Friday, October 7
Houston 3, UCF 1 – Box Score
Tulane 3, South Florida 1 – Box Score
Cincinnati 3, Temple 2 – Box Score
SMU 3, Tulsa 2 – Box Score
Wichita State 3, Memphis 2 – Box Score
Recaps
Houston 3, UCF 1 – Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston volleyball team took sole possession of first place in The American on Friday night, defeating No. 23 UCF to become the last unbeaten team in the conference, 3-1.
The Cougars held McKenna Melville, The American Preseason Player of the Year, to a year-low .045 attacking percentage, while Houston’s Isabel Theut had a career-night with 22 kills while hitting .349 in the match. Abbie Jackson added 15 kills for Houston while Morgan Janda had 34 asssits.
For the Knights, Melville was the long player to get in double-digit kills, finishing with 17 kills with 66 attacks. Amber Olson led paced the match with 37 assists
Tulane 3, South Florida 1 – Box Score
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane volleyball team fought hard and came out victorious in an intense four set match against USF.
Amarachi Osuji led the Green Wave with 17 kills, followed by Mackenzie Martin with 9. Kate Van Houten played a key role in the offense dishing out 24 assists, while Martin paced Tulane with 21 digs.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle until the Green Wave pulled ahead late going up 18-14. USF was able to pull within one at 23-24, but two straight kills from the Wave would seal the set one victory.
The Green Wave went down 4-1 in the second before going on a six point run to go up 7-4. A 4-0 run late in the set would give Tulane the set win at 25-20.
USF was able to grab the second set after knotting it up at 14. USF was able to pull ahead to win the set 25-21.
The Green Wave fell behind in the beginning of the fourth set, but were able to tie it up at 17 a piece. Having to play extra volleyball, Tulane was able to get their first AAC victory of the season with set four going final 27-25.
Cincinnati 3, Temple 2 – Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The University of Cincinnati volleyball team earned a thrilling five-set win over Temple on Friday night at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Bearcats (4-11, 2-3 AAC) went up 2-0 in the match before fighting off the reverse sweep bid by the Owls to win in five sets.
Cincinnati was led by underclassmen trio Avry Tatum, Carly Glendinning and Abby Walker. Tatum finished with career-high 22 kills at a .269 hitting percentage. It marked her second straight match leading the Bearcats in kills.
Glendinning notched her sixth straight match with double-digit kills, recording 16 to go along with a career-high 16 digs. Walker was the third Bearcat in double figures. She posted 15 kills with only one attacking error on 30 attempts for an efficient clip of .467.
In her third match back, sophomore setter Emme Madden dished out 49 assists to go along with nine digs. Defensively, senior Payton Frederick registered a season-best 21 digs.
SMU 3, Tulsa 2 – Box Score
TULSA, Okla. – The SMU volleyball team won a five-set thriller over Tulsa on Friday night to improve to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in The American. Tulsa falls to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in The American.
SMU was led by Jadyn Bauss who finished with 17 kills. Jamison Wheeler (13) and Marieke van der Mark (12) both finished with double-digit kills. Celia Cullen paced the match with 43 assists. Tatum Ticknor (26) and Jadyn Bauss (20) both finished with 20+ digs.
Tulsa was led offensively by Kayley Cassaday, who finished the night with 20 kills. Lauren Eitler (15) and Bailey Rowe (11) both added double-digit kills. Brayden Hipp (21) and Avry Kalsu (18) paced the match dishing out the assists. Kalsu also led the match with 22 digs.
Wichita State 3, Memphis 2 – Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State trailed two sets to one and 11-5 in the fourth, but battled all the way back to defeat Memphis 21-25, 28-26, 25-27, 25-19, 15-6 on Friday night at Charles Koch Arena.
The Tigers (12-6, 2-3) looked well on their way to wrapping up the match after grabbing a significant edge in early in the fourth set. Trailing 10-4, the Shockers (8-7, 3-1) took a timeout that immediately sparked a set-changing rally. Wichita State claimed five of the next six points to pull within 11-9, then gradually scraped ahead after a Gigi Crescenzo attack error put the Shockers in front 15-14. The Tigers hung around, pulling back within two at 20-18, but two big kills down the stretch from Brylee Kelly and a clinching putdown from Lauren McMahon kept Wichita State alive.
In the fifth, the Shockers strung together their best volleyball of the night, opening up a quick 10-4 lead that forced two Memphis timeouts. The catalyst was freshman Emerson Wilford, who led all scorers with four kills in the set to keep Memphis at arm's length. Natalie Foster secured the win with her 12th kill of the night, helping the Shockers complete the comeback.
Memphis gradually inched ahead in a tight first set that was tied at 19-all late in the frame. Four different Tigers had at least three kills in the set, led by Miaya Smith's four. Two crucial Shocker attack errors gave Memphis the lead at 22-19, and Kate Bass eventually produced the winner to put the Tigers in front.
The Shockers appeared to have a relatively comfortable second set well in hand, leading 23-16 following a Memphis hitting miscue. But the Tigers fired off seven straight points to pull even at 23-23, then fended off three set points before a service error and a Kelly kill finally evened the match at one set apiece.
Wichita State also had a sizable late lead in the third set, holding a 23-19 advantage before the Tigers rallied. Kelly brought WSU to set point with another kill, but Memphis scored three of the next four points to claim the stanza and set the stage for the Shocker heroics.
Kelly led all scorers with 20 kills on a .264 hitting percentage, while Wilford set a new career high with eight kills on 24 attacks. Morgan Weber matched her career high with 23 digs, and setter Kayce Litzau stuffed the stat sheet with a season-best 50 assists, 12 digs, five kills and two blocks. The Shockers hit .216 as a team, holding Memphis to a .131 clip.