TicketsTULSA, Okla. – University of Cincinnati volleyball continued to perform well in conference play, beating Tulsa on the road 3-1 Friday afternoon to move to 15-4 on the season and 6-0 in American Athletic Conference action.
// NOTES
• Tulsa drops to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the AAC
• Jordan Thompson led all on the day with 27 kills on a .392 attack percentage. She completed a double-double with a team-high 18 digs
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 21 assists while Jade Tingelhoff had 15
• Abby Williams was second on the team in digs with 14
• Dasha Cabarkapa continued to impress up front by totaling seven blocks, including two solo
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"I'm really proud of the team today for pulling together and finishing a tough match. I think in the third set we, I'm not sure if we lost a little focus or just got a little offbeat. But, we were able to rally together. We were able to play three really solid sets, so I'm proud of them. I thought we blocked extremely well. When we needed a little bit of a change, a shift in our serving mentality, we made that shift, and I think it put us in a much better position for scoring."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-11
The Bearcats went on a run to take a five-point lead early on during the first set. Nolan started it with a kill and two kills and a solo block by Cabarkapa kept the streak going. The Hurricane called a timeout once it reached 10-5. UC kept up the pace, forcing another Tulsa timeout after a 3-0 run. Thompson hammered home a kill, Nolan served up an ace and Cabarkapa and Thompson teamed up on a block to take a 17-10 lead. The Bearcats scored 11 of the final 12 points, including the last four to take the set. Kills by Mallon and Thompson and two Tulsa attack errors ended it.
Set 2: UC, 25-17
The second set was close at the start until UC was able to break out of a 6-6 tie and put together some more runs. Tied up at seven, Thompson had a kills, Kostelac had two and a Tulsa attack attempt that went out of bounds made it a 10-7 set in favor of the Bearcats. The Hurricane scored the next two points, but a 5-0 UC run added to the Bearcats' lead. Thompson and Kostelac both added kills to their totals and Williams served an ace to make it a 15-9 set. Two 3-0 runs further along in the set allowed UC to get to set-point. They won it on a Thompson kill.
Set 3: Tulsa, 25-17
The Hurricane scored three of the first four points and were able to maintain the lead to keep the match going. Down 10-4, the Bearcats got a block by Cabarkapa and Tingelhoff and a Tulsa attack error, and then shortly after Mallon had a kill and Tulsa had another attack error to bring the deficit to 11-8. The Bearcats trailed by five, 19-14, after Heckenmueller snuck in a kill, but ultimately could not make a comeback as Tulsa won the set.
Set 4: UC, 25-16
Tulsa got out ahead 6-4 in the fourth set, but a Thompson kill and Thompson and Jones block tied it at six. Down by one, a 4-0 run thanks to a Jones kill and three Tulsa attack error put the Bearcats ahead 10-7. The lead grew to 14-8 on four UC kills, two from Kostelac and one each by Nolan and Thompson. Tulsa called a timeout when they were down 19-12, but UC continued to score. Thompson had four more kills while Mallon and Nolan each had one to close out the set and give the Bearcats the match.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats travel to Wichita State for another 2 p.m. ET match on Sunday
// 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
• Tulsa drops to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the AAC
• Jordan Thompson led all on the day with 27 kills on a .392 attack percentage. She completed a double-double with a team-high 18 digs
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 21 assists while Jade Tingelhoff had 15
• Abby Williams was second on the team in digs with 14
• Dasha Cabarkapa continued to impress up front by totaling seven blocks, including two solo
// COACH ALVEY'S COMMENT
"I'm really proud of the team today for pulling together and finishing a tough match. I think in the third set we, I'm not sure if we lost a little focus or just got a little offbeat. But, we were able to rally together. We were able to play three really solid sets, so I'm proud of them. I thought we blocked extremely well. When we needed a little bit of a change, a shift in our serving mentality, we made that shift, and I think it put us in a much better position for scoring."
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-11
The Bearcats went on a run to take a five-point lead early on during the first set. Nolan started it with a kill and two kills and a solo block by Cabarkapa kept the streak going. The Hurricane called a timeout once it reached 10-5. UC kept up the pace, forcing another Tulsa timeout after a 3-0 run. Thompson hammered home a kill, Nolan served up an ace and Cabarkapa and Thompson teamed up on a block to take a 17-10 lead. The Bearcats scored 11 of the final 12 points, including the last four to take the set. Kills by Mallon and Thompson and two Tulsa attack errors ended it.
Set 2: UC, 25-17
The second set was close at the start until UC was able to break out of a 6-6 tie and put together some more runs. Tied up at seven, Thompson had a kills, Kostelac had two and a Tulsa attack attempt that went out of bounds made it a 10-7 set in favor of the Bearcats. The Hurricane scored the next two points, but a 5-0 UC run added to the Bearcats' lead. Thompson and Kostelac both added kills to their totals and Williams served an ace to make it a 15-9 set. Two 3-0 runs further along in the set allowed UC to get to set-point. They won it on a Thompson kill.
Set 3: Tulsa, 25-17
The Hurricane scored three of the first four points and were able to maintain the lead to keep the match going. Down 10-4, the Bearcats got a block by Cabarkapa and Tingelhoff and a Tulsa attack error, and then shortly after Mallon had a kill and Tulsa had another attack error to bring the deficit to 11-8. The Bearcats trailed by five, 19-14, after Heckenmueller snuck in a kill, but ultimately could not make a comeback as Tulsa won the set.
Set 4: UC, 25-16
Tulsa got out ahead 6-4 in the fourth set, but a Thompson kill and Thompson and Jones block tied it at six. Down by one, a 4-0 run thanks to a Jones kill and three Tulsa attack error put the Bearcats ahead 10-7. The lead grew to 14-8 on four UC kills, two from Kostelac and one each by Nolan and Thompson. Tulsa called a timeout when they were down 19-12, but UC continued to score. Thompson had four more kills while Mallon and Nolan each had one to close out the set and give the Bearcats the match.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats travel to Wichita State for another 2 p.m. ET match on Sunday
// 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).