TicketsNEW ORLEANS - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team continued its hot streak with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 25-13) victory over Tulane University on Sunday afternoon from Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Junior Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville) led all players with 16 kills while both senior Jamie Netisingha (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) and redshirt junior Caitlin Ogletree (Montgomery, Texas/Houston) collected 17 digs apiece.
The Bearcats have now won eight of the last nine matches, including three straight, and have opened play in the American Athletic Conference with a 2-0 record.
// Notables
- With the win, Cincinnati improves to 10-4 on the season and 2-0 in the American while Tulane falls to 2-11 and 0-2.
- The Bearcats improve their overall record against the Green Wave to 21-2.
- Sophomore Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) tallied her second consecutive double-double, with 10 kills and 10 digs.
- Ogletree recorded 37 assists and a career-high 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
- Netisingha recorded 17 digs in the match and has now tallied double-digit digs in each match this season.
- Roberson tallied a match-high 16 kills and has recorded double-digit kills in eight consecutive matches.
- Senior Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) had four service aces to set a new career high
- Freshman Maya Muldrow (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) had eight blocks (one solo block and seven assisted blocks) in the match to set a new career high. The number also ties a season high for all UC players.
- Cincinnati held Tulane to a .096 hitting percentage, the lowest of the season for a UC opponent.
- Cincinnati's eight service aces are a new season high for the team.
- The Bearcats and the Green Wave will meet again on Friday, Nov. 14 for a 4 p.m. meeting in Fifth Third Arena.
// Alvey's Additions
"We had a great team effort across the board today" head coach Molly Alvey said. "This weekend we got the best of every player and every staff member. This is a program that is on the same page in every facet of the game - we set several goals and were able to accomplish them all this weekend. Maya (Muldrow) really stepped up for us in her role today and played a consistent match from the first set to the fourth.
With the format of the conference schedule this season, every single match matters. To open the league schedule on the road and are come home with two wins, I think we are in a very good spot right now."
// Set Breakdown
Set 1: UC 25, TU 17
- The teams traded points to open the match until a five-point Bearcats run put the visitors ahead 16-10.
- Three straight kills by Muldrow, Hill and Roberson extended the UC lead to 20-13.
- A kill by Nicholson gave the Bearcats the 25-17 win in the opening set.
Set 2: UC 25, TU 18
- Cincinnati opened the second set with three straight points on, forcing the Green Wave into an early timeout to reorganize. An ace by Netisingha out of the break solidified the four-point lead for the Bearcats.
- The Bearcats maintained a comfortable lead throughout the game, extending it to 24-17 following back-to-back kills by Hill and Roberson.
- One point later, a kill by Hill ended the set with a 25-18 score in favor of Cincinnati.
- Roberson collected five kills in the set while Hill totaled four and Nicholson added three for Cincinnati.
Set 3: TU 25, UC 20
- Tulane got out to a fast start, taking a 6-2 lead with a kill and a pair of UC attacking errors.
- The Bearcats scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 10-8 lead and force a Green Wave timeout. Included in the run was an Ogletree service ace and two blocks from Ogletree/Muldrow and Nicholson/Roberson.
- Tulane responded out of the timeout with six of seven points to regain the lead at 14-11. Coach Alvey called a timeout after three Green Wave kills and a couple of blocks.
- The TU lead expanded to 20-15 following two consecutive attacking errors by UC.
- The Bearcats climbed back to within 22-20 after four straight points but the Green Wave scored the final three points of the game to win 25-20 and stay alive in the match.
Set 4 UC 25, TU 13
- UC went from 5-4 down to 9-5 ahead after five straight points. Nicholson contributed with a kill and a service ace to force a TU timeout.
- Out of the timeout, the Bearcats continued its run with two more points on a block by Muldrow and Allred and a Green Wave error. Tulane called its second timeout with UC leading 11-5.
- The run continued for two additional points, making it a nine-point scoring run to give the Bearcats a 13-5 lead.
- A 7-1 run put UC ahead 23-10 with a block by Hill/Muldrow, an ace by sophomore Lindsey Dinkelacker (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Louis) and kills by Hill, Roberson and Nicholson.
- Allred's powerful kill ended the match for a 3-1 Bearcats win.
// Up Next
Cincinnati brings its 2-0 conference record home to Fifth Third Arena for tough matches against SMU and Tulsa next weekend. The Bearcats will face the Mustangs of SMU at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, and match up against the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5.
// 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.
-GoBEARCATS.com-