TicketsTAMPA, Fla. – UC volleyball put forth an impressive performance on Friday night, opening American Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 victory at USF. The Bearcats took set one 25-22, then took the next by a score of 25-19 before wrapping up the match with a 25-17 final set.
// NOTES
• The win moves UC to 3-10 overall while USF falls to 4-6 on the season
• The team's .254 attack percentage was the third-highest this season
• Maya Muldrow tied her career-high with eight blocks while adding in nine kills
• Carly Nolan posted her sixth double-double of the year with 11 kills and ten digs
• Jade Tingelhoff also had a double-double with 28 assists and ten digs
• Erica Kostelac led the team in kills with 13. Her career-high in digs is 20, set during the five-set Xavier match. She recorded a new career-high with five blocks
• Maya Eller led the team with 16 digs and was second with five aces
// WHAT COACH WHITE SAID
• "I'm very proud of them. We've had some struggles and adversity in the preseason, but I think we've learned a lot about ourselves. To be able to bring that into the first conference match was very important. We showed some toughness tonight."
• "We are well-balanced right now. I think we played a very smart match with a high volleyball IQ. We limited our errors. And I think the other big thing was our serving. We had some really good confidence from the service line."
• "I think we go home tonight and watch ourselves and learn from this film so we can help our players improve upon their own individual performance. I think UCF is a great opponent. We will have a great trip to Orlando tomorrow and get in a good practice."
// WHAT MAYA MULDROW SAID
• "It feels awesome. I think we needed that fresh start and we came out really strong and are happy to have that win."
• "The team had a lot of energy, despite USF having a lot of people out here. We stuck together and came together as a team and relied on each other for energy."
• "We played point-for-point. We played every point like it was our last and just went out as hard as we could."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-22
• USF took the first two points of the set, but UC came back to take the next four and would not relinquish the lead from there, despite some pressure from the Bulls. A Muldrow and Tingelhoff block gave the Bearcats an 8-4 lead early on and grew to 10-5 after an attack error by the Bulls. USF slowly worked its way back in, bringing the lead to within 15-13, causing a Cincinnati timeout. After the break, Kostelac had a kill to bring the momentum back. UC's lead grew to four points, 20-16, but the Bulls stayed persistent and made it a 22-20 set. A kill by Elly Ogle and two mistakes by USF would hand the final three points and the first set to the Bearcats.
Set 2: UC, 25-19
• The second set saw nine ties and seven lead changes before the Bearcats were able to pull out the win. Three-point runs seemed to be the difference in the set. Once again, USF earned the first two points of the match before UC answered. Three-straight points switched the lead, but the Bulls were able to get back in front, 4-3. Another three-point run, brought on by a Kostelac kill, Muldrow kill and a block by the duo, put the Bearcats up 6-4. Another tie, this one 6-6, was broke by another Kostelac kill off an assist from Tingelhoff. The set became tied at nine, 11 and 13 before the Bearcats broke away. Back-to-back kills by Kostelac and a third by Jasmine Jones forced a USF timeout. Two more kills from Kostelac later in the set gave UC a 20-15 advantage. The Bearcats would close it out with a kill by Ogle and a block by Ogle and Jones.
Set 3: UC, 25-17
• UC earned the first point of the set on a service error then cruised out to a 7-2 lead, finished off with back-to-back blocks and forcing USF to call a timeout. The Bulls were able to score the next few points out of the break, but that run was silenced by a Nolan ace. Chrysanthi Stamatiou added in another ace later on to put the score at 9-5. Later on, the Bearcats' lead grew to five points after a Muldrow kill with an assist from Tingelhoff. That 17-12 lead grew into 21-13 on another kill and assist by the same pair. Back-to-back kills by UC would seal the straight-set victory.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats travel to Orlando to take on UCF on Sunday at 1 p.m.
// 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.
// NOTES
• The win moves UC to 3-10 overall while USF falls to 4-6 on the season
• The team's .254 attack percentage was the third-highest this season
• Maya Muldrow tied her career-high with eight blocks while adding in nine kills
• Carly Nolan posted her sixth double-double of the year with 11 kills and ten digs
• Jade Tingelhoff also had a double-double with 28 assists and ten digs
• Erica Kostelac led the team in kills with 13. Her career-high in digs is 20, set during the five-set Xavier match. She recorded a new career-high with five blocks
• Maya Eller led the team with 16 digs and was second with five aces
// WHAT COACH WHITE SAID
• "I'm very proud of them. We've had some struggles and adversity in the preseason, but I think we've learned a lot about ourselves. To be able to bring that into the first conference match was very important. We showed some toughness tonight."
• "We are well-balanced right now. I think we played a very smart match with a high volleyball IQ. We limited our errors. And I think the other big thing was our serving. We had some really good confidence from the service line."
• "I think we go home tonight and watch ourselves and learn from this film so we can help our players improve upon their own individual performance. I think UCF is a great opponent. We will have a great trip to Orlando tomorrow and get in a good practice."
// WHAT MAYA MULDROW SAID
• "It feels awesome. I think we needed that fresh start and we came out really strong and are happy to have that win."
• "The team had a lot of energy, despite USF having a lot of people out here. We stuck together and came together as a team and relied on each other for energy."
• "We played point-for-point. We played every point like it was our last and just went out as hard as we could."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-22
• USF took the first two points of the set, but UC came back to take the next four and would not relinquish the lead from there, despite some pressure from the Bulls. A Muldrow and Tingelhoff block gave the Bearcats an 8-4 lead early on and grew to 10-5 after an attack error by the Bulls. USF slowly worked its way back in, bringing the lead to within 15-13, causing a Cincinnati timeout. After the break, Kostelac had a kill to bring the momentum back. UC's lead grew to four points, 20-16, but the Bulls stayed persistent and made it a 22-20 set. A kill by Elly Ogle and two mistakes by USF would hand the final three points and the first set to the Bearcats.
Set 2: UC, 25-19
• The second set saw nine ties and seven lead changes before the Bearcats were able to pull out the win. Three-point runs seemed to be the difference in the set. Once again, USF earned the first two points of the match before UC answered. Three-straight points switched the lead, but the Bulls were able to get back in front, 4-3. Another three-point run, brought on by a Kostelac kill, Muldrow kill and a block by the duo, put the Bearcats up 6-4. Another tie, this one 6-6, was broke by another Kostelac kill off an assist from Tingelhoff. The set became tied at nine, 11 and 13 before the Bearcats broke away. Back-to-back kills by Kostelac and a third by Jasmine Jones forced a USF timeout. Two more kills from Kostelac later in the set gave UC a 20-15 advantage. The Bearcats would close it out with a kill by Ogle and a block by Ogle and Jones.
Set 3: UC, 25-17
• UC earned the first point of the set on a service error then cruised out to a 7-2 lead, finished off with back-to-back blocks and forcing USF to call a timeout. The Bulls were able to score the next few points out of the break, but that run was silenced by a Nolan ace. Chrysanthi Stamatiou added in another ace later on to put the score at 9-5. Later on, the Bearcats' lead grew to five points after a Muldrow kill with an assist from Tingelhoff. That 17-12 lead grew into 21-13 on another kill and assist by the same pair. Back-to-back kills by UC would seal the straight-set victory.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats travel to Orlando to take on UCF on Sunday at 1 p.m.
// 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.