The loss dropped the Lady Toppers to 18-2 on the season and ended a 14-match win streak. Cincinnati improved to 10-6.
The Bearcats seized the early momentum, ending Western’s 39-game winning streak with a 38-36 marathon win in the opener. The Lady Toppers stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the game, but UC fought back with four straight of its own to even things up. WKU was able to score five of the next six to take a 9-5 lead on a Kelly Hofmeyer service ace, forcing Cincinnati into a timeout. Western remained in front, but the Bearcats were able to pull within a point on several occasions before finally tying things up again at 24-24 on a Jenny Custer kill. Western pulled back out to a 28-26 lead after a bad set from UC, but after a timeout the Bearcats scored three straight to get to game point on a Jessie Nevitt kill.
WKU evened things with a block from Crystal Towler and Jenna Gideon, and pulled within one point of victory when a UC attack error made it 30-29. The teams traded points, however, as Western saw four more game points spoiled by Cincinnati kills. With WKU leading 34-33 after a Whitney McCory kill, Cincinnati scored three straight to gain the upper hand when a Lady Topper ball handling error made it 34-34. Western was able to stay alive and trade points, but after a Gideon kill made it 36-36, Maria Pongonis registered back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats the victory.
Cincinnati carried that momentum into game two, jumping out to a 6-4 lead before Western came back to tie it at 6-6 on a Megan Argabright service ace. The Bearcats quickly regained the advantage — one they would not relinquish the rest of the game. Trailing 14-10, a Jessie Wagner kill sparked a three-point Lady Topper spurt to make it a one-point game, but UC came back with four unanswered to pull back out to an 18-14 lead. Western found itself down 23-19 late in the game, but came storming back to make it a one-point game (26-25) after a Bearcat attack error. That would be the last WKU point of the game, however, and Cincinnati recorded the final four points to go up 2-0 in the match with a 30-25 win in game two.
Game three saw 19 ties, and neither team was able to gain more than a three-point lead. Cincinnati held a slim lead out of the gate, but WKU came back to take its first lead since late in game one when a Towler service ace made it 10-9. Again, the teams traded points and it was the Bearcats that were able to pull out to an 18-15 lead on a Myanne Hellsten kill. Two straight kills from Towler and a spike from Gideon tied things again at 18-18, but Western was unable to regain the lead until an Alli Christian service ace made it 20-19. The two teams continued to trade point until Cincinnati took a 28-27 lead after a Pongonis kill. However, Wagner answered with back-to-back kills to give the Lady Toppers a 29-28 lead. After a timeout, Cincinnati registered a kill to even the score at 29-29, but Caron Blotch answered with a kill to make it 30-29. After a Hellsten kill again tied the score at 30-30, Argabright posted back-to-back kills to keep the Lady Toppers alive with a 32-30 victory.
After four ties early in game four, Cincinnati used a 5-1 run to pull out to a 10-6 lead — an advantage it would hold on to the rest of the way. After trading points, the Bearcats went on another run to grab a 19-12 lead and force WKU into a timeout. The Lady Toppers began to pick away after the break, pulling within four when another block from Towler and Gideon made it 22-18. UC held off the run, however, and got to match point when a Western attack error made it 29-23. WKU stayed alive with a point, but a service error ended the match as Cincinnati took game four 30-24.
Wagner came out with a season-high 24 kills to lead all players, while Argabright and Gideon added 18 and 10, respectively. Custer paced Cincinnati with 19 kills to lead five Bearcats in double figures. Ashley Deignan led Western with 14 digs, and Blotch posted a double-double with 58 assists and 13 digs.
The Lady Toppers will look to get back on track Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) when they begin a four-match homestand against Sun Belt Conference East Division rival Florida International at E.A. Diddle Arena.
