Tickets
PDF Box Score
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team won its 20th match of the season on Wednesday night when it topped Houston 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21) in Fifth Third Arena. Freshman Jordan Thompson (Edina, Minn./Edina) totaled a match-high 18 kills while junior Lise Alaiwan (Villeneuve Loubet, France/Kedge Business School) recorded a career-high nine blocks at the net.
// NOTABLES
- With the victory, Cincinnati improves to 20-10 on the year and 21-7 in the American Athletic Conference while Houston falls to 18-10 and 8-10. With one match remaining, the Bearcats hold a firm grasp on third place in the league.
- Thompson notched a match-high 18 kills while freshman Carly Nolan (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) and senior Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) had 15 and 11 kills, respectively. It is the 12th time this season that at least three Bearcats players have recorded 10 or more kills and UC is now 9-3 in those matches.
- Freshman Jade Tingelhoff (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) finished her 16th-career double-double with 45 assists and 15 digs. She currently ranks fifth on the All-Time Freshman Assists list with 960 career assists.
- Freshman Abby Williams (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) finished with 15 digs and has recorded double-digit digs in all but one match this season. She possesses third place on the All-Time Freshman Digs list with 497 in her first season at UC. Melissa Zenz set the freshman (and school) record with 627 digs in 2005.
- Thompson finished with 18 kills and has hit double-digit kills in 25 matches this season. She has 446 kills this season, good for third on the All-Time Freshman Kills list. She needs 10 more to pass Lise Hissink (1998) for second place and 21 more to break Becky Stahl's record of 467 set in 2001.
- Nolan finished with 15 kills and 10 digs for her 12th-career double-double. She moved into a tie for eighth place with Julie DuPont (2001) on the All-Time Freshman Kills list with 359 while Becky Stahl owns the record with 467 kills in 2001. She also is ninth on the All-Time Freshman Digs list with 313.
- In addition to her career-high nine blocks, Alaiwan also added five kills and four digs for the Bearcats.
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25, UH 20
- Houston jumped out to a 7-2 lead off three UC errors, forcing an early timeout from head coach Molly Alvey.
- The Bearcats responded imediately with four straight points out of the break, including solo blocks from Alaiwan and Allred and a service ace from Thompson to get within 7-6.
- While trailing 17-14, kills by Thompson and Allred and a second solo block from Alaiwan got UC within a point at 17-16 and forced a Houston timeout.
- Cincinnati scored the final six points of the game, to win 25-20. The run started with an overpass/kill from sophomore Parker Shepherd (McKinney, Texas/McKinney Boyd), a kill from Thompson and a Houston error to force a Cougars timeout. Another Thompson kill and back-to-back UH errors gave the Bearcats the victory.
Set 2: UH 25, UC 20
- The Cougars took an 11-5 lead after three straight kills to bring a Cincinnati timeout.
- Back-to-back Alaiwan blocks got the Bearcats back within 16-12.
- A kill by Nolan closed the margin to 19-17 but the Bearcats couldn't get any closer. A Houston kill and service ace gave Houston a 22-18 advantage and the teams traded points until the Cougars won the set 25-20.
Set 3: UC 25, UH 17
- A kill by Alaiwan and an Alaiwan/Tingelhoff block pushed the Bearcats into a 7-2 lead in the early goings of the third set.
- Cincinnati scored two points at a time on three occasions within an 11-point span to increase its lead to 18-9 and cause a Houston timeout.
- Consecutive kills by Nolan and a Cougars attacking error gave UC a 23-14 lead but Houston responded with three points of its own to force a Cincinnati timeout at 23-17.
- Out of the break, a block by Nolan and sophomore Maya Muldrow (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and a kill by Thompson pushed the Bearcats to the 25-17 victory.
Set 4: UC 25, UH 20
- Houston scored four straight points to put UC in an early 5-3 hole, but the Bearcats fought back to take a 7-6 lead off back-to-back kills by Allred.
- Two straight blocks by Alaiwan (with help from Tingelhoff and Nolan), followed by a UH error broke a 16-16 tie and gave UC a 19-16 advantage.
- A service ace by Houston's Olivia O'Dell cut the UC lead to 21-20 but the Bearcats scored four of the next five points, including the final kill from Allred, to win the game 25-21 and take the match 3-1.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati closes the 2015 season on Friday, Nov. 27, with a 2 p.m. match against Tulane in Fifth Third Arena. The match will symbolize Senior Day for the Bearcats as they honor Allred, Emma Roberson (Brooks, Ky./Evansville), Amelia Wegman (Aurora, Ill./Rosary) and student manage Hannah Quinlan in a post-match ceremony on the court.
// 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 (@GoBearcatsVB) and Coach Alvey (@CoachAlveyUC) on twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Facebook (GoBearcatsVB) and Instagram (CincinnatiVBall).
// EXPERIENCE UC
The University of Cincinnati department of athletics announced a new initiative entitled Experience UC, geared toward inviting the community to campus to see firsthand the great things about and surrounding the university. Experience UC includes complimentary admission for patrons attending women's basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving and track and field home events.