TicketsTorblaa-Led Bearcats Sweep EKU
No. 17 Louisville next for UC on Friday
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/7/2003
Rachel Torblaa had a career-high 20 kills on .500 hitting in Tuesday's win over Eastern Kentucky. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Rachel Torblaa led the way with a career-high 20 kills and Julie DuPont tacked on 18 as the Cincinnati Bearcats took a three-game tilt with Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday night in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.
The Bearcats were victorious by a 30-24 score in all three games of the match to improve to 16-2 on the year. The win was also UC?s fourth in a row and eighth consecutive over EKU. The Colonels, who fall to 12-7 on the year, were led by Lesley Aldridge with 12 kills and Jessica Sabath with 10.
Torblaa had an outstanding offensive night, finishing with a match-best .500 hitting percentage to help the Bearcats to a .317 team hitting performance. Maria Pongonis also reached double figures in kills, adding 10. Laura Lauder controlled the offense with 48 assists, raising her nation?s-best total to 14.98 per game. On the defensive side, Lindsey Garrison had 13 digs, while DuPont added 10. EKU?s Sabath led all players with 16 digs.
?Eastern Kentucky is a much improved team from last year,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?We knew they were a good team and they did lots of good things. We didn?t control the match quite like I hoped we would, but we found a way to win.?
The Colonels were able to hang close despite being outhit by a .341 to .143 margin in the first game. Both teams took turns leading during a frame that featured 15 ties and six lead changes. DuPont sparked a fierce battle midway through the frame as the two teams traded the lead. With the frame deadlocked at 14, DuPont registered kills on three straight Cincinnati points, but each time the visitors had an answer to tie the score at 17.
The teams exchanged points until the Bearcats took a 24-21 edge following three consecutive points. From there, UC scored six of the next nine points to close out the first game triumph. Balance was the name of the Bearcats? offensive game, as Torblaa had two kills during the run and DuPont, Myanna Hellsten and Leslie Newell each added one.
Game two was more of the same as the Torblaa show continued. The junior from Savage, Minn. tacked on nine kills to her seven from the first game. The Colonels took a 2-0 lead out of the gate on a Liz Guard kill and a Bearcat error, before the Bearcats answered with three consecutive scores. Pongonis and Torblaa each had kills, while Noel Olson served an ace for the third point.
After EKU tied the game, Cincinnati went ahead to stay on back-to-back kills by Torblaa and DuPont. From there, the UC lead grew to as much as six at 24-18 as the home team began to pull away. Pongonis? kill grew the lead to six and EKU was never able to get any closer to four points down the stretch.
Cincinnati continued its solid hitting in game two, carding a .302 effort to .250 for the Colonels. DuPont complimented Torblaa?s kill count with seven of her own to raise her total to 13 for the match.
Maddie Barron played a key role in the Bearcats tight game three win. With the score tied for the 15th time in the game, this time at 22 all, Barron served back-to-back aces to put the home team in the lead to stay. Following a Bearcat error, UC scored six of the final seven points of the match to put the cap on another 30-24 win. DuPont had two kills in the final spurt, with Torblaa, Hellsten and Newell all adding one.
In the tightly contested final game, the Bearcats hit .310 and withstood a solid .300 effort from the Colonels to pick up the win. EKU?s Guard was especially effective in game three, picking up seven of her nine kills in the frame.
While the Bearcats hit .317 for the match, the Colonels came in at .230. Aldridge scored a double-double, matching her 12 kills with 12 digs. EKU libero Kristi Kuzma also reached double figure kills with 10.
Cincinnati will now prepare for a Friday night showdown with No. 17 Louisville. The Bearcats and Cardinals, Conference USA?s top two ranked teams in the league?s preseason poll, will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.