(RV) Cincinnati Downs East Carolina In American Conference Opener

Friday, September 27

Cincinnati, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

11-3

(RV) Cincinnati

9-4

East Carolina

Cincinnati

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

(RV) Cincinnati Downs East Carolina In American Conference Opener

September 27, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Cincinnati, receiving votes in the national top 25 polls and featuring a member of the USA National Team, won Friday night's American Athletic Conference opener in three sets (25-14, 25-20, 25-16) over East Carolina inside Fifth-Third Arena.

The Bearcats (9-4, 1-0 AAC) hit .316 on the strength of 53 kills while the Pirates (12-2, 0-1 AAC) fired at a .213 clip with 29 kills. Cincinnati held the upper hand in digs, 51-40, but ECU out-blocked to home side 9.0 to 2.5.

The aforementioned Team USA member Jordan Thompson notched 16 kills and hit .297 with 10 digs while teammate Maria Mallon paced all players with 17 kills, 13 digs and a .314 attacking percentage. Junior outside hitter Sydney Kleinman tallied eight kills on .273 efficiency while junior right side Bri Wood collected a team-high 12 digs.

A service ace put Cincinnati in front 12-6 in the opening set. Thompson later recorded a kill to give the Bearcats a 16-8 advantage and prompt an East Carolina timeout. Cincinnati would go on to capture the stanza and an early match lead.

The second frame was a much closer battle and the Pirates surged ahead 14-11 following a Kleinman kill. The Bearcats made a push later in the set and would move in front 20-18 thanks to a kill by Damjana Capakarba. Cincinnati held on to win it by five and grab a two-set lead at the intermission.

After a close start to the third set, the Bearcats created some separation and pushed ahead 15-9 following a block. That would be enough for Cincinnati to complete the sweep.

East Carolina completes the first weekend of conference play Sunday with a match at Tulsa. First serve inside the Reynolds Center is set for 1 p.m.