TicketsBearcats Sweep SLU For 10th Straight Win
DuPont, Torblaa key UC win
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/31/2003
Rachel Torblaa had 14 kills and five blocks in Friday's win at Saint Louis. |
ST. LOUIS, Mo.---Behind 16 kills from Julie DuPont and 14 from Rachel Torblaa, the University of Cincinnati volleyball scored its 10th win in a row, with a three-game sweep of Saint Louis on Friday night. The win improves the Bearcats? record to 22-2 on the year and keeps them in first place in the Conference USA standings with a perfect 8-0 mark.
DuPont had an outstanding all-around performance, adding nine kills and five kills to her match-high kill count. Torblaa led all players with a .565 hitting percentage, while tallying five blocks. Laura Lauder led the Cincinnati offense with 45 assists, while Maria Pongonis paced the defense with a career-high 15 digs.
Game one was a struggle for both teams as the Bearcats held a slim .164 to .083 hitting advantage in a 30-28 win. The second game saw a huge reversal of fortunes as UC rode a .684 to .000 hitting advantage to a 30-18 triumph.
The third and final game was hotly contested throughout and actually ended with Saint Louis holding a .306 to .294 hitting advantage, despite the Bearcats earning a 31-29 win.
?I was really happy that we came out of Saint Louis with a win,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?Our blocking was good all night and that?s what kept us in the match.?
The aforementioned blocking showed UC with a 14 to six edge over the Billikens. Freshman Myanna Hellsten, the reigning C-USA Co-Player of the Week, led all players with nine blocks, while DuPont, Torblaa and Leslie Newell all tacked on five apiece.
Alyson Merchant led Saint Louis (8-17, 1-7 C-USA) with 14 kills, while Jessica Poorbaugh added 10. The Billikens? Jessica Kmitta led the home team with a match-high 17 digs.
Cincinnati will now prepare for a stiff challenge on Saturday night as they travel to Memphis for a 7 p.m. CT contest. The Tigers entered Friday?s play tied with Louisville for second in the C-USA race, but played host to the 22nd ranked Cardinals this evening.