TicketsDURHAM, N.C. – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team proved once again it never gives up a fight as the team rallied for its fifth five-set victory this season, beating Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon to close out the Duke Invitational.
// NOTES
• The Bearcats move to 6-2 on the season while Coastal Carolina drops to 1-6
• UC's front line had a big day with a season-high 14 blocks
• Jordan Thompson led with a double-double, finishing with 25 kills and 12 digs. She also had four blocks
• Armania Heckenmueller totaled 42 assists with nine digs and three aces
• Abby Williams tied Thompson with a team-high 12 digs
• Dasha Cabarkapa set her career-best with seven blocks
• Jasmine Jones also had seven blocks in the match
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"What another amazing road trip for us. Playing on the road is always difficult, just the travel and playing three matches in two days. We had good fan support this weekend and that always helps on the road. During neutral matches there is not a lot of action in the stands, but we had really great fan support. Overall, consistently on the weekend, our ability to score is fantastic. We had some great scoring across the board from many of our attackers. Great consistency from our middle blockers scoring, which adds a totally different dynamic to our offensive game. Abby Williams had an incredibly consistent presence on the court all weekend and her passing was incredibly strong. Her passing really kept us in system. One adjustment that we worked on in the middle of the weekend was our blocking and making some quicker moves. I believe that paid some pretty big dividends. We had a tremendous blocking match today with 14 and saw some individuals step in to some big defensive roles for us. We saw three great teams. Every single head coach of this tournament talked about what a strong tournament this was. I think this prepares us for the next step."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Coastal, 25-21
Nolan scored the first point of the match on a kill before Coastal Carolina scored the next four to get out in front. The Chanticleers continued to stay in front until late in the set. Down 19-15, UC stormed back with a 4-0 run. A Jones kill, attack error, Thompson kill and Heckenmueller ace tied the match at 19. Maria Mallon kept the Bearcats alive with a late kill, but the Chanticleers took the set with a kill of their own on the next play.
Set 2: UC, 25-13
The Bearcats rolled through the second set. The only time they trailed was 1-0 at the start, but a 4-0 run followed closely with a 5-0 run put UC up 9-2. Emily Azzara contributed two service aces during the second scoring streak. From there, the Bearcats had a 3-0 run and 4-0 run later on to push the lead to 20-8 after a Mallon kill. The final point of the set came courtesy of a kill by Cabarkapa.
Set 3: UC, 25-18
The opening of the set went back and forth until the Bearcats went out ahead. Kostelac had three kill close together to make it a 10-8 UC advantage. A few Coastal Carolina errors put UC ahead by four, 20-16, and caused the Chanticleers to call a timeout. The Bearcats kept up the pace from there, scoring the next three points via two kills from Jones and one from Thompson. The final two points went to UC on a Thompson kill and Nolan ace.
Set 4: Coastal, 25-20
Kostelac's kill started the fourth and the set was close the whole way. When another Kostelac kill tied it at nine, Coastal Carolina was able to string together four points to force a timeout. The Bearcats came out of the break and answered, scoring the next three on a Kostelac kill and two big blocks, both by Jones and Kostelac. With the lead dwindled back down to one, 13-12, the Chanticleers called a timeout. Jones shut down Coastal with a big block to tie things up. The set continued to remain within one point until the Chanticleers started pulling out ahead. They scored the final three points to tie the match 2-2.
Set 5: UC, 15-11
Points switched between teams as neither could gain much of a lead as the final set got underway. An attack error and a kill gave Coastal a two-point advantage at 6-4 with UC following with a timeout. Out of the break, Thompson had a kill, Chrysanthi Stamatiou had an ace, Cabarkapa had a kill and Thompson followed with another kill to switch the lead and put the Bearcats ahead by two. UC did not look back from that point. A big block from Cabarkapa and Heckenmueller and a Heckenmueller ace kept the momentum on the Bearcats' side of the court. With UC eying match point, the Chanticleers scored twice, but a service error ended the match.
// NEXT MATCH.
UC plays at home for the first time this season next weekend as part of the Queen City Classic. The Bearcats host Eastern Kentucky Friday at 1 p.m., Indiana Friday at 7 p.m. and close out the weekend with a 4:30 p.m. match versus Xavier as part of Alumnae Day on Saturday, September 15. All three matches will be played at St. Ursula Academy with free admission.
