TicketsBearcat Spikers Take Opening Night Win Over Bradley
Hellsten hits match-best .833 in win
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/3/2004
Myanna Hellsten had 10 kills in UC's opening night win over Bradley. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Julie DuPont and Myanna Hellsten each reached double-digit kills as the University of Cincinnati volleyball team opened the 2004 season with a three-game win over Bradley as part of the Vernon Manor Bearcat Invitational on Friday night in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.
The Bearcats got 15 kills from DuPont and 10 from Hellsten en route to a 30-19, 30-21, 30-18 win over Bradley. UC hit only .237 for the contest, but got a match-high .833 hitting performance by Hellsten. DuPont added 12 digs for a double-double, while Natalie Dossman led all players with 14 in the first match of her collegiate career. Another true freshman Bearcat, Jenny Custer, had a great all around performance, handing out 21 assists and adding six digs, five blocks and four kills. Noel Olson also saw time at setter and dished out 17 assists.
?We started out on fire and I thought in the first game, we played the best we had played all preseason,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?Then, I thought we hit a bit of a lull, but you have to give Bradley credit, they played good. We need to start playing at a more consistent level and we will be a better team. It was good to start the season getting a win under our belts.?
The opening game of the season for both squads saw the score knotted at five early on. But the home team didn?t allow the game to stay tied long as they put together a 12-2 run to open up a double-digit lead at 19-7. DuPont led the charge with three kills during the span.
After a Bearcat serving error, UC hit another spurt, this time one of the 6-2 variety that opened up a commanding 26-10 advantage. Bradley was able to get the deficit down to 28-17 and force a Cincinnati timeout, but another DuPont kill and a Brave error closed out the game one win.
The second game was a sew saw battle throughout that saw Bradley get down early and then charge back to knot the score at 16-16. Faced with the sixth tie of the game, UC got four straight kills, two by Maria Pongonis to take the lead for good. Up by a 20-18 score, the Bearcats ripped off six straight points, three coming on service aces by Pongonis to take an eight-point cushion. From there, Bradley could get no closer than seven, as two Brave errors and a block by Custer and Hellsten closed out the game two triumph for UC.
The third and final game saw the Bearcats hit a match-best .387 for the frame as they cruised to the win. The teams traded the first two points, before Hellsten erupted for three straight kills and DuPont added a fourth to give UC a 5-1 lead. The Bearcats then continued to mount their lead, jumping to a lead of as much as 11 on several occasions and finishing with a Custer-Hellsten block to close out the 30-18 victory.
For the night, UC limited Bradley to .061 hitting, including a .000 mark in the first game. Bradley got 10 kills from Lindsay Stalzer and nine from Briony Hammet. Hammet led the defense with 10 digs, while Eileen Hillary handed out 28 assists.
The tournament continues on Saturday with four matches on the schedule. Action gets underway at 11 a.m. with the Bearcats battling UMBC. UC will round out the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. match-up with Kent State.
Kent State 3, UMBC 1
Kent State put four players in double figure kills as the Golden Flashes picked up a hard fought four-game win over UMBC in the first match of the Vernon Manor Bearcat Invitational.
The Golden Flashes got 17 kills each from Danielle Holt and Ruth Ladurner-Schnitzer en route to a 32-30, 22-30, 30-26, 30-22 victory. KSU improves to 1-1 with the win, while UMBC falls to 0-2.
The Retrievers got a double-double from Jocelyn Teoh who registered 18 kills and 18 digs. Emily Berman (16) and Marisa Gross (10) also reached double figure kills for UMBC.