TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati volleyball won a three-set match against Saint Louis Saturday afternoon to begin the 2018 season 2-0.
// NOTES
• Jordan Thompson led the team with 22 kills on a .405 attack percentage
• Maria Mallon was the Bearcats' leader in both digs and aces with 11 and three, respectively
• Jade Tingelhoff finished with 39 assists and ten digs
• Carly Nolan had nine digs while Erica Kostelac aided the offense with eight kills
• Jasmine Jones and Dasha Caparkapa both had three blocks
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENTS
"One thing today specifically that we really worked on is we talked about making in-game adjustments, especially with our blocking and defense, and being able to make those adjustments a little quicker. We refer to it as, we have to take some risks to see if the strategy we want to implement works. I think we did a much better job at making some adjustments and taking some risks and seeing how it pays off. I think we can continue to get a little bit faster at that. We have some really talented servers on our court. I'd like to see us continue to get a little more aggressive and effective with our serving. I think it's such a great still of ours that we haven't necessarily showcased. Overall, it was a really nice match against a team that has some firepower. They definitely had some arms on that team and some players that can terminate."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-20
• Down early, back-to-back kills from Cabarkapa and Thompson started closing the gap for the Bearcats. An ace by Mallon then tied the opening set at nine each. Jones and Erica Kostelac kills gave UC kept the set close as it was tied again later on at 13 all. The Bearcats took their first lead of the set when Nolan earned an ace, making it 15-14. Back-to-back kills from Thompson gave UC a two-point advantage. Up 23-20, Kostelac had a kill from Tingelhoff before Thompson ended the set with an ace.
Set 2: UC, 25-21
• The second set got started with a Mallon ace. UC once again trailed early but then worked back. Thompson had back-to-back kills to tie it at nine, then Thompson and Kostelac had a block to make it three points in a row. A few errors by the Billikens let the Bearcats get even further ahead later in the set. Up 23-15, Saint Louis scored the next four points, but UC closed out the second set with a Jones kill off a Tingelhoff assist.
Set 3: 28-26
• Saint Louis got out to a 3-0 lead in the third until Thompson ended the streak with another kill. The set went back-and-forth until the Billikens took a 13-11 lead, making the Bearcats call a timeout. Mallon and Jones blocked a Saint Louis attack to close the deficit. Down 20-17 late, Jones and Kostelac both had kills to start working back. A kill by Mallon tied the set at 21. The Bearcats served for match point a few times, but it wasn't until back-to-back kills from Thompson decided the game.
// NEXT MATCH.
The Bearcats will have a quick turnaround to take on host Miami in the final game of the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational Saturday night at 7:30 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).
// NOTES
• Jordan Thompson led the team with 22 kills on a .405 attack percentage
• Maria Mallon was the Bearcats' leader in both digs and aces with 11 and three, respectively
• Jade Tingelhoff finished with 39 assists and ten digs
• Carly Nolan had nine digs while Erica Kostelac aided the offense with eight kills
• Jasmine Jones and Dasha Caparkapa both had three blocks
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENTS
"One thing today specifically that we really worked on is we talked about making in-game adjustments, especially with our blocking and defense, and being able to make those adjustments a little quicker. We refer to it as, we have to take some risks to see if the strategy we want to implement works. I think we did a much better job at making some adjustments and taking some risks and seeing how it pays off. I think we can continue to get a little bit faster at that. We have some really talented servers on our court. I'd like to see us continue to get a little more aggressive and effective with our serving. I think it's such a great still of ours that we haven't necessarily showcased. Overall, it was a really nice match against a team that has some firepower. They definitely had some arms on that team and some players that can terminate."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-20
• Down early, back-to-back kills from Cabarkapa and Thompson started closing the gap for the Bearcats. An ace by Mallon then tied the opening set at nine each. Jones and Erica Kostelac kills gave UC kept the set close as it was tied again later on at 13 all. The Bearcats took their first lead of the set when Nolan earned an ace, making it 15-14. Back-to-back kills from Thompson gave UC a two-point advantage. Up 23-20, Kostelac had a kill from Tingelhoff before Thompson ended the set with an ace.
Set 2: UC, 25-21
• The second set got started with a Mallon ace. UC once again trailed early but then worked back. Thompson had back-to-back kills to tie it at nine, then Thompson and Kostelac had a block to make it three points in a row. A few errors by the Billikens let the Bearcats get even further ahead later in the set. Up 23-15, Saint Louis scored the next four points, but UC closed out the second set with a Jones kill off a Tingelhoff assist.
Set 3: 28-26
• Saint Louis got out to a 3-0 lead in the third until Thompson ended the streak with another kill. The set went back-and-forth until the Billikens took a 13-11 lead, making the Bearcats call a timeout. Mallon and Jones blocked a Saint Louis attack to close the deficit. Down 20-17 late, Jones and Kostelac both had kills to start working back. A kill by Mallon tied the set at 21. The Bearcats served for match point a few times, but it wasn't until back-to-back kills from Thompson decided the game.
// NEXT MATCH.
The Bearcats will have a quick turnaround to take on host Miami in the final game of the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational Saturday night at 7:30 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).