TicketsWICHITA, KS - The Cincinnati volleyball team fell to the Wichita State Shockers 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15) in a hard fought five-set match Sunday on the road at Charles Koch Arena.
The loss ends Cincinnati's five game win streak. Their record is now 11-5 overall and 6-2 in AAC play.
The Bearcats were led by a double-double from Maria Mallon, who registered 22 kills and 18 digs on the day. Kailea Carrier also added 13 kills to help the offense. On the defensive end, Payton Frederick chipped in for UC with 28 digs to go with one blocks from Abby Walker.
Game Notes
- Cincinnati had five players in double figures in kill and three players in double figures in digs.
- Kerstin Ficker had a match-high four aces in the loss.
- Maria Mallon registered a double-double with 22 kills and 18 digs, her 11th double-double of the season.
- Maria Mallon had a match-high 22 kills for Cincinnati.
- Cincinnati got a match-high 28 digs from Payton Frederick, which also is her new season and career high.
- Cincinnati attackers were helped by a match-high 58 assists from Emme Madden.
- Maria Mallon also served her 100th career ace, which places her #9 on the all-time list in the rally scoring era.
- Madison Waters had a season high 11 kills and six digs in the game.
That last ace by Mallon gives her a career 100 aces and well into the top-10 all-time during the rally scoring era for the #Bearcats!! pic.twitter.com/UjJxbgTxiC
— Cincinnati VBall (@GoBearcatsVB) October 17, 2021
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Bearcats found themselves in an early deficit, losing a nail-biter first set 25-23. Wichita State grabbed the advantage for good at 12-11 in a set that was tied up five times before the Shockers took over the lead.
SET 2 | Cincinnati responded to pick up a 25-19 victory in set two, evening the match at one set apiece. The Bearcats took a 1-0 lead and never looked back in the set to earn the victory. Cincinnati opened up as much as a seven point lead at 22-15 before closing out the set, collecting 16 kills along the way. The Bearcats hit .300 over the course of the set.
SET 3 | Cincinnati won again in set three to make it a 2-1 match. The Bearcats took control of the set early when the score was 4-3 and never looked back to win 25-21. Cincinnati led by as many as nine points at 19-10 before closing out the stanza, collecting 18 kills along the way. The Cincinnati offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | Cincinnati couldn't keep the win streak going, as the Shockers forced a fifth set with a 25-23 fourth-set win. Wichita State grabbed the advantage for good at 15-14 and Cincinnati wasn't able to recover in a set that was tied up four times before the Shockers took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 5 | Cincinnati took a lead of two sets to one before falling in the final two sets, including a 15-10 loss in the fifth set. The Bearcats fell behind on the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way.
Next Up
The Bearcats are back home Friday night in Fifth Third Arena when they host Houston. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. ET and will also be streamed on ESPN+.
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