Tulsa Volleyball Falls to Cincinnati in Five Set Thriller

Friday, November 6

Cincinnati Ohio

7:00 p.m.

Tulsa

11-14, 6-7American

Cincinnati

16-8, 8-5American

Tulsa

CIN

Tulsa Volleyball Falls to Cincinnati in Five Set Thriller

11/6/2015 10:56:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Drake Allen

PDF BOX SCORE

TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa volleyball team had three players that recorded double-digit kills, but it wasn't enough as they lost an American Athletic Conference road match to Cincinnati, 3-2 (26-28, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 9-15 ), Friday night at the Fifth Third Arena.

Junior outside hitters Erica Bohannon and Rebecca Reeve tallied 27 and 14 kills, respectively, while senior middle blocker Ashley Hooper picked up 16 kills and registered a .423 hitting percentage for the Golden Hurricane (11-14, 6-7 American). Tulsa hit a .219 percentage, with 65 kills and 26 errors on 178 attempts, while holding the Bearcats to a .192 attacking percentage (63-29-177) as they improved to 16-8 overall and 8-5 in the conference.

Bohannon's 27 kills put her at 1,164 career kills which ties her with Kellie Culbertson (2010-13) for the number three spot on TU's career kill list. The talented outside hitter is 346 kills away from matching Kristien Van Lierop (1997-00) for the number two spot, and she is 1,361 kills away matching Tyler Henderson (2009-12) for the all-time leader in career kills for TU.

The initial frame was the most competitive as Tulsa had a .109 attacking percent on 17 kills, while Cincinnati hit .119 with 12 kills. The contest was a deadlock at the midway point of the set with the score tied at 15-15. The score was tied eight more times after the midpoint with tying scores at 20-20, 23-23, and 24-24. In extra points the score was tied at 25-25 before Cincinnati went on to score three out of four points to end the set 28-26 to earn a 1-0 match lead.

In the second stanza, Tulsa came out energized as they were leading at the midway point of the set with the score at 15-11. Cincinnati battled back to bring the score within two points at 15-17, before the Hurricane went on to score eight of the final 11 points to end the set 25-18 tying the match score at 1-1 going into intermission.

In the third set, both teams battled early with the score tied at 7-7 and 13-13. The score was tied one more time at 16-16 before the Bearcats took a three point lead at 23-20. TU brought the score within one point at 24-23 before a Cincinnati kill ended the set 25-23 giving the Bearcats a 2-1 match lead. Hooper tallied six kills in the frame recording a .625 hitting percentage and junior libero Brooke Berryhill led the way defensively picking up eight digs.

In the fourth frame, Tulsa picked up the pace offensively hitting a .359 percentage on 16 kills, while limiting Cincinnati to a .270 hitting percentage on 14 kills. Things looked all too familiar early in the set with score tied at 7-7, 8-8, and 10-10 before Tulsa took a four point lead at 14-11. The Hurricane maintained the lead late with the score at 22-18, before going on to score three out of the four final points to end the set 25-19 tying the matching 2-2 going into the final frame.

In the final stanza, the Bearcats took an early 7-3 lead before extending the lead to 9-4 forcing Tulsa to call their first timeout of the set. Cincinnati maintained the lead late with the score at 12-7 forcing Tulsa to use their final timeout of the set. The Hurricane went on to score two more points before the Bearcats won the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.

The Hurricane travels to Memphis, Tenn. to take on Memphis at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.

Follow Tulsa Volleyball on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TulsaVolleyball) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TulsaVolleyball). Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane.