TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team closed out non-conference play with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday afternoon inside Worthen Arena.
The Bearcats move to 8-2 on the season, finishing their non-league slate on a three-match win streak.
Sophomore Gretchen Sigman paced the offense with a career-best 20 kills, joined by junior Sydney Nolan (18) and senior Carly Glendinning (10).
On the defensive end, sophomore Lilly Gillespie collected 15 digs, while junior Kayla Hostetler added 10. Setter Andi Spies directed the attack with 47 assists, marking her eighth straight match surpassing 30 and her third topping 40.
The opening set featured tight early play before EKU gained a slight edge (8-6). A block by Glendinning and Brooke Crummel brought UC back within one (11-10), and a 3-0 run evened the score at 15. After trading points, kills from Crummel and Nolan shifted the momentum, allowing Cincinnati to rally for the first-set win.
UC carried that energy into the second, stringing together three separate scoring runs, highlighted by three consecutive kills from Sigman (17-11). Another surge, powered by Sigman and a Glendinning-Crummel block, widened the lead to 21-14. Freshman Elliott Mickelberry capped the set with a kill to secure the 25-16 victory.
Eastern Kentucky responded in the third, building an early lead (5-2). Cincinnati battled back to tie it at 10 before Nolan’s solo block pushed them ahead 13-11. Despite UC’s efforts, the Colonels clawed back to take the third set, 27-25.
Cincinnati quickly regrouped and was able to create an early cushion (8-5). Following an EKU timeout, UC stretched the margin to five (11-6). Back-to-back plays from Spies and Glendinning, along with a pair of Nolan kills, extended the lead to 16-9. From there, the Bearcats closed strong, finishing the set 25-12 to claim the match 3-1.
Cincinnati has now won seven of its last eight matches and will open Big 12 play on the road at UCF on Wednesday.