Alex Frank | Sports Director
The Cincinnati Bearcats volleyball team won a suspenseful five-set match against the Tulane Green Wave today at Fifth-Third Arena.
The win assures the Bearcats sole possession of second place in the American Athletic Conference at 13-3 (23-7 overall)
The Bearcats saw a 2-0 sets lead slither away and were trailing 10-6 late in the fifth set, before rallying to win 15-13.
Bearcats win the fifth set 15-13!! They’re now in sole possession of second place in the @American_Conf pic.twitter.com/4onfzUYela
— Bearcast Media Sports (@UCMediaSports) November 16, 2018
“I thought today was a full team effort,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “On paper it was not necessarily our best game, but the things we talk about being competitors, and even when you’re not playing your best, you have to compete and find a way to win. I thought this entire team did that against a very strong team. They found a way to win.”
Ever since the Cincinnati Bearcats volleyball team has returned to newly-renovated Fifth Third Arena, they have been dominant in home matches.
They’ve let the opposition hang around in the first set, but once they win that they make it difficult for the opposition just to hang around in the following sets.
Today, though, Tulane refused to back down after going down 2-0 and have their 11-match winning streak snap easily.
A back and forth first set ended with Thompson racking up three straight kills to help the Bearcats close it out for a 1-0 advantage.
Cincinnati then carried that momentum over into the second set and rode it to a convincing 25-17 win.
Tulane regrouped, though, to win the third set 25-16.
The Green Wave were much more responsive to the ferocity of Thompson’s kill attempts and it paid off in building a double-digit lead at one point during the third set.
Thompson still recorded 29 kills on the afternoon to go along with three blocks with some coming at pivotal moments throughout the match.
Tulane held off a late Cincinnati rally and closed out the fourth set with a 4-1 run to tie the match at two sets apiece.
After taking two timeouts to try and regroup early in the fifth set, the Bearcats managed to do so at just the right time to rally and win a crucial late-season match.
Next game mentality
The Bearcats will be back at Fifth Third Arena Sunday at 12:30 p.m. for Senior Day against the Memphis Tigers.
Four seniors will be honored after the conclusion of the match.
Defensive Specialist Abby Williams
Setter Jade Tinglehoff
Outside Hitter Carly Nolan
Middle Blocker Jasmine Jones
Not looking too far ahead but…
Cincinnati will be eyeing an at-large bid in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, with the selection show airing at Sunday, November 25 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.