TicketsNo. 25 Volleyball Rolls To Seventh Straight Win
DuPont leads Bearcats over ECU
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/18/2003
Julie DuPont had 25 kills in Saturday's win over East Carolina. |
GREENVILLE, N.C.---One night after its worst hitting performance of the season, the 25th ranked University of Cincinnati volleyball rebounded with its best performance in a three-game win over East Carolina on Saturday night.
The win, UC?s seventh in a row, came by scores of 30-22, 30-23, 30-12 and improves the Bearcats record to 19-2 on the year, with a 5-0 Conference USA mark. East Carolina falls to 8-15 and 0-6 in C-USA. The Bearcats blistered the Pirates offensively, hitting .456 as a squad to .156 for ECU.
Julie DuPont led the way for Cincinnati with one of her best performances of the year, tallying a match-high 25 kills, while hitting a season-high .488. Rachel Torblaa reached double figures with 12 kills on .385 hitting and Maria Pongonis registered 11, with a .474 hitting clip. Laura Lauder did nothing to hurt her nation?s best assists per game average, racking up 53 in the three-game contest.
?It was a good team effort for us,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?Everyone stepped up and played well tonight. I thought we really came out on fire and took it to them.?
Game one was closer early, with the score knotted at 12, before the Bearcats pushed ahead to stay. UC used runs of 7-2 and 6-2 to open up a 25-18 advantage. DuPont?s 12th kill of the game ended the first frame with the Bearcats winning, 30-22. Cincinnati started its offensive assault early, hitting .444 to .276 for the Pirates.
East Carolina took an early lead in game two, before UC took command with an 8-1 run that gave the visitors a seven-point lead. The Pirates got close with a 6-3 spurt, but DuPont and Pongonis heated up, combining for eight kills down the stretch to close out the 30-23 triumph.
The final game was never in doubt as the Bearcats hit .552 in scorching the Pirates for a 30-12 win.
The Bearcats will now gear up for a pair of tough home contests next weekend, as Southern Miss and Tulane, both currently tied with the Bearcats atop the C-USA standings, visit Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. UC and Southern Miss will square off on Friday (Oct. 24) at 7:30 p.m., with Tulane coming to town for a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday (Oct. 26).