// 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
• The Bearcats move to 6-2 on the season while Coastal Carolina drops to 1-6
• UC's front line had a big day with a season-high 14 blocks
• Jordan Thompson led with a double-double, finishing with 25 kills and 12 digs. She also had four blocks
• Armania Heckenmueller totaled 42 assists with nine digs and three aces
• Abby Williams tied Thompson with a team-high 12 digs
• Dasha Cabarkapa set her career-best with seven blocks
• Jasmine Jones also had seven blocks in the match
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"What another amazing road trip for us. Playing on the road is always difficult, just the travel and playing three matches in two days. We had good fan support this weekend and that always helps on the road. During neutral matches there is not a lot of action in the stands, but we had really great fan support. Overall, consistently on the weekend, our ability to score is fantastic. We had some great scoring across the board from many of our attackers. Great consistency from our middle blockers scoring, which adds a totally different dynamic to our offensive game. Abby Williams had an incredibly consistent presence on the court all weekend and her passing was incredibly strong. Her passing really kept us in system. One adjustment that we worked on in the middle of the weekend was our blocking and making some quicker moves. I believe that paid some pretty big dividends. We had a tremendous blocking match today with 14 and saw some individuals step in to some big defensive roles for us. We saw three great teams. Every single head coach of this tournament talked about what a strong tournament this was. I think this prepares us for the next step."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: Coastal, 25-21
Nolan scored the first point of the match on a kill before Coastal Carolina scored the next four to get out in front. The Chanticleers continued to stay in front until late in the set. Down 19-15, UC stormed back with a 4-0 run. A Jones kill, attack error, Thompson kill and Heckenmueller ace tied the match at 19. Maria Mallon kept the Bearcats alive with a late kill, but the Chanticleers took the set with a kill of their own on the next play.
Set 2: UC, 25-13
The Bearcats rolled through the second set. The only time they trailed was 1-0 at the start, but a 4-0 run followed closely with a 5-0 run put UC up 9-2. Emily Azzara contributed two service aces during the second scoring streak. From there, the Bearcats had a 3-0 run and 4-0 run later on to push the lead to 20-8 after a Mallon kill. The final point of the set came courtesy of a kill by Cabarkapa.
Set 3: UC, 25-18
The opening of the set went back and forth until the Bearcats went out ahead. Kostelac had three kill close together to make it a 10-8 UC advantage. A few Coastal Carolina errors put UC ahead by four, 20-16, and caused the Chanticleers to call a timeout. The Bearcats kept up the pace from there, scoring the next three points via two kills from Jones and one from Thompson. The final two points went to UC on a Thompson kill and Nolan ace.
Set 4: Coastal, 25-20
Kostelac's kill started the fourth and the set was close the whole way. When another Kostelac kill tied it at nine, Coastal Carolina was able to string together four points to force a timeout. The Bearcats came out of the break and answered, scoring the next three on a Kostelac kill and two big blocks, both by Jones and Kostelac. With the lead dwindled back down to one, 13-12, the Chanticleers called a timeout. Jones shut down Coastal with a big block to tie things up. The set continued to remain within one point until the Chanticleers started pulling out ahead. They scored the final three points to tie the match 2-2.
Set 5: UC, 15-11
Points switched between teams as neither could gain much of a lead as the final set got underway. An attack error and a kill gave Coastal a two-point advantage at 6-4 with UC following with a timeout. Out of the break, Thompson had a kill, Chrysanthi Stamatiou had an ace, Cabarkapa had a kill and Thompson followed with another kill to switch the lead and put the Bearcats ahead by two. UC did not look back from that point. A big block from Cabarkapa and Heckenmueller and a Heckenmueller ace kept the momentum on the Bearcats' side of the court. With UC eying match point, the Chanticleers scored twice, but a service error ended the match.
// NEXT MATCH.
UC plays at home for the first time this season next weekend as part of the Queen City Classic. The Bearcats host Eastern Kentucky Friday at 1 p.m., Indiana Friday at 7 p.m. and close out the weekend with a 4:30 p.m. match versus Xavier as part of Alumnae Day on Saturday, September 15. All three matches will be played at St. Ursula Academy with free admission.
// 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).