TicketsCINCINNATI – Jordan Thompson made her Senior Day as memorable as she could as she led the team with an astounding 50 kills en route to a 3-2 victory against UConn Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
Thompson broke her own UC and AAC single-match record with the mark, which was previously 44 kills set last season at Wichita State. Thompson is just the seventh player in NCAA Division-I history to achieve 50 or more kills in a match and is the first since September 10, 1999.
// NOTES
• Thompson reached the 50 kill mark while hitting .530 in the match and added in 11 digs
• Maria Mallon also had double-digits in kills with 16 and led the team with 21 digs and three aces
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 60 assists
• Damjana Cabarkapa had four blocks for the Bearcats
• Mckenzie Conner totaled 11 digs
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25-18
Mallon started the day with an ace. UConn had an early 3-0 run to take a 6-5 lead, but it would not last. A 4-0 run by UC on a two Thompson kills, a Kerstin Ficker ace and a UConn error put the advantage at 14-9. A second run via two Adria Oliver kills and a Fauske ace increased the lead to seven, 18-11. Back-to-back Thompson kills ended the set.
Set 2: UCONN 26-24
UConn was able to edge out UC in the second. The Huskies scored first on a kill and the set was back-and-forth from there. Back-to-back Thompson kills gave the Bearcats an early 3-1 lead. Four-straight points from a Thompson kill, Mallon kill, Thompson ace and a UConn error put UC ahead 8-5. Not much later, an attack error by the Bearcats followed by a UConn kill helped the Huskies take a 15-12 lead. UC came back to tie it at 16 and at 18 and went ahead by two when Mallon earned back-to-back kills. The end of the set could have gone either way. It was tied at 23 and at 24. Two kills by the Huskies handed them the victory.
Set 3: UCONN 25-23
The Huskies hung on to take set three and a match lead. Two blocks put UConn out to a 2-0 lead and then a 9-8 advantage on another block. That lead grew to 13-11 after two UC errors. Two UConn errors and a kill by Mallon switched the advantage to the Bearcats 15-14. It was either a tied set or a one-point lead for the majority of the rest of the way. That trend ended with back-to-back Huskies aces to make the score 22-20. A block put it at 23-20. The Bearcats answered with the next two points on Thompson kills. UConn made it set-point on a kill. A service error made it a one-point set again until a kill by the Huskies finished it.
Set 4: UC 25-14
UC got back in rhythm in the fourth set to tie the match at two apiece, hitting .545 in the set with 12 kills from Thompson. The Bearcats were down 3-0 at the start but quickly worked back. A kill from Thompson broke a 7-7 tie and a block by Fauske and Oliver made it a two-point lead. The lead grew to 15-11 off a UConn error and then to 20-13 on back-to-back Thompson kills. Three more kills from Thompson made it set point before the match was sent to the fifth on a Huskies error.
Set 5: UC 15-7
Eight more kills from Thompson in the final set captured the victory for the Bearcats. A Mallon ace, attack error and block by Fauske and Cabarkapa got UC off to a 3-0 start. Thompson made it 5-1 on a kill. The teams switched sides of the court when the Bearcats were leading 8-2 after yet another successful attack by Thompson. Up 11-6, Thompson scored the team's final four points on kills.
// UP NEXT
• The Bearcats hit the road next weekend for a Friday match at USF followed by a big conference contest at UCF on Sunday.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
Thompson broke her own UC and AAC single-match record with the mark, which was previously 44 kills set last season at Wichita State. Thompson is just the seventh player in NCAA Division-I history to achieve 50 or more kills in a match and is the first since September 10, 1999.
// NOTES
• Thompson reached the 50 kill mark while hitting .530 in the match and added in 11 digs
• Maria Mallon also had double-digits in kills with 16 and led the team with 21 digs and three aces
• Armania Heckenmueller finished with 60 assists
• Damjana Cabarkapa had four blocks for the Bearcats
• Mckenzie Conner totaled 11 digs
// SET BREAKDOWN
Set 1: UC 25-18
Mallon started the day with an ace. UConn had an early 3-0 run to take a 6-5 lead, but it would not last. A 4-0 run by UC on a two Thompson kills, a Kerstin Ficker ace and a UConn error put the advantage at 14-9. A second run via two Adria Oliver kills and a Fauske ace increased the lead to seven, 18-11. Back-to-back Thompson kills ended the set.
Set 2: UCONN 26-24
UConn was able to edge out UC in the second. The Huskies scored first on a kill and the set was back-and-forth from there. Back-to-back Thompson kills gave the Bearcats an early 3-1 lead. Four-straight points from a Thompson kill, Mallon kill, Thompson ace and a UConn error put UC ahead 8-5. Not much later, an attack error by the Bearcats followed by a UConn kill helped the Huskies take a 15-12 lead. UC came back to tie it at 16 and at 18 and went ahead by two when Mallon earned back-to-back kills. The end of the set could have gone either way. It was tied at 23 and at 24. Two kills by the Huskies handed them the victory.
Set 3: UCONN 25-23
The Huskies hung on to take set three and a match lead. Two blocks put UConn out to a 2-0 lead and then a 9-8 advantage on another block. That lead grew to 13-11 after two UC errors. Two UConn errors and a kill by Mallon switched the advantage to the Bearcats 15-14. It was either a tied set or a one-point lead for the majority of the rest of the way. That trend ended with back-to-back Huskies aces to make the score 22-20. A block put it at 23-20. The Bearcats answered with the next two points on Thompson kills. UConn made it set-point on a kill. A service error made it a one-point set again until a kill by the Huskies finished it.
Set 4: UC 25-14
UC got back in rhythm in the fourth set to tie the match at two apiece, hitting .545 in the set with 12 kills from Thompson. The Bearcats were down 3-0 at the start but quickly worked back. A kill from Thompson broke a 7-7 tie and a block by Fauske and Oliver made it a two-point lead. The lead grew to 15-11 off a UConn error and then to 20-13 on back-to-back Thompson kills. Three more kills from Thompson made it set point before the match was sent to the fifth on a Huskies error.
Set 5: UC 15-7
Eight more kills from Thompson in the final set captured the victory for the Bearcats. A Mallon ace, attack error and block by Fauske and Cabarkapa got UC off to a 3-0 start. Thompson made it 5-1 on a kill. The teams switched sides of the court when the Bearcats were leading 8-2 after yet another successful attack by Thompson. Up 11-6, Thompson scored the team's final four points on kills.
// UP NEXT
• The Bearcats hit the road next weekend for a Friday match at USF followed by a big conference contest at UCF on Sunday.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.