ORLANDO, Fla. – In the match of the year in the American Athletic Conference, home court held sway on Sunday. Despite being the designated visiting team as the tournament’s third seed, UCF rode the momentum of its home fans and stormed to a five-set victory over No. 1 seed Cincinnati to claim the inaugural American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship tournament title at The Venue.
With the victory, UCF secured the automatic bid representing The American into the NCAA Championship. The Knights will make their 10th appearance all-time in the NCAA tournament. NCAA Championship official selections are expected to be announced on Dec. 1.
Cincinnati (25-6, 15-1) found its footing in a rough and tumble first set that featured a UCF (24-7, 14-2) lead as large as three points at 13-10. The Bearcats won five straight points to take a 15-13 lead, an edge they would not relinquish the rest of the opening stanza. UCF closed the gap to 21-19 before Cincinnati took four of the final six points for the 25-21 set win.
UCF rebounded in a big way in set two, opening a 17-9 edge midway through the frame. Cincinnati closed the lead to six at 20-14, but the Knights surged back ahead to close out a 25-16 triumph that evened the match at 1-1.
Cincinnati seemed to have the third set well in hand, leading by as many as six points at 18-12. UCF closed within two at 18-16 before the Bearcats ran ahead to set point at 24-18. The Knights answered with an improbable comeback, utilizing three blocks and a pair of Cincinnati errors to sweep the final eight points for the 26-24 set victory.
It was another classic of a set in the fourth stanza, with the largest lead by either squad a mere two points. UCF fought off set point twice to square things at 24-all, but back-to-back Cincinnati kills provided the 26-24 winning margin to send the matchup to the fifth and deciding set.
UCF broke an 8-8 tie following a block assist and kill, extending the lead as high as 13-8 on the 6-0 run. A kill by the Knights on match point gave UCF its third overall American championship with a 15-10 victory.
Unanimous all-conference first-team selection McKenna Melville powered UCF with 27 kills and 12 digs, adding in four blocks. Melville finished the tournament with 59 kills, 37 digs and seven blocks to earn championship Most Outstanding Player honors. All-conference first-team choice Anne-Marie Watson kicked in 11 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and nine blocks in the title match to join fellow all-conference first-teamer Kristina Fisher (12 kills, 13 digs) on the American Athletic Conference Championship All-Tournament Team.
Unanimous conference player of the year Jordan Thompson smashed a tournament-high 38 kills, adding 20 digs to the Cincinnati stat sheet to earn All-Tournament Team accolades. All-conference second-team choice Armania Heckenmueller delivered a tournament-high 69 assists to go along with 10 digs to join Thompson on the All-Tournament Team.
Other players selected to the American Athletic Conference Championship All-Tournament Team were outside hitter Lexie Douglas from Tulane and libero Taylor Horsfall from Tulsa.
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 3, No. 1 Cincinnati 2 (21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 24-26, 15-10)
American Athletic Conference Championship All-Tournament Team
McKenna Melville, OH, So., UCF (Tournament Most Outstanding Player)
Kristina Fisher, OH, Sr., UCF
Anne-Marie Watson, OH, Jr., UCF
Jordan Thompson, RS/OH, RS Sr., Cincinnati
Armania Heckenmueller, S, So., Cincinnati
Lexie Douglas, OH, Jr., Tulane
Taylor Horsfall, DS/L, Sr., Tulsa