TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati volleyball secured the outright American Athletic Conference regular season championship with a sweep of Tulsa in the regular season finale at Fifth Third Arena Sunday afternoon.
The Bearcats end conference play with a 15-1 record and are the No. 1 seed at next weekend's tournament hosted by UCF in Orlando. UC has a bye into the semifinals and will play its first match on Saturday, November 22 at 3:30 p.m. The AAC Tournament final will be aired on ESPNU and take place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. UC will host the 2020 AAC Tournament.
// NOTES
• Jordan Thompson had 18 kills on the night. Her first kill of the match put her at 2,500 in her career, as she became just the ninth NCAA Division I volleyball player to ever do so and the first since 2004
• Maria Mallon had a strong match with 11 kills, 16 digs and two blocks
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 41 assists and ten digs
• Karoline Fauske was just shy of a double-double with eight kills and ten digs and added in two aces
• Mackenzie Conner led all in the match with 17 digs
• Damjana Cabarkapa finished with a team-high five blocks, including one solo
• Adria Oliver totaled nien kills and two blocks
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25-19
Tulsa was able to get out to a 4-1 lead to start the match, and the opening set was an even battle until UC was able to pull away. Back-to-back kills by Thompson and Oliver switched the lead over to the Bearcats, 5-4, but the Hurricane got it back 8-7 on a kill. It wasn't until a Tulsa error tied the set at 13 that the momentum stayed with UC. Thompson had a kill and Fauske a service ace to lead by two. Three straight UC points on an Oliver kill, Tulsa error and Mallon kill pushed the lead to 18-14. The final four points were all Bearcats. Thompson had a kill, Fauske and Cabarkapa had a block and Thompson had two more kills to close it out.
Set 2: UC 25-18
The Bearcats were successful right from the start of set two, beginning with back-to-back kills by Cabarkapa and Thompson. Fauske then added in a kill and an ace for an early advantage. A 3-0 run with a kill by Oliver and back-to-back kills by Mallon put the score at 8-3. Another 3-0 run, this time courtesy of two Fauske kills and a Tulsa error, increased the lead to six, 13-7. Yet another 3-0 run closed out the set. An attack error by the Hurricane followed by a Thompson kill and ace made it a 2-0 match lead for UC.
Set 3: UC 25-12
UC cruised to the match win with an easy set three victory. Right off the first serve by Heckenmueller, the Bearcats scored the first five points off a Cabarkpa-Mallon block, two Mallon kills, Heckenmueller ace and a Tulsa error. The 5-0 lead grew to six, 10-4, after kills by Cabarkapa, Fauske and Thompson. A run later on via an error, Thompson kill, block by Heckenmueller and Oliver and Oliver kill made it a 14-6 set. The Bearcats got to the 20th point on a Tulsa service error. The final four points came from back-to-back attack errors by the Hurricane, a Fauske kill and yet another Hurricane error.
// UP NEXT
The American Athletic Conference Tournament begins November 22 in Orlando, Florida. As the regular season champion and No.1 seed, the Bearcats will have a bye into the semifinals and play Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
The Bearcats end conference play with a 15-1 record and are the No. 1 seed at next weekend's tournament hosted by UCF in Orlando. UC has a bye into the semifinals and will play its first match on Saturday, November 22 at 3:30 p.m. The AAC Tournament final will be aired on ESPNU and take place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. UC will host the 2020 AAC Tournament.
// NOTES
• Jordan Thompson had 18 kills on the night. Her first kill of the match put her at 2,500 in her career, as she became just the ninth NCAA Division I volleyball player to ever do so and the first since 2004
• Maria Mallon had a strong match with 11 kills, 16 digs and two blocks
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 41 assists and ten digs
• Karoline Fauske was just shy of a double-double with eight kills and ten digs and added in two aces
• Mackenzie Conner led all in the match with 17 digs
• Damjana Cabarkapa finished with a team-high five blocks, including one solo
• Adria Oliver totaled nien kills and two blocks
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25-19
Tulsa was able to get out to a 4-1 lead to start the match, and the opening set was an even battle until UC was able to pull away. Back-to-back kills by Thompson and Oliver switched the lead over to the Bearcats, 5-4, but the Hurricane got it back 8-7 on a kill. It wasn't until a Tulsa error tied the set at 13 that the momentum stayed with UC. Thompson had a kill and Fauske a service ace to lead by two. Three straight UC points on an Oliver kill, Tulsa error and Mallon kill pushed the lead to 18-14. The final four points were all Bearcats. Thompson had a kill, Fauske and Cabarkapa had a block and Thompson had two more kills to close it out.
Set 2: UC 25-18
The Bearcats were successful right from the start of set two, beginning with back-to-back kills by Cabarkapa and Thompson. Fauske then added in a kill and an ace for an early advantage. A 3-0 run with a kill by Oliver and back-to-back kills by Mallon put the score at 8-3. Another 3-0 run, this time courtesy of two Fauske kills and a Tulsa error, increased the lead to six, 13-7. Yet another 3-0 run closed out the set. An attack error by the Hurricane followed by a Thompson kill and ace made it a 2-0 match lead for UC.
Set 3: UC 25-12
UC cruised to the match win with an easy set three victory. Right off the first serve by Heckenmueller, the Bearcats scored the first five points off a Cabarkpa-Mallon block, two Mallon kills, Heckenmueller ace and a Tulsa error. The 5-0 lead grew to six, 10-4, after kills by Cabarkapa, Fauske and Thompson. A run later on via an error, Thompson kill, block by Heckenmueller and Oliver and Oliver kill made it a 14-6 set. The Bearcats got to the 20th point on a Tulsa service error. The final four points came from back-to-back attack errors by the Hurricane, a Fauske kill and yet another Hurricane error.
// UP NEXT
The American Athletic Conference Tournament begins November 22 in Orlando, Florida. As the regular season champion and No.1 seed, the Bearcats will have a bye into the semifinals and play Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.