TicketsCINCINNATI — The attacking duo of Sydney Nolan and Nina Scrucca led the way as the University of Cincinnati volleyball team defeated Xavier, 3-1, in the 43rd annual Queen City Classic on Friday night at the Cintas Center in front of 2,835 fans.
Nolan finished with 21 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, marking her third 20-plus kill performance of the season. She also added eight digs and two service aces. Scrucca posted a career-best 17 kills on a scorching .652 hitting percentage, adding seven digs.
Andrea Simovski chipped in 12 kills and nine digs, while Kate Lijic recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 11 digs to go along with three block assists.
Cincinnati improved to 7-3 on the season, while Xavier fell to 6-4.
Margo Kemp (13 kills) and Charlotte Moriarty (11 kills) paced Xavier's offense, while Macy Hatkevich also chipped in 30 assists to go with her nine kills. As a team, Xavier hit .189 with 24 attack errors, while Cincinnati finished at .363 with just 11 errors on 124 attempts.
Cincinnati and Xavier were tied just once, at 1-1, before the Bearcats seized control for good. A four-point burst fueled by a Nolan service ace and an Audrey Rome block pushed the lead from 19-10 to 23-10, and Cincinnati closed out the opener, 25-12.
The second set featured nine tied scores and four lead changes. Xavier grabbed its first lead at 11-10, but Cincinnati clawed back to take a 16-14 lead. The Bearcats built a 22-19 cushion behind Nolan and Simovski, and after Xavier trimmed it to 22-20, Cincinnati closed out the final three points — the last two on back-to-back Scrucca kills — to seal a 25-20 win and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was the tightest of the night, with 13 tied scores and Xavier finally finding its footing behind Hatkevich (six kills, .625 hitting) and Kemp. Xavier built a 20-17 edge, but Cincinnati answered to tie it at 20-20 on a Scrucca ace. The Musketeers regained the lead and held on down the stretch to escape with a 25-23 win and cut Cincinnati's match lead to 2-1.
Cincinnati wasted little time reasserting itself in the fourth, tying the set at 3-3 before pulling away behind Nolan and Scrucca. The Bearcats built a double-digit cushion, and although Xavier chipped away late, a final Scrucca kill closed out the set, 25-17, and secured the Bearcats' Queen City Classic title.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati returns home to open Big 12 play with two ranked opponents. The Bearcats take on No. 13 TCU on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. and No. 12 Arizona State on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. Both matches take place inside Fifth Third Arena.
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Single-match tickets are $15 for courtside seating, based on availability, and $10 for general admission. Group general admission tickets are available for $5. Family 4-Packs are also available for all weekend matches (Friday through Sunday), which include four tickets and a $20 concession voucher.
Season tickets for the 2026 season are on sale, with general admission packages starting at $75 and new courtside seating options priced at $125.
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