Bearcats Take Down Rival Xavier in Home Opener

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team defeated rival Xavier in four sets (27-25, 26-28, 25-16, 25-18) Thursday night in the team's home opener. The Bearcats (4-3) are now on a three-game winning streak, which began with their victory over Notre Dame on Sept. 4.

As a team, the Bearcats finished the game with 60 kills, 53 assists, 67 digs and 10 blocks. They were led on offense by Shannon Williams and Maria Mallon, who both really had it going tonight. 

GAME NOTES

• Shannon Williams set a new season-high with 19 kills. This is her fifth game of the year with double-digit kills.
• Maria Mallon tied Williams for the team lead with 19 kills on the night. She also had 15 digs, earning her sixth double-double of the year.  
• Alexandra Kwasnik tied a career-high with seven kills.  
• Maria Tobergte set a new season-high with 15 digs. 
• Abby Walker contributed on the defensive side with four blocks. 

BREAKDOWN

The first set was back-and-forth through the first half, with Xavier taking a commanding lead with a 5-0 run, making it 13-18. After chipping away at the lead, a service ace from Mallon and another kill from Walker tied the game at 23. Kwasnik shut down the set point for Xavier and Williams scored the last two points of the set, securing a 27-25 win in a thrilling first set.  

Set two brought a lot of the same tricks – the Bearcats took the first point, but Xavier took an eventual lead after a lot of back-and-forth rallying. Once again, Xavier pulled away with a 4-0 run, making it 11-16. The Bearcats fought back, tying it up and forcing some extra volleyball, but the Musketeers ended up taking set two in another extended set, 26-28. 

The Bearcats once again took the first point with a feint and secured a strong 8-4 lead early on. Xavier would never get close this set because the Bearcats had themselves two 3-0 runs, and an additional 4-0 run. UC took the third set by a score of 25-16. UC had four aces this set, including a couple in a row from Abby Walker.  

The last set started strong with kills by Mallon and Williams for an early 3-0 lead. A kill by Williams brought her to a new season-high while Frederick and Tobergte made some incredible digs. Mallon served up another ace for the Bearcats, who had nine of them tonight. Stuck in a two-point game, the Bearcats sunddenly took over. They scored seven of the next eight points, taking a 19-13 lead. UC never looked back, and Mallon sent the Musketeers home with her 19th kill of the night. 

UP NEXT
The Bearcats are back in action Saturday night when they travel to Oxford to take on Miami (OH) at 8:00 p.m. EST.  WATCH - LIVESTATS

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