TicketsTUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Cincinnati volleyball team dropped its regular-season finale on Friday night, falling to Arizona in four sets inside McKale Center.
The Bearcats (15–13, 7–11 Big 12) couldn’t settle into a consistent offensive rhythm, finishing at .170, while the Wildcats (16–13, 10–8 Big 12) controlled the night with 63 kills on a .278 hitting percentage and 12 blocks.
Three Bearcats reached double-digit kills for the second straight match. Junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan delivered 22 kills, marking her 11th 20-kill outing of the year. Senior Carly Glendinning and sophomore Gretchen Sigman added 11 apiece. Sophomore setter Andi Spies posted her ninth double-double of the season with 39 assists and 11 digs. Senior Paige Pickering tied her career high with 13 digs, while sophomore Lilly Gillespie added 17 for her 10th match this season with at least 15.
Cincinnati started strong in the opening frame, responding to an early 4–1 Arizona lead with a 3–0 push to tie it at 4–4. Sigman fueled the offense early, and her third kill gave UC a 9–7 edge before a Pickering ace stretched the lead to 10–7. Arizona answered with a 6–1 run to regain control at 13–11, but the Bearcats remained within striking distance, pulling to 21–19 on a Nolan kill. The Wildcats, however, closed the door late to take the opener, 25–21.
UC again set the early tone in set two, beginning the frame with an ace from Ava Ledebuhr. Arizona responded quickly with a 3–0 spurt and later relied on a five-point run led by Carlie Cisneros to build a 12–7 advantage. The Bearcats countered impressively, stringing together 5–0 and 4–0 bursts to jump in front 16–14. After a Tatjana Simeunovic ace extended the lead to 19–17, Cincinnati held off a late Arizona push and closed the set 25–21 behind a Nolan kill to even the match at one.
The third set continued the back-and-forth theme. Cincinnati used a quick 3–0 run to pull ahead 8–5, but Arizona responded to tie things at 10–10 and later moved ahead 16–14 behind a surge that included an ace. UC reclaimed an 18–17 advantage and stretched it to 22–20 after a string of kills, but Arizona delivered the final push, finishing the set on a decisive 5–1 run to take it 25–23 and move in front 2–1.
Arizona seized full control in the fourth. The Wildcats jumped out to an 8–3 lead behind an Ana Heath ace, then used 3–0 and 5–0 bursts to create a 17–8 cushion. After a Glendinning kill stopped the run, Arizona put together another five-point stretch to extend the margin to 22–9. The Wildcats closed the match with a dominant 25–12 final frame.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats now await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 30. A potential at-large bid would mark Cincinnati’s first postseason appearance since 2019, when it advanced to the second round after defeating No. 6 Pittsburgh.
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