TicketsNo. 24 Bearcats Win 12th Straight
Five UC players reach double-figure kills
Contact: Shawn Sell
11/7/2003
Julie DuPont had 21 kills to lead UC to a win over Houston on Friday night. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---The 24th ranked University of Cincinnati volleyball team ran its win streak to 12 in a row and assured itself of a bye in the first round of the Conferene USA Tournament with a hard-fought four-game win over Houston on Friday night in Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats? key to victory came late in the third game with the match tied at one game apiece, as UC fought off three Houston game points that would have put them in a two games to one hole. Sophomore Maddie Barron came off the bench to serve four consecutive Bearcat points that put UC ahead 30-29. Houston was able to counter the attack before falling 33-31.
In winning by scores of 30-20, 26-30, 33-31, 30-23, the Bearcats improve to 24-2 overall, with a perfect 10-0 C-USA slate. The resilient Cougars fall to 8-16 and 4-6 in league play. The win guarantees the Bearcats a breather in the first round of the upcoming C-USA Tournament, for the ninth consecutive year.
The Bearcats continued to use a well-balanced offense to score the victory as five players reached double figure kills for the third time this season. As usual, Julie DuPont was the leader, finishing with 21 kills. Maria Pongonis was right behind with 17, while Rachel Torblaa had 12, Leslie Newell 11 and Myanna Hellsten 10. The Bearcats also benefited from 57 assists from senior setter Laura Lauder.
?Houston played well and they were really good in the second game,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?They blocked better than us and our hitters didn?t a very good job at times of hitting it right to them. But I thought we turned it up in game three and got better. We just have to play smarter and keep our focus, which wasn?t there tonight.?
The opening game saw Houston jump into the lead, holding an advantage for much of the early stages of the contest. UC went ahead to stay with a 5-0 run that pushed them to a 16-11 lead and never looked back in closing out the 30-20 win. Hellsten keyed the comeback spurt with three kills in the five points.
The Bearcat defense did the job in game one, holding the Cougars to .000 hitting, while the offense hit at a .286 clip. DuPont led all players in game one with five kills, while Torblaa tacked on four.
Game two was a different story as the visiting Cougars turned the tables on the startled Bearcats, taking the game to even the contest at one apiece. Houston hit a solid .342 for the frame, while limiting UC to a match-low .148.
The Bearcats jumped ahead early in what turned into a sew-saw battle. After pulling even at 15-all, UC looked to be in control, scoring six of the next eight points to open a four-point cushion. The Cougars wouldn?t go away, though as they tied the game with four straight points to force a UC timeout.
Following the break, neither team led by more than two until a Bearcat error put Houston up 27-24. The home team countered with a DuPont kill and a block by Hellsten and Newell, but Houston kills by Cinthia Piva and Kelly McAnelley and another UC miscue gave the Cougars the victory.
The aforementioned third game was a tight battle, featuring nine ties and four lead changes. Houston led early, before the Bearcats gained the advantage and opened up a five-point margin on a couple of occasions. Down two, the Cougars rode an 8-3 run to get to the first game point at 29-26.
With Barron serving, Torblaa came to life, notching a kill then combining with DuPont on one block and with Lauder on another to tie the game. A Houston error set up game point for UC, but the Cougars quickly retied it. The teams traded points, until a Cougar error and a DuPont kill brought the thrilling frame to a close.
From there, UC took advantage of a somewhat deflated Cougar squad, hitting .350 in a game four win. The home team broke open a tie score with four straight kills to go ahead 11-7. The Bearcat lead grew to as much as eight by game?s end, as they limited Houston to .239 hitting in a match-clinching 30-23 win.
On the defense end, the Bearcats? improved blocking continued as they reached double-figure blocks for a fifth straight match with 10. Hellsten had six of those rejections, while Newell added five. Pongonis had a team-best 14 digs, while DuPont added 13 and Lindsey Garrison 11.
Houston was led by outstanding freshman McAnelly with 21 kills on .321 hitting. Piva also came up big with 18 kills and 16 digs, as did Loure Dews who had 13 kills and eight blocks. Cougar libero Jaci Gonzalez, C-USA?s leader in digs, did nothing to hurt her lead with a match-best 21.
The Bearcats are right back in action in their quest for the C-USA title, hosting TCU tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Admission to the Senior Night contest will be free of charge and following the match, UC?s two seniors, Lauder and Ashley Grooms will be honored on the court.