Volleyball hosts second tournament

By Joe Clark | Staff Writer

Newswire photo by Desmond Fischer

Xavier volleyball went 0-2 in its second home tournament of the season last week.

The Queen City Classic was held at Cintas Center and featured Bowling Green and crosstown rival University of Cincinnati (UC).

The Musketeers dropped their match to the Bearcats Thursday night before falling to Falcons on Friday.

In the first set against UC on Thursday, the Musketeers kept it close.

They trailed 7-6 before a 7-0 run by UC put the Bearcats ahead 14-6. UC went onto win the set 25-17.

UC utilized two big runs in the second set, going up 14-8 and then 20-15 on a 5-1 run after Xavier cut the lead to 15-14 with a run of its own.

UC didn’t look back from there and won the second set by an identical 25-17 score.

Xavier battled for the majority of the third set and held a 12-11 lead at one point. UC once again pulled away though, taking a 17-13 lead before going on a 7-0 run and eventually winning the set 25-15.

Against Bowling Green on Friday night, Xavier got down early in the first set but overcame a six-point deficit to take a 16-14 lead.

A Bowling Green timeout then led to a 6-1 run to give the Falcons a 20-15 lead that they never relinquished. They took the set 25-19.

The Musketeers dominated for much of the second set, jumping out to a 17-11 lead on the strength of a 9-3 run following an 8-8 tie.

Xavier extended the lead to 23-14 and seemed to have the set in hand, but seven straight Bowling Green points brought the score to 23-21. Xavier rebounded by taking two of the next three points to win the set 25-22.

Xavier hung around for the majority of the third set, but Bowling Green held strong and built a 13-7 lead before winning the set 25-21. Xavier led 6-5 early in the fourth set, but that would be its last lead. Bowling Green racked up five kills in a 6-0 run to take an 11-6 lead.

Leading 17-12 later in the set, Bowling Green went on a dominating 9-1 run to win the set 25-13. For Xavier, senior defensive specialist Madi Kutruff set a new season high for the team in digs with 26, as she filled in as the Libero against Bowling Green.

With the losses on the weekend, Xavier closes out its non-conference slate with an overall record of 3-7. The Musketeers open Big East play on Wednesday on the road against DePaul.