Xavier lost a road match to Cincinnati before returning home to beat  the RedHawks

By katie Sanchez, Guest Writer

Xavier women’s volleyball lost to crosstown rival Cincinnati on Thursday night but came back with a decisive win against Miami of Ohio at the Cintas Center on Friday night. 

The Musketeers started last week’s games with a 3-1 loss at Fifth Third Arena. The first two sets were highly contested with 13 ties and five lead changes. Each team took home one of the two, with UC taking the first (25-27) and Xavier eking out the second (28-26).

The Bearcats responded by winning the next two sets (16-25, 18-25) for the team’s fourth win of the year.

Sophomore middle blocker Delaney Hogan brought one highlight to the night by delivering a career-high 18 kills, leading the team. Senior middle blocker Ellie Chafee had the second most kills of the night with eight while leading the team in blocks with four.

Four Musketeers had digs in the double digits, with sophomore libero Stevie Wolf leading the team with 12 digs while teammates Carrigan O’Reilly, Alyssa Overbeck and MaryAnn O’Toole contributed 10 digs each.

The Musketeers came back from their Thursday night loss to a swift and dominant victory over the Miami RedHawks on Friday.

Xavier was strong from the beginning, showing off an aggressive offense that challenged a lackluster Miami defense. The set point was arguably the most exciting and contentious point of the game, with both teams fiercely competing until Hogan delivered a decisive kill, winning the set 25-19.

The second set shut down the RedHawks from the start as the Musketeers swiftly raced to a 25-11 win in the quickest set of the three. 

Miami pushed back in the third set, taking an early lead, but Xavier was ultimately able to come back and win their third consecutive set 25-19 to take the match.

Several Musketeers had impressive nights, including freshman Emma Grace, who wasted no time flashing her skills in the first game of her college career with 10 kills, nine digs and three aces. 

O’Reilly also showed she can do it all with 33 assists, six blocks and seven kills without any errors. Hogan also had another outstanding night with nine kills plus a career and team-high eight blocks.

Friday’s win helped Xavier volleyball break even as they moved up to 5-5 for the year.

The Musketeers will be back in the Cintas Center this Friday to host the Providence Friars at 6 p.m in their Big East opener.