21 and the Cougars took a brief 24-23 lead before a kill by Hill brought the teams level at 24-24.
- Kills by Nicholson and junior Amelia Wegman (Aurora, Ill./Rosary) salvaged the match for the Bearcats and sent the teams into a decisive fifth set.
- UC combined for 20 kills in the game with Roberson (six), Hill (five) and Wegman (four) doing the most damage.
Set 5: UC 15, UH 11
- Hill led the Bearcats with three kills during a span of seven straight points to give her team a 9-5 lead.
- Three consecutive points from the Cougars brought them to within 11-10 but a kill by Wegman, an attacking error by UH and a service ace from Nicholson put Cincinnati at match point, up 14-10.
- One point later, a kill by Wegman clinched the important conference victory for the Bearcats.
// Up Next
The Bearcats travel to Louisiana to take on the Green Wave of Tulane in New Orleans on Sunday, Sept. 28. The match will be played at 2 p.m. ET.
// 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, visitGoBEARCATS.com/tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.
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