ORLANDO, Fla. – The top seed found its way into the final of the inaugural American Athletic Conference Women’s Volleyball Championship on Saturday, as No. 1 seed Cincinnati avenged a sweep in the regular season to deliver a matching straight-set win to Tulane at The Venue on the campus of UCF.
 
The championship match is set for Sunday, Nov. 24 at The Venue. Host and No. 3 seed UCF will take on Cincinnati at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU. Tiffany Greene and Jenny Hazelwood will have the call for the championship tilt.
 
Cincinnati (25-5, 15-1) withstood an 8-2 run out of the shoot by Tulane (21-10, 10-6) in the first set and righted the ship. The Bearcats took their first lead at 12-11 and traded points until 14-all. A five-point run out of six total points for Cincinnati opened a 19-15 edge, and the Bearcats finished the frame off at 25-20. A 25-17 second set put the Bearcats in the driver’s seat, and a back-and-forth third set ultimately went the way of Cincinnati 25-19.
 
Unanimous conference player of the year Jordan Thompson hit .396 and finished with a match-high 25 kills, adding seven digs and two service aces to the Cincinnati cause. All-conference first-team selection Maria Mallon logged 14 kills and five digs to the Bearcats’ ledger, and all-conference second-team choice Armania Heckenmueller delivered a match-high 41 assists and seven digs.
 
All-conference first-teamer Lexie Douglas led the charge for Tulane with eight kills, four digs and two blocks. Lauryn Green turned in five kills and three blocks, and Kaylie McHugh chipped in a team-high 12 digs and three assists.
 
Live coverage remains available throughout the championship at TheAmerican.org/Volleyball and on the conference’s social media platforms: @American_Vball on Twitter and American_Conf on Facebook.
 
2019 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship
Hosted by UCF
 
Friday, Nov. 22 – First Round
American Digital Network
Match 1: No. 3 UCF 3, No. 6 Tulsa 1 (25-18, 25-10, 21-25, 25-18)
Match 2: No. 5 Tulane 3, No. 4 Houston 2 (25-18, 16-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-6)
 
Saturday, Nov. 23 – Semifinals
American Digital Network
Match 3: No. 3 UCF 3, No. 2 SMU 0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-23)
Match 4: No. 1 Cincinnati 3, No. 5 Tulane 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-19)
 
Sunday, Nov. 24 – Final
ESPNU
Match 5: No. 3 UCF vs. No. 1 Cincinnati – 1:30 p.m. ET