TicketsMOREHEAD, Ky. — Sophomore Izzy Busignani tied a career-high of 16 kills on an extremely efficient .406 clip as the University of Cincinnati volleyball team took down Morehead State in straight sets on Thursday at Johnson Arena.
Busignani also tied a career-best with eight digs.
The Bearcats improved to 5-2, while the Eagles fell to 4-3.
Sydney Nolan added 11 kills (.476) and Nina Scrucca posted nine kills (.467), along with six digs and two blocks. Kate Lijic distributed a match-high 42 assists, to go with three blocks. Viktoria Ninova had 12 digs.
Cincinnati outhit Morehead State with 47 kills on a .387 clip, compared to 32 kills on .196 hitting. Cincy held a big advantage in digs, 51-27, and narrowly led in blocks, seven to six.
Amelia Nott paced Morehead State with 11 kills on a .625 clip, while Ella Warrick added nine kills on 37 swings.
Busignani took over the opening set with six kills on a .667 clip. The Bearcats jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the opening set – highlighted by two Scrucca aces. The Eagles would fight back as an ace of their own made the score 13-9. Three consecutive points from Cincinnati made it 20-13, and a Busignani kill would finish the first set, 25-18.
Morehead State opened the second set on top, building a 4-1 edge behind a Certa ace, but Cincinnati answered with six straight points – capped by a Nolan kill – to seize a 7-4 lead. The Bearcats kept rolling from there, riding kills from Busignani and Entenmann to open up a 15-7 cushion. Morehead State would not go away, though, chipping off points behind Courtney Fitzgerald and Nott to trim the deficit to 18-22 and, after a late push, to 23-24. But Cincinnati closed the door on a Morehead State service error, taking the set 25-23 for a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was the tightest of the night, featuring seven tie scores and four lead changes. Morehead State stayed even with Cincinnati as late as 8-8 and 9-9, and the two teams traded the lead through an 11-11 tie. From there, Ninova served four straight points that Nolan converted into kills, pushing Cincinnati out to a 15-11 edge. The Eagles clawed back within one at 16-15, but the Bearcats answered again, eventually building the lead to 22-18 before closing out the match, 25-20, to complete the sweep.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati stays in Morehead, Ky., to take on the undefeated Michigan State Spartans (6-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. inside Johnson Arena.
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