Tomić Earns First Win, Cincinnati Downs Wake Forest in Season Opener – University of Cincinnati Athletics

CINCINNATI – Head coach Danijela Tomić earned her first win as bench boss of the University of Cincinnati volleyball workforce on Friday night time with a 3-1 win over Wake Forest.

The Bearcats opened the 2025 season with a four-set victory over the Demon Deacons.

Cincinnati was paced by its veterans on offense. Sydney Nolan (21k) and Carly Glendinning (14k) have been the 2 Bearcats with double-digit kills. It marked Nolan’s fourth profession sport with 20-plus kills. Glendinning added her eighth profession double-double with 11 digs.

The Bearcats shined on the defensive finish with 14 blocks, with seven and 6 coming from Brooke Crummel and Tatjana Simeunovic, respectively. The duo made their collegiate debuts within the match.

Setter Andi Spies and defensive specialist Ava Ledebuhr additionally supplied sturdy performances of their Bearcat debut. Spies dished out 31 assists, to go together with six kills, eight digs, and three blocks. Ledebuhr tallied a team-high 17 digs on protection.

In the primary set, Cincinnati went on a 6-0 run to leap out to a 12-6 benefit. Spies accounted for a pair of setter dumps throughout the run. Wake Forest responded with 4 straight factors to pressure a UC timeout. Out of the break, UC scored 5 of the subsequent six factors to run away with the primary set, 25-17. Spies had seven assists, 4 kills, two digs and two blocks within the opening body.

Wake Forest took a 12-9 lead within the second set of motion. The Bearcats pulled inside one after a kill from Gretchen Sigman (16-15), however the Demon Deacons responded with three straight. Cincinnati then staged its comeback. The Bearcats scored 5 straight to take the lead at 22-21. A pair of late blocks from Simeunovic powered the Bearcats to the set-win, 25-23.

The third set noticed six ties. The Demon Deacons held a one-point benefit on the 15-point mark (15-14). Trailing 22-17, UC pulled inside two after a Crummel kill. The comeback fell quick as Wake Forest took the stanza, 25-20.  

The Bearcats used a 3-0 scoring run to take a 13-9 lead within the fourth set. A pair of kills from Nolan helped UC go up by 4 (16-12). Another 4-0 spurt allowed UC to run away with the set, 25-16, and match, 3-1.