TicketsMANHATTAN, Kan. – Cincinnati came back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set Friday, but 20 service errors proved too costly in a 3-2 loss to Kansas State at Morgan Family Arena.
Kansas State won 25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 17-25, 15-10. The Bearcats (11-10, 4-7 Big 12) outhit the Wildcats .236 to .163 and had more blocks (7.0-5.0), digs (73-70) and aces (8-7). Kansas State had only nine service errors.
Sydney Nolan led Cincinnati with 21 kills on .340 hitting. Ligia Williams added 10 kills and three blocks, and Nina Scrucca had eight kills and two aces. Andi Spies had 24 assists and Kate Lijic 17. Libero Viktoria Ninova had 32 digs and Ava Ledebuhr had 13.
Addison Massey paced Kansas State with 21 kills, and Skylar Brady added 13.
Cincinnati never led in the opening set after the teams were tied at 1-1. The Bearcats trailed 13-9 but won four of the next five points to get within 14-13, before Kansas State led 15-13 at the media timeout. The Wildcats pushed the margin to 21-16 and 24-17 on the way to a 25-19 win.
Cincinnati led by as many as six points in the second set, including 13-7 and 18-12 at Kansas State timeouts, and was ahead 22-17. Kansas State then scored the final eight points, five of them on Cincinnati errors, to win 25-22. The teams were tied three times, and the lead changed twice. The Bearcats hit .096 in the set and Williams had six kills.
Cincinnati scored the first six points of the third set and never trailed in a 25-17 win. The Bearcats hit .353 led 15-9 at the media timeout and led 19-13 at a Kansas State timeout. Scrucca closed the set with a kill and back-to-back aces, and Nolan had five kills on .455 hitting.
Cincinnati took the fourth set 25-17, hitting .344 and holding Kansas State to .030. After the teams were tied four times early, the Bearcats went ahead for good at 5-4. They led 17-11 at a Kansas State timeout and 20-13 at another, and Andrea Simovski served consecutive aces to make it 24-15. Nolan had five kills on .444 hitting, including the set winner.
The fifth set was tied five times and featured three lead changes. Cincinnati led 1-0 and 4-3 early, but Kansas State went up 5-4 and led 7-5. The Bearcats tied it at 7-7 before the Wildcats scored eight of the next 11 points. That included back-to-back Emerson Van Lannen aces for a 10-7 lead, and Kansas State led 12-7 after a Cincinnati timeout. The Bearcats got within 14-10, and a service error ended the match. Nolan had four kills on .571 hitting in the set.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats stay in the Sunflower State to visit No. 15 Kansas on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. EST, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence, Kansas.
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