Tigers Volleyball Drops League Match At Cincinnati

Sunday, October 9

Cincinnati, Ohio

12 pm

University of Memphis

8-10, 0-6American

Cincinnati

10-7, 5-1American

Memphis

CINCINNATI

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Oct 09, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Lilly leads squad in both kills and digs.

CINCINNATI, Ohio – University of Memphis senior Catlin Lilly led the Tigers volleyball squad in both kills and digs, but Cincinnati came away with a 3-0 American Athletic Conference victory Sunday.

The Bearcats took the match by scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13. Memphis fell to 8-10 overall and 0-6 in league action. Cincinnati, the conference's preseason favorite, improved to 10-7 overall and 5-1 in The American.

Lilly posted team bests with seven kills and 10 digs. Mady Ruhlman tied Lilly for team honors in digs with 10. McKenzie Hayes and Kelsey Walter each added four kills. Regan Comperry had 15 assists.

The Bearcats doubled up Memphis' kills output (44-22) and out-hit the Tigers .288 to .065. Cincinnati fell behind only five times in the match, and the largest deficit it faced was one point.

In the opening set, the Bearcats jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage and only lost the lead once when the set was tied at 6-all on a Tai Bierria kill. Cincinnati built its lead back to three at 10-7 and held on for the remainder of the set. Memphis, though, pulled back to within one at 15-14, but the Bearcats put the first set out of reach with an 8-3 run for a 23-17 advantage. Cincinnati won the first set 25-19.

The second set was tied early at 3-all, but an 8-3 Cincinnati spurt gave the home squad an 11-6 lead that it didn't lose. The Bearcats increased their advantage to 20-13 when the Tigers put together a 4-0 mini-run to close to within 20-17. Hayes had two service aces in the spurt. Cincinnati, though, regained its composure and closed the second set with a 25-18 victory.

The third set's first 10 points had three lead changes and five ties, the last at 5-all. From that point, the third set was all Cincinnati. The Bearcats went on an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead. After Memphis closed to within five at 14-9 on a Lilly kill, Cincinnati finished the third set on an 11-4 spurt for a 25-13 win.

Memphis returns home next weekend to host SMU and Tulsa at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. The Tigers meet the Mustangs in a 7 p.m. (CT) match Friday, Oct. 14 and then face the Golden Hurricane at 1 p.m. (CT) Sunday, Oct. 16.