TicketsBearcats Survive Battle With Marshall
Butler tops New Mexico St. in opener
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/5/2003
Julie DuPont had match-highs of 20 kills and 17 digs against Marshall on Friday night. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---The Cincinnati Bearcats scored the last five points of game three to overcome a two-point deficit and put the finishing touches on a three-game sweep of Marshall Friday night during opening round play of the Vernon Manor Bearcat Invitational.
After struggling through much of game three, the Bearcats cut their deficit to one at 26-25 on a solo block by Julie DuPont, prompting a Thundering Herd timeout. After Marshall?s Tracie King notched a kill, UC ripped off five straight points to pull out the 30-27 win. DuPont and Maria Pongonis started the run with kills, while a block by Myanna Hellsten and Leslie Newell sandwiched around a pair of Marshall errors closed out UC?s victory.
The victory by the Bearcats improved their record to 4-1 on the season, while Marshall slips to 2-2. DuPont led the Cincinnati attack with match-highs of 20 kills and 17 digs, while hitting a solid .308. Rachel Torblaa hit a match-high .579 with 11 kills, while UC setter Laura Lauder had a double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs.
?When our backs were against the wall, we stepped up and pulled it out,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?I thought our overall performance wasn?t very good and against a good team like Marshall that?s tough to do and still win, but we got it done.?
The Bearcats raced out the blocks in the first game, grabbing an early 6-1 lead. Torblaa started off strong with a pair of kills to start the match. After consecutive Marshall errors, the Herd burned their first timeout. Back-to-back kills by Newell pushed Cincinnati to its biggest lead to that point at 11-5.
Game one remained even until a Torblaa kill pushed the lead to five. The Herd refused to stay down though, as they ripped off five of the next six points to cut the Cincinnati lead to 23-22 and prompt Sunahara to call a time-out.
The time-out worked as two DuPont kills and one by Hellsten thrust the lead back to four. After Marshall cut it to 27-25, Pongonis notched a kill to spark a three-point Cincinnati run that closed out the 30-25 first game victory.
The Bearcats were on fire in game one, hitting .515 to a .256 clip for Marshall. UC got a balanced attack in game one as DuPont registered six kills, Torblaa five and Newell, Hellsten and Pongonis with three each.
The second frame started off much the same as UC jumped to a 4-1 lead. The home team upped the lead to six at 12-6, before Marshall came to life and the Bearcats hit a funk. A kill by Anja Wilk, two UC errors and an ace by Katie Stein brought Marshall back to within two.
The Bearcat lead grew to as much as five at 25-20 and 26-21, but Marshall again refused to stay down. Four straight Herd points tied the contest at 27 and Marshall appeared to have the hosts on the ropes. But Cincinnati again found a way as Torblaa?s kill started a three-point spurt that brought the Bearcats a 30-27 win.
After hitting so well in game one, UC fell to a .184 clip, but were able to claim the win with Marshall hitting at just .071.
At the outset of game three, UC found themselves in an unfamiliar position of trailing early. The Herd ran out to a 4-1 advantage and led by as much as five at 12-7. Armed with a 15-12 advantage, Marshall saw DuPont rip off three straight kills to tie the game and Torblaa?s ace capped a 4-0 run that pushed UC back in front.
But Marshall came back again scoring seven of the next 10 points to take a 22-19 edge. Cincinnati got the deficit back to one, but trailed by two following King?s kill that set the stage for UC?s big finish.
Nicole Michal finished with 10 kills to lead Marshall, the only Herd player in double figures. Ashley Barnard registered 10 digs, while Stein had 32 assists.
Service errors were a problem for both teams as Marshall committed 13 to Cincinnati?s 11. After hitting over .500 in the first game, the Bearcats went under .200 in the final two frames to finish at .287. Marshall concluded with a .151 mark.
The tournament continues tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. with Marshall battling New Mexico State. Both of Friday night?s winners, Cincinnati and Butler will square off at 1 p.m.
Butler 3, New Mexico St. 0 The Butler Bulldogs hit .333 for the match, recording a three-game win over New Mexico State in the first match of the Vernon Manor Bearcat Invitational at Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.Kali Carter led the Butler offense with a match-high 20 kills, hitting .439 and adding 11 digs. Candice Washington added 14 kills, while Areal Bienemy had 10. Alyssa Cress equaled the Aggies? Stevi Adams with a match-best 12 digs.
Butler (4-1) charged out of the gates with a 30-24 win, behind a .273 hitting percentage to .179 for the Aggies (2-1). Game two was more of the same as the Bulldogs pulled out a 30-26 win. Butler saved the best for last in hitting a match-high .391 en route to a 30-25 victory.
Trinia Cuseo and Adams each carded 10 kills for New Mexico State.