TicketsMANHATTAN, Kan. — The University of Cincinnati volleyball team came up short on the road Thursday night, falling in four sets to Kansas State inside Morgan Family Arena.
The Bearcats (12-9, 4-7 Big 12) dropped the match to the Wildcats (13-7, 6-6 Big 12), who held the advantage in several key categories, including hitting percentage (.216 to .204), kills (57–47), service aces (13–3) and digs (71–67).
Junior Sydney Nolan led the Bearcats in her return from injury, recording 16 kills to pace the attack. Sophomore Andi Spies finished one dig shy of a double-double with 37 assists and nine digs. Freshman Tatjana Simeunović impacted both sides of the net with eight kills and a team-high six blocks, while sophomore Lilly Gillespie anchored the defense with 24 digs.
Kansas State opened the first set on a 4-0 run before a service error sparked a short 3-1 Cincinnati burst. A kill from Brooke Crummel helped the Bearcats close within four at 10-6, and an ace by Gillespie fueled a three-point stretch that made it 12-10. Cincinnati later tied the frame at 14-all behind back-to-back kills from Nolan. The Wildcats responded with a 4-0 run to go ahead 21-18, and despite a late push from UC, two consecutive errors allowed K-State to claim the first set 25-22.
Back-to-back kills from Simeunović gave UC an early 4-3 lead in the second set before the Wildcats answered with a 4-0 run. A K-State error evened the score at 13-all, and behind a block and two kills from Carly Glendinning, the Bearcats used a 7-0 surge to move ahead 17-14. Kansas State fought back to within one at 22-21, but UC closed out the set with three straight points to win 25-21 and tie the match at one apiece.
Set three saw both teams trade points early before a 3-0 Bearcats run put them ahead 8-7. A Nolan kill tied it at 10-all, but Kansas State countered with a 3-0 stretch to regain control at 13-10. The Wildcats extended their lead to 18-12 before Cincinnati responded with a 6-1 run, capped by a Crummel kill, to pull within one at 19-18. A block by Paige Pickering and Simeunović evened the score at 21-all, but Kansas State closed on a 4-0 run to take the set 25-21 and a 2-1 match lead.
Cincinnati grabbed an early 4-3 advantage in the fourth, but the Wildcats quickly seized momentum with an 8-1 run behind four aces from Emerson Van Lannen to go up 13-7. Kansas State continued to roll, extending its lead to 17-8 before finishing the match with an 8-3 run to win the set 25-13 and secure the four-set victory.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats take a short trip southeast to Lawrence, Kansas as they matchup against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. ET.
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