TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati volleyball opened its home season with authority, taking down Eastern Kentucky in straight sets, 25-14, 25-14 and 25-13.
UC was firing on all cylinders as the offense posted a season-high attack percentage of .315 while holding EKU to just .033.
// NOTES
• The Bearcats move to 8-2 on the season while the Colonels drop to 1-9
• Despite playing just two of the three sets, Jordan Thompson yet again led the UC attack with 15 kills on a .542 hitting percentage. She also had two aces
• Carly Nolan was close behind, hitting .407 with 14 kills. Nolan also had nine digs and two aces
• Abby Williams led the team with 16 digs
• Armania Heckenmueller set up the offense, totaling 33 assists in the match and adding in seven digs
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"It was a really nice performance today. I think we had an opportunity to see some different things out of our players in a positive way. There's a couple of things offensively that we really wanted to work on, and we got to execute some of those things today. Really the main focus that we wanted to have going in to this afternoon's match was our serve and pass game. I think we looked really strong in that. Now, it will be the same as before where we have a little bit of a break and we have to bring the same effort back to tonight's match."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-14
The day started with a block by Jasmine Jones and Erica Kostelac. The first set was close at the beginning until the Bearcats broke a 7-7 tie with a kill by Dasha Cabarkapa and UC started pulling away. Thompson had back-to-back kills, two of her eleven from the set, to force an EKU timeout. UC led 11-7. The next four points came via Bearcats' kills as four different players connected. Nolan brought the set to 20-13 with a kill off an assist by Heckenmueller. UC put together a 3-0 run towards the end before finishing the set on another Thompson kill.
Set 2: UC, 25-14
The first point of the second set also went UC's way, but this time it built its lead much earlier. It was a 7-2 set after Thompson hammered home a kill and two aces, followed by kills by Jones and Nolan. UC caused EKU to call a timeout later on as Nolan scored two-straight points on a kill and an ace. The Colonels did make a charge mid-set, scoring four in a row to bring the lead to within three. But, after a Bearcats' timeout, Thompson scored three of the next four points and UC went on another big run to being the score to 23-13. The final two points came via a Nolan kill and EKU attack error.
Set 3: UC, 25-13
For the first time, UC started down but it would not take long for them to get back in front. Nolan tied the set at 3-3 and 5-5 with kills before the Bearcats started breaking away. Tied for the final time at six, a kill from Maria Mallon, EKU error and Nolan ace gave UC a three-point lead. That 3-0 run was followed closely by a 4-0 one, putting the set score at 13-7. The set ended with some strong defense, as Heckenmueller posted a solo block and she and Jones paired up for a match-winning block during the next play.
// NEXT MATCH.
UC has a quick turnaround and hosts Indiana Friday night at 7 p.m. at St. Ursula Academy. The Queen City Classic wraps up on Saturday when UC hosts Xavier in a rivalry contest. That match is scheduled to start at 4:30 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).
UC was firing on all cylinders as the offense posted a season-high attack percentage of .315 while holding EKU to just .033.
// NOTES
• The Bearcats move to 8-2 on the season while the Colonels drop to 1-9
• Despite playing just two of the three sets, Jordan Thompson yet again led the UC attack with 15 kills on a .542 hitting percentage. She also had two aces
• Carly Nolan was close behind, hitting .407 with 14 kills. Nolan also had nine digs and two aces
• Abby Williams led the team with 16 digs
• Armania Heckenmueller set up the offense, totaling 33 assists in the match and adding in seven digs
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"It was a really nice performance today. I think we had an opportunity to see some different things out of our players in a positive way. There's a couple of things offensively that we really wanted to work on, and we got to execute some of those things today. Really the main focus that we wanted to have going in to this afternoon's match was our serve and pass game. I think we looked really strong in that. Now, it will be the same as before where we have a little bit of a break and we have to bring the same effort back to tonight's match."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-14
The day started with a block by Jasmine Jones and Erica Kostelac. The first set was close at the beginning until the Bearcats broke a 7-7 tie with a kill by Dasha Cabarkapa and UC started pulling away. Thompson had back-to-back kills, two of her eleven from the set, to force an EKU timeout. UC led 11-7. The next four points came via Bearcats' kills as four different players connected. Nolan brought the set to 20-13 with a kill off an assist by Heckenmueller. UC put together a 3-0 run towards the end before finishing the set on another Thompson kill.
Set 2: UC, 25-14
The first point of the second set also went UC's way, but this time it built its lead much earlier. It was a 7-2 set after Thompson hammered home a kill and two aces, followed by kills by Jones and Nolan. UC caused EKU to call a timeout later on as Nolan scored two-straight points on a kill and an ace. The Colonels did make a charge mid-set, scoring four in a row to bring the lead to within three. But, after a Bearcats' timeout, Thompson scored three of the next four points and UC went on another big run to being the score to 23-13. The final two points came via a Nolan kill and EKU attack error.
Set 3: UC, 25-13
For the first time, UC started down but it would not take long for them to get back in front. Nolan tied the set at 3-3 and 5-5 with kills before the Bearcats started breaking away. Tied for the final time at six, a kill from Maria Mallon, EKU error and Nolan ace gave UC a three-point lead. That 3-0 run was followed closely by a 4-0 one, putting the set score at 13-7. The set ended with some strong defense, as Heckenmueller posted a solo block and she and Jones paired up for a match-winning block during the next play.
// NEXT MATCH.
UC has a quick turnaround and hosts Indiana Friday night at 7 p.m. at St. Ursula Academy. The Queen City Classic wraps up on Saturday when UC hosts Xavier in a rivalry contest. That match is scheduled to start at 4:30 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).