Tickets LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team closed out the Active Ankle Challenge with a gritty 3-1 (25-11, 20-25, 25-21, 27-25) win over Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.
The team's three seniors, Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff), Madi Lang (Commerce Township, Mich./Florida Atlantic) and Jamie Netisingha (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) each led the team in their respective categories to bring the Bearcats to victory.
// Notables
· The win improves the Bearcats to 3-3 on the year while Tennessee State falls to 0-6.
· Junior Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville) was named to the Active Ankle Challenge All-Tournament team. The right-side hitter finished the event with 35 kills and a .307 hitting percentage, including a career-high 19 kills and .567 clip in the opening match against Appalachian State.
· Lang finished the match against Tennessee State with 32 assists and 10 digs her first double-double of the season. She also tallied nine kills and was one away from recording the first triple-double for UC volleyball since the 2000 season.
· Nicholson notched a season-high 14 kills while also adding five digs and four blocks for a well-rounded performance.
· Netisingha finished with an impressive 25 digs, one shy of her career-high. Her total was 10 more than the next closest player from either team.
· The Bearcats held the Tigers to just 11 points in the opening set, the fewest points by an opponent in a set all season.
· The Bearcats spread out the offense with seven players recording at least five kills. On the list are Nicholson, Lang, Roberson, junior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron), sophomore Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook), redshirt sophomore Alison Kimmel (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and sophomore Lindsey Dinkelacker (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Louis).
· The Bearcats recorded a better hitting percentage than the Tigers (.284 to .183) but TSU registered more kills (58 to 56) and more assists (55 to 50) in the match.
// Set Breakdown
Set 1: UC 25, TSU 11
· The Bearcats stormed out of the gates with seven straight points to take a 7-0 lead. UC received kills by Hill, Nicholson and two by Lang during the run, and also added a service ace by freshman Macie Pifer (Euclid, Ohio/Beaumont).
· Cincinnati used another large scoring run at the end of the game, with five straight points off five TSU errors to go ahead 24-10.
· In total, UC scored at least three points in a rotation on four occasions and never let TSU accomplish the feat, controlling the momentum throughout.
· The Bearcats hit only one attacking error in the set compared to eight for the Tigers.
Set 2: TSU 25, UC 20
· Cincinnati held a slim 5-4 lead before Tennessee State scored four consecutive points to go ahead 8-5.
· UC worked to tie the score at 13-13 but TSU again extended its lead to three-points.
· The Tigers scored off a kill, a block and a UC attack error to surge to a 24-19 lead, and a kill by Naomi Wells ended the set.
Set 3: UC 25, TSU 21
· The Tigers used a five-point run to go ahead 6-4 early in the game, using four kills to build the momentum.
· Later in the game, the Bearcats responded with a five-point swing of their own to tie the score at 12-12 with kills by Nicholson (twice), Lang and Allred.
· Dinkelacker got in on the action with three straight kills for the Bearcats to put her team ahead 21-14 and force a Tennessee State timeout.
· The Tigers made the game interesting by climbing back to within 23-21, but Allred hit back-to-back kills, both assisted by Lang, to secure the set win for Cincinnati.
· Dinkelacker hit seven kills with no errors in the set for a .700 hitting clip.
· Nine Bearcats players registered at least one dig in the game.
Set 4: UC 27, TSU 25
· The Bearcats showed a lot of grit in the final game after finding themselves down 12-4 in the early-going.
· A three-point scoring run, including a kill by freshman Cortnee Bowser (Kent, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt) and two TSU errors cut the deficit to 12-6.
· Cincinnati got even closer when another three consecutive points brought the score to 17-14.
· Back-to-back kills by Roberson cut the lead to 22-21 and a kill by Nicholson finally tied the score at 23-23.
· The teams needed extra points to decide the game, but two attacking errors by Tennessee State gave Cincinnati the victory.
// Alvey's Additions
"We are using the non-conference portion of our schedule exactly as we expected" said head coach Molly Alvey. "We are figuring out how to play as a team and how to fight until the very end. Overall, this was a great weekend for us. We definitely got better and are anxious to get back into the gym."
// Up Next
The Bearcats will travel to Kingston, Rhode Island, to participate in the Art Carmichael Invitational hosted by the University of Rhode Island on Sept. 12 and 13. In addition to playing URI, Cincinnati also will face old conference foe Rutgers and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
// 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.
-GoBEARCATS.com-