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TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 25-19, 19-25, 6-15) decision on Friday afternoon against USF in Tampa, Florida. Junior Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville) and sophomore Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) led the charge for the Bearcats with 11 kills apiece.
Senior Madi Lang (Commerce Township, Mich./Florida Atlantic) recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 27 assists and 10 digs. Junior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) also notched a double-double, her third of the year, with 10 kills and 11 digs.
// Notables
- Cincinnati finished the 2014 season with a 15-17 record and a 7-13 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The Knights completed the year with records of 14-18 and 8-12.
- With 19 digs against USF, senior Jamie Netisingha (Westmont, Ill./Hinsdale Central) finished the 2014 season with 555 total digs. The mark is good for fifth on the UC individual season record book. She also finished the year with a 4.48 digs/set ratio to rank sixth in the UC records.
- Netisingha recorded double-digit digs in 27 matches this season.
- Roberson recorded double-digit kills in 23 matches this season.
- In addition to Roberson, Hill and Allred, senior Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) also connected for double-digit kills with 10. It was the first time that four Bearcats players had at least 10 kills in a match since the same four players each completed the feat on Sept. 20, in a win over Tennessee State.
// Alvey's Additions
"I am proud of our seniors and the way they contributed to our program" head coach Molly Alvey said. "All three of them have shown growth over the past three seasons, which shows their pride in UC and in this volleyball program.
"Now that the season has come to an end, it is time to get to work on the next phase of building this program. We will get some rest over the holiday and be ready to get after it this spring season with our training, discipline and intensity level. We have a lot of young, talented players that received great experience this fall and I know they are ready and willing to put in the work it takes to be great."
// Set Breakdown
Set 1: UC 25, USF 19
- The Bearcats scored two points at a time on four of their first five serves to jump out to an early 9-5 lead.
- A Nicholson kill and an attacking error by USF forced the Knights into a timeout with UC leading 15-12.
- USF pulled to within 19-17, but the Bearcats responded with three of the next points, including kills by freshman Cortnee Bowser (Kent, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt) and Nicholson to extend the lead back to 22-18.
- With sophomore Lindsey Dinkelacker (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Louis) serving for the game, Lang and Nicholson teamed for a block to give UC a 25-19 win.
Set 2: USF 25, UC 16
- A five-point USF scoring run, including two kills, two blocks and a UC error, gave the Bulls an insurmountable 17-11 lead.
- Another Bulls run of four points gave the home team a 23-14 lead and a kill by Bree Scarbrough gave USF the victory to tie the match score at 1-1.
Set 3: UC 25, USF 16
- Back-to-back four-point scoring runs put the Bearcats ahead 9-3 and forced the Bulls into an early timeout. Cincinnati got kills from Hill, freshman Christine Chandler (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) (two) and Nicholson in the run.
- Cincinnati remained in the lead, and scored four of the last six points to win going away, 25-16.
- Hill, Nicholson and Roberson all tallied three kills in the set.
Set 4: USF 25, UC 19
- A pair of blocks propelled USF to five straight points and allowed it to grab a 6-3 lead in the fourth game.
- Two consecutive kills by Hill cut the USF lead to one at 16-15, but the Bulls responded out of a timeout with three points of their own to push the lead back to 19-15.
- Four straight points put the Bulls ahead 23-18 and a Cincinnati service error gave USF the set at 25-19.
Set 5: USF 15, UC 6
- A devastating seven-point scoring run for USF doomed the Bearcats in a shortened game five, giving the Bulls an 11-5 lead.
- Cincinnati couldn't recover, and USF scored the final four points of the set to win 15-6.
// 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.
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