Cincy Reporter

The University of Cincinnati volleyball team fell to No. 23-ranked Houston on Friday night in Fifth Third Arena. 

The Bearcats (6-17, 4-9 AAC) put up a valiant effort in the opening set but the Cougars' experience proved too much to overcome in the three-set decision. 

Houston improved to 23-2 overall and 14-0 in AAC action. The Cougars outhit the Bearcats .211 to .049 and posted nine service aces. 

Freshman Carly Glendinning, who registered a career-high 19 kills in the first meeting between the two teams, led the Bearcats once again with a team-high 10 kills. It marked her 13th match with double-digit kills this season. 

Senior Payton Frederick posted 10 digs on defense while freshman Caroline Endres dished out 19 assists to go along with seven digs in her first action since Oct. 16. 

// HOW IT HAPPENED 
SET 1 | Cincinnati hung tough with Houston in the first set, owning a two-point advantage after a Glendinning and Abby Walker block (12-10). The Cougars pieced together three straight points to lead at the media timeout (15-13). With Glendinning behind the service line, the Bearcats rattled off four straight points to cut their deficit to one (19-18). Cincinnati once again pulled within one after three straight Houston errors (23-22). The rally ultimately fell short as Houston won the opening set, 25-22. 

SET 2 | Houston used a 5-0 scoring run to open a 12-7 lead in the second set. The Bearcats had only two kills on 13 attempts at the timeout break. The Cougars took their largest lead of 10 before winning the set, 25-16. The Bearcats hit just .094 in the frame with seven kills and four attacking errors on 32 attempts.  

SET 3 | Cincinnati fought back from an early deficit to tie up the set at 12 apiece, but back-to-back blocks by Houston pushed the frame back in the Cougars' favor (15-12). UC later went on a run of its own, sparked by service aces from Frederick and Shaye Eggleston, cutting the deficit to one (20-19). Houston would close out the set scoring five of the final seven points (25-21). 

// UP NEXT
Cincinnati will host Tulane at noon on Sunday at Fifth Third Arena. 

Original source can be found here.