TicketsMILWAUKEE, Wis. – For the fifth time in University of Cincinnati volleyball program history, UC advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the Bearcats beat Illinois State 3-0 Friday night.
// NOTES
• Both teams had big offensive nights as UC hit .547 and Illinois State hit .351
• The Bearcats improve to 26-7 on the season while the Redbirds end their season at 25-8
• Jordan Thompson led all in the match with 20 kills
• Two other Bearcats reached double-digits in kills as Erica Kostelac had 14 and Maria Mallon finished with 12
• Kostelac hit .650 on 20 attempts
• Jade Tingelhoff guided the offense with 47 assists
• Jasmine Jones also had a big night with five kills on six attempts and a team-high five blocks
• Abby Williams led the team with 12 digs
// POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-19
The match started in a 3-3 tie before a 4-0 run allowed the Bearcats to take the lead. Mallon had a kill, Thompson and Jones a block, then Jones and Tingelhoff teamed up for a block before a kill by Tingelhoff capped off the run. Illinois State worked back to make it a two-point match, 10-8, but kills by Thompson, Mallon and Jones and a block by Thompson and Jones pushed the Bearcats' lead back up to four, 14-10. Two more Thompson kills and one from Kostelac caused the Redbirds to call a timeout as they trailed 21-16. UC remained in command of the set, winning it after a block by Jones and Tingelhoff.
Set 2: UC, 25-22
Thompson and Mallon got the second set started with kills, but the Bearcats would have to stage a late comeback to take a 2-0 match lead. Kostelac put UC ahead 6-4 with a kill and Thompson made it 8-5 on back-to-back kills, but Illinois State got in front 9-8 after three UC errors and a kill of its own. The Redbirds lead grew to as much as four, 16-12, before the Bearcats started a late surge. Two kills by Kostelac and one from Mallon caused Illinois State to take a timeout as it became a one-point set. Out of the break, Mallon and Thompson went back-to-back from Tingelhoff to regain the lead. Now in front, the final points of the set went back-and-forth until Tingelhoff earned a kill and the Redbirds had an attack error.
Set 3: UC, 25-22
The third set also took a comeback effort from UC. Thompson once again got it started with a kill. Tied at seven, Mallon and Jones both had a kill to take a two-point lead, but Illinois State was able to tie the set again at ten. Three-straight kills by the Redbirds gave them a 17-14 advantage, forcing a UC timeout. The Bearcats started working back, scoring on kills by Mallon and two from Thompson along with a block by Jones and Mallon to bring the set to a tie once again. It would also be tied at 20, 21 and 22 as neither team could get a late lead to last. Finally, Kostelac connected on a kill and Illinois State had an attack error to make it match point. Tingelhoff went back to Kostelac, who handed the team victory on another kill.
// UP NEXT
• The Bearcats play host No. 14 Marquette on Saturday, December 1 at 8 p.m. ET after the Golden Eagles beat High Point Friday evening
• The winner will advance to regionals which will be hosted at campus sites December 7-8
// 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
• Both teams had big offensive nights as UC hit .547 and Illinois State hit .351
• The Bearcats improve to 26-7 on the season while the Redbirds end their season at 25-8
• Jordan Thompson led all in the match with 20 kills
• Two other Bearcats reached double-digits in kills as Erica Kostelac had 14 and Maria Mallon finished with 12
• Kostelac hit .650 on 20 attempts
• Jade Tingelhoff guided the offense with 47 assists
• Jasmine Jones also had a big night with five kills on six attempts and a team-high five blocks
• Abby Williams led the team with 12 digs
// POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC, 25-19
The match started in a 3-3 tie before a 4-0 run allowed the Bearcats to take the lead. Mallon had a kill, Thompson and Jones a block, then Jones and Tingelhoff teamed up for a block before a kill by Tingelhoff capped off the run. Illinois State worked back to make it a two-point match, 10-8, but kills by Thompson, Mallon and Jones and a block by Thompson and Jones pushed the Bearcats' lead back up to four, 14-10. Two more Thompson kills and one from Kostelac caused the Redbirds to call a timeout as they trailed 21-16. UC remained in command of the set, winning it after a block by Jones and Tingelhoff.
Set 2: UC, 25-22
Thompson and Mallon got the second set started with kills, but the Bearcats would have to stage a late comeback to take a 2-0 match lead. Kostelac put UC ahead 6-4 with a kill and Thompson made it 8-5 on back-to-back kills, but Illinois State got in front 9-8 after three UC errors and a kill of its own. The Redbirds lead grew to as much as four, 16-12, before the Bearcats started a late surge. Two kills by Kostelac and one from Mallon caused Illinois State to take a timeout as it became a one-point set. Out of the break, Mallon and Thompson went back-to-back from Tingelhoff to regain the lead. Now in front, the final points of the set went back-and-forth until Tingelhoff earned a kill and the Redbirds had an attack error.
Set 3: UC, 25-22
The third set also took a comeback effort from UC. Thompson once again got it started with a kill. Tied at seven, Mallon and Jones both had a kill to take a two-point lead, but Illinois State was able to tie the set again at ten. Three-straight kills by the Redbirds gave them a 17-14 advantage, forcing a UC timeout. The Bearcats started working back, scoring on kills by Mallon and two from Thompson along with a block by Jones and Mallon to bring the set to a tie once again. It would also be tied at 20, 21 and 22 as neither team could get a late lead to last. Finally, Kostelac connected on a kill and Illinois State had an attack error to make it match point. Tingelhoff went back to Kostelac, who handed the team victory on another kill.
// UP NEXT
• The Bearcats play host No. 14 Marquette on Saturday, December 1 at 8 p.m. ET after the Golden Eagles beat High Point Friday evening
• The winner will advance to regionals which will be hosted at campus sites December 7-8
// 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)