TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati volleyball fought hard but lost a five-set battle with Miami on Saturday night in the final game of the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational.
UC, Miami and UC Santa Barbara all went 2-1 on the weekend. Based on point differential, UCSB was named the champion followed by Miami in second place and UC in third.
// NOTES
• Following another double-double performance with a team-high 24 kills and 11 digs, Jordan Thompson was named to the all-tournament team
• Jasmine Jones followed Thompson in kills with 11 while Erica Kostelac had ten
• Carly Nolan led the team in digs with 15 while Maria Mallon had 12
• In her collegiate debut, Armania Heckenmueller led with 30 assists while Jade Tingelhoff finished with 22
• Dasha Cabarkapa led the team with four blocks on the night
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENTS
"Tonight was a great match. It was extremely competitive with two really strong teams. I felt like we did some really amazing things, and I think we did some things that were really simple, silly errors. I think you have to take a snapshot of the whole weekend and there's no doubt that this program got better this weekend. So I think that's really, really positive. Looking at the defense and the ball control that we got from Carly Nolan and Maria Mallon was just incredible. I think our first contact is as strong as it's ever been. Chrysanthi Stamatiou for this match passed 2.40, which is just amazing. In return, our overall attack percentage has probably been the highest since I've been here in Cincinnati. There were some really fantastic things, but we have some work to do, and we have some time to do that. We'll get some rest and get some work in. I'm really proud of the team. I thought this was a well put together tournament. It was run really well. The teams were all fantastic and we got better. Now it's time to just continue to work."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Miami, 25-23
Kills by Thompson and Jones got the match off to a strong start. Miami worked back to tie the game at five early. Mallon smacked a kill to tie the set at seven and Thompson followed with another to tie it at eight. Later on, Cabarkapa and Mallon broke a 14-14 tie by shutting down the Miami attack with a block. The Bearcats had a 22-20 advantage, but unfortunately the RedHawks answered by scoring the next four points to go on to win the set.
Set 2: UC, 25-21
The second set went back and forth. A block by Thompson and Cabarkapa tied the set at seven and a Thompson kill tied the set at eight. Kostelac had a kill from Heckenmueller to give UC the lead and Mallon later had a kill, too, to put the Bearcats ahead by a score of 13-12. Jones had a kill to put UC up by three and yet another to make it a 21-18 lead. Back-to-back kills by Thompson secured the set win.
Set 3: UC, 25-15
Thompson stayed hot with two kills and Nolan had an ace get the third set off to a 3-0 lead. The Bearcats continued to roll as Thompson added in an ace and Kostelac fired in a kill for a six-point early lead. UC did not look back from there, completing the set victory with kills from Kostelac, Nolan and Thompson.
Set 4: Miami, 25-21
Miami got out ahead in set four, starting off 7-2 to force a UC timeout. Out of the break, the Bearcats began to work back as Thompson connected on a kill followed by one from Jones. Back-to-back aces served by Heckenmueller tied the set at seven. Tied at eight, the RedHawks were able to string together three-straight points. Miami got up by as much as 19-12, but UC continued to put the pressure on, bringing the deficit to 21-19 after a Thompson kill. A Kostelac kill made it 22-20, but the RedHawks were able to close it out with two kills of their own.
Set 5: Miami, 15-12
The RedHawks had the momentum and got out to a 5-2 early lead, but the Bearcats slowly worked back, making it a one-point set after a Kostelac kill and Miami attack error. A kill by Jones made it 12-11 late in the set, but two late kills by the RedHawks grabbed the win for the tournament hosts.
// NEXT MATCH.
The Bearcats travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, for three games. UC will face host Colorado State, TCU and Florida State.
// 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).
UC, Miami and UC Santa Barbara all went 2-1 on the weekend. Based on point differential, UCSB was named the champion followed by Miami in second place and UC in third.
// NOTES
• Following another double-double performance with a team-high 24 kills and 11 digs, Jordan Thompson was named to the all-tournament team
• Jasmine Jones followed Thompson in kills with 11 while Erica Kostelac had ten
• Carly Nolan led the team in digs with 15 while Maria Mallon had 12
• In her collegiate debut, Armania Heckenmueller led with 30 assists while Jade Tingelhoff finished with 22
• Dasha Cabarkapa led the team with four blocks on the night
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENTS
"Tonight was a great match. It was extremely competitive with two really strong teams. I felt like we did some really amazing things, and I think we did some things that were really simple, silly errors. I think you have to take a snapshot of the whole weekend and there's no doubt that this program got better this weekend. So I think that's really, really positive. Looking at the defense and the ball control that we got from Carly Nolan and Maria Mallon was just incredible. I think our first contact is as strong as it's ever been. Chrysanthi Stamatiou for this match passed 2.40, which is just amazing. In return, our overall attack percentage has probably been the highest since I've been here in Cincinnati. There were some really fantastic things, but we have some work to do, and we have some time to do that. We'll get some rest and get some work in. I'm really proud of the team. I thought this was a well put together tournament. It was run really well. The teams were all fantastic and we got better. Now it's time to just continue to work."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Miami, 25-23
Kills by Thompson and Jones got the match off to a strong start. Miami worked back to tie the game at five early. Mallon smacked a kill to tie the set at seven and Thompson followed with another to tie it at eight. Later on, Cabarkapa and Mallon broke a 14-14 tie by shutting down the Miami attack with a block. The Bearcats had a 22-20 advantage, but unfortunately the RedHawks answered by scoring the next four points to go on to win the set.
Set 2: UC, 25-21
The second set went back and forth. A block by Thompson and Cabarkapa tied the set at seven and a Thompson kill tied the set at eight. Kostelac had a kill from Heckenmueller to give UC the lead and Mallon later had a kill, too, to put the Bearcats ahead by a score of 13-12. Jones had a kill to put UC up by three and yet another to make it a 21-18 lead. Back-to-back kills by Thompson secured the set win.
Set 3: UC, 25-15
Thompson stayed hot with two kills and Nolan had an ace get the third set off to a 3-0 lead. The Bearcats continued to roll as Thompson added in an ace and Kostelac fired in a kill for a six-point early lead. UC did not look back from there, completing the set victory with kills from Kostelac, Nolan and Thompson.
Set 4: Miami, 25-21
Miami got out ahead in set four, starting off 7-2 to force a UC timeout. Out of the break, the Bearcats began to work back as Thompson connected on a kill followed by one from Jones. Back-to-back aces served by Heckenmueller tied the set at seven. Tied at eight, the RedHawks were able to string together three-straight points. Miami got up by as much as 19-12, but UC continued to put the pressure on, bringing the deficit to 21-19 after a Thompson kill. A Kostelac kill made it 22-20, but the RedHawks were able to close it out with two kills of their own.
Set 5: Miami, 15-12
The RedHawks had the momentum and got out to a 5-2 early lead, but the Bearcats slowly worked back, making it a one-point set after a Kostelac kill and Miami attack error. A kill by Jones made it 12-11 late in the set, but two late kills by the RedHawks grabbed the win for the tournament hosts.
// NEXT MATCH.
The Bearcats travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, for three games. UC will face host Colorado State, TCU and Florida State.
// 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).