TicketsCINCINNATI — Sydney Nolan led the way with 14 kills on a .375 clip as the University of Cincinnati volleyball team swept Ball State in straight sets on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.
Nolan also chipped in seven digs and a block.
The Bearcats improved to 6-3, while the Cardinals, who entered unbeaten, fell to 8-1.
Nina Scrucca was nearly unstoppable on an extremely efficient night, posting a career-best 13 kills on a .591 clip to go with three digs and two block assists. Izzy Busignani added 10 kills (.391) with five digs. Kate Lijic ran the offense with a match-high 41 assists, also serving up three aces. Libero Viktoria Ninova paced all players, tying a career-high with 18 digs.
Cincinnati outhit Ball State 53 kills on a .435 clip, compared to 40 kills on .224 hitting for the Cardinals. The Bearcats also held a decisive advantage at the net, six team blocks to one, while Ball State edged the dig column, 44-43.
Audrey Geer paced Ball State with 12 kills and a team-high 13.0 points, while Tiffany Snook was the Cardinals' most efficient hitter with 11 kills on a .421 clip.
Cincinnati took control of the opening set early, trading points through a 3-3 tie before a Lijic serving run turned the set into a rout. Kills from Scrucca and Williams fueled a stretch that saw the Bearcats reel off 13 of 14 points, ballooning a 9-5 edge into a 22-5 cushion, and Cincinnati closed out the set, 25-8.
The second set was tighter, featuring six tied scores and three lead changes. Ball State briefly grabbed a 15-13 edge on a Geer ace, but the Bearcats answered and pulled even at 16-16 on a Scrucca ace. From there, Cincinnati pulled away for good, scoring the final points of a 25-19 set to take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was the wildest of the night, featuring 20 tie scores and four lead changes as the two teams battled deep into extra points. Ball State surged ahead late, taking a 29-28 lead and later a 30-29 edge, but Cincinnati refused to blink, knotting the set at 30-30 before closing it out on back-to-back points — the last a Busignani kill off a Lijic set — to complete the sweep, 32-30.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati will hit the road for a short trip to Norwood on Friday, Sept. 18, taking on Xavier in the Queen City Classic at 6 p.m. inside Cintas Center.
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