Nina Scrucca led Cincinnati with 15 kills and a .265 hitting percentage, while Sydney Nolan added 14 kills, four service aces and 18.5 points. Andrea Simovski recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, and Ligia Williams finished with nine kills while hitting .333. Andi Spies paced the Bearcats with 18 assists, and Viktoria Ninova added 15 digs.
Houston was led by Noemi Despaigne’s 17 kills and Kamille Gibson’s 15 kills, three aces and 19.5 points. Tara Greenberry added nine kills without an attack error, hitting .643, and contributed seven total blocks.
The opening set saw Houston take an early 3-1 lead and extend its advantage to 8-3 before Cincinnati began to respond with a couple of kills. Houston pushed ahead 14-8, but Cincinnati rallied behind Williams’ kill and consecutive service aces from Nolan to pull within 14-11. After Houston moved ahead 17-11, the Bearcats answered again with a Williams kill, a pair of kills from Simovski and Rome, and a Houston attack error to trim the margin to 17-15. Cincinnati continued to close in, tying the set at 19-19 behind kills from Nolan and Rome. The teams traded points late, and Williams’ kill and Nolan’s ace gave the Bearcats a 24-23 lead before a block from Williams and Scrucca secured the 25-23 win.
Houston opened the second set with a 4-0 run, but Cincinnati responded with kills from Williams and Nolan to close the gap. The Bearcats briefly took the lead at 7-6 behind Nolan’s kill and ace, then used kills from Simovski and Scrucca to move ahead 17-15. Houston responded with a four-point run to take a 19-17 lead. Cincinnati stayed within one at 20-19, but Houston closed out the set, 25-21.
The teams traded points early in the third set, with Cincinnati keeping it close behind kills from Nolan and Scrucca. Consecutive kills from Nolan helped keep the score tied at 13-13. Houston gradually created separation in the middle of the set, and despite kills from Simovski and Nolan, the Bearcats fell 25-21.
Cincinnati started the fourth set with three straight points, including back-to-back kills from Scrucca and a service ace from Kate Lijic, to take a 3-0 lead. Houston answered with a block and kill to cut the margin to 4-2, and the teams traded points through the early stretch. Cincinnati stayed close with kills from Nolan, Simovski, and Scrucca, but Houston began to pull ahead with a run of points midway through the set. The Bearcats continued to respond, but Houston maintained its advantage and closed out the match with a 25-20 win.