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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team picked up a crucial win on Friday night, sweeping SMU 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-23) to earn a spot atop the American Athletic Conference standings. The Bearcats and the Mustangs share first place with an 11-2 league record and seven matches remaining. The American does not play a volleyball conference championship so the winner of the regular season will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA championship in December.
The Bearcats recorded a .323 attacking percentage in the match, led by a .545 clip from sophomore Carly Nolan (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crustal Lake South) and a .343 mark from sophomore Jordan Thompson (Edina, Minn./Edina). The Bearcats entered the match as the league leaders in hitting percentage during conference matches (.259) while SMU had been the league leaders in opponent hitting percentage (.165).
The match was played in front of a raucous crowd of 2,018, the largest ever crowd to watch a volleyball match in Fifth Third Arena history.
// NOTABLES
- Cincinnati improves to 16-8 on the year and 11-2 in The American while SMU falls to 18-7 and 11-2 in the league.
- The Bearcats earned their first ever victory over the Mustangs in eight attempts.
- Thompson finished with 15 kills and has recorded double-digit kills in 21 matches this season while. Nolan recorded 13 kills and has reached the milestone on 17 occasions. SMU was held without a single player with double-digit kills.
- Sophomore Jade Tingelhoff (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) dished out 37 assists and had a match-high nine digs, one shy of the double-double.
- Nolan, Thompson, and sophomore Abby Williams (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) all collected seven digs for the Bearcats.
- SMU entered the match as the conference leader in blocks but the Bearcats out-blocked the Mustangs 7.0 to 6.0. Seniors Lise Alaiwan (Villeneuve Loubet, France/Kedge Business School) and Ciara Hill (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) each stuffed three blocks to lead Cincinnati.
- The Bearcats held SMU to a .141 attacking percentage and are 16-3 this season when keeping their opponents below .250. It is the 10th time in the last 11 matches UC has kept the other team under the .250 mark.
- The Bearcats improve to 10-0 on the year when hitting above .250 in a match.
- Cincinnati topped the Mustangs in kills (46-31), hitting percentage (.323-.141), assists (41-30), digs (39-33) and blocks (7.0-6.0). SMU led in service aces (four to two).
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25, SMU 22
- The Bearcats looked a little rattled to open the match, falling behind 4-0 early, but back-to-back kills by Thompson and a block by Hill and redshirt senior Alison Kimmel (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) cut the SMU lead to 4-3.
- A three-point UC scoring run, including a block by Alaiwan and Tingelhoff and a kill by Thompson, gave the bearcats a 12-11 lead .
- A kill by Nolan and a block by Kimmel and Tingelhoff pushed the Bearcats into a 20-19 lead and forced a Mustangs timeout. Cincinnati scored three of four points out of the break for a 23-20 lead and another SMU timeout.
- Kills by Nolan and Thompson finished off the first set 25-23 in favor of the Bearcats.
Set 2: UC 25, SMU 13
- The Bearcats dominated from start to finish in the second game, scoring three points at a time on five occasions in the set.
- Cincinnati hit .464 in the game with 15 kills, led by five from Nolan.
Set 3: UC 25, SMU 23
- The Bearcats opened a 7-3 lead after back-to-back kills by Alaiwan and forced an early SMU timeout four points later after a Thompson kill made it 10-4.
- The Mustangs began to creep back into the game with a block by Kristen Stehling and Ashley Homan to get within 16-12, but Cincinnati answered with kills by Nolan and Thompson to go back in front 20-14.
- SMU scored eight of the next 10 points to tie the score at 22-22.
- The crowd roared to life for the final points of the match, forcing a service error by Katie Hegarty and an attacking error by Homan to give the Bearcats the 25-23 victory in the final game.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati continues its homestand with a match against Tulsa at 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 6. The team will host a postmatch clinic for students ages 5-13 with an autograph session immediately following.
// 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 (GoBearcatsVB).
// EXPERIENCE UC
The University of Cincinnati department of athletics announced an 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.