TicketsCINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati volleyball team fell in four sets to No. 19 BYU on Wednesday night inside Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats move to 9-4 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play.
Junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan dominated throughout the match, finishing with 25 kills on an efficient .481 hitting percentage without committing an error. Senior Carly Glendinning added 19 kills, while sophomore Andi Spies paced the offense with 44 assists, her fifth match this season with 40 or more. Spies also contributed five blocks, showcasing her two-way presence. Defensively, sophomore Lilly Gillespie posted 13 digs, and freshman Elliott Mickelberry chipped in five blocks.
The opening frame was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team leading by more than three points. Glendinning knotted the score at 8-8 with a kill before BYU answered with a 4-1 run to go up 14-11. Spies then shifted momentum with a solo block followed by a kill, sparking UC to a 21-20 lead. The Bearcats closed out the set, 26-24, behind back-to-back kills from Nolan and Glendinning. Nolan delivered seven kills on a blistering .788 clip in the first set, while Spies handed out 12 assists. As a team, Cincinnati hit a dominant .516.
The second set saw both squads start strong before UC used a 4-1 run, capped by a Nolan kill, to grab an 11-8 advantage. BYU countered with a 7-1 surge to take a 16-13 lead. Although a Glendinning kill cut the deficit to 17-16, the Cougars closed on a 5-1 run to even the match with a 25-19 win.
BYU carried its momentum into the third set, racing out to an 8-3 lead. Cincinnati responded with a 4-1 run, highlighted by a Brooke Crummel kill, to close within 9-7, but the Cougars answered with another push to extend their margin to 19-13. The Bearcats responded again, stringing together a 3-0 spurt to cut it to 19-16, but BYU rattled off four straight points to go up 23-16. UC then mounted its biggest rally of the night, an 8-0 run to surge ahead 24-23, but the Cougars narrowly escaped with the set, 27-25.
The fourth set opened with another tight exchange of points before UC built a 7-5 lead on a 4-1 run. Cincinnati later stretched the margin to 20-16, but BYU responded with a 6-2 run to tie it at 22-22. Nolan’s kill briefly pushed UC back in front, 23-22, but the Cougars closed on a 4-1 run to seal the set, 26-24, and the match.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will host their third straight home match as they face off against Kansas State on Friday, Oct. 1, inside Fifth Third Arena.
UC and KSU have matched up twice, once in 2023 and once in 2024; the series is split evenly at one win each. Kansas State was victorious in the most recent matchup, taking the win in Fifth Third Arena 3-2 in 2024. Cincinnati won the first battle back in 2023, securing the match 3-1 in Manhattan, Kansas.
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