TicketsBearcats Drop Five-Gamer To Marshall
UC wastes 2-0 lead in third straight defeat
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/17/2004
Julie DuPont had a season-high 21 kills against Marshall. |
MADISON, Wis.---Marshall came back from a 2-0 games deficit to hand the University of Cincinnati volleyball team a disappointing five-game loss in the first round of the InnTowner Invitational on Friday night.
The Bearcats hit just .183 for the match and fall to 5-3 on the season with their third straight loss. Marshall is also 5-3 on the year. The Herd was victorious in the match by scores of 26-30, 23-30, 30-20, 30-28, 16-14.
Cincinnati got a season-high 21 kills from senior Julie DuPont making a return to her home state of Wisconsin. Maria Pongonis chipped in 14 kills, while Rachel Torblaa had 13.
The Bearcats led through much of game one, but had to withstand a late Marshall rally to sew up the game one victory. UC led by a comfortable 27-19 score in the frame, but saw Marshall score four straight points to draw within four. A DuPont kill got a Bearcat point, but Marshall countered with two straight. The teams traded points that got the Bearcats to game point and a Herd serving error ended game one in UC?s favor, despite being outhit .184 to .128.
In game two, the Bearcats had to overcome a five-point deficit midway through the game to take the win. The Herd held a 13-8 lead, only to see the Bearcats exploded for nine straight points to take a 17-13 lead. DuPont led the charge during the run with a pair of kills and a pair of blocks. Marshall got to within a point on a quick 3-0 spurt that forced a UC timeout. The Bearcats then rattled off seven of the next 10 points to show a 24-19 Cincinnati advantage. Kills by Pongonis, DuPont and Torblaa, one UC block and a pair of Marshall errors put Cincinnati up two games to zero.
The third game was never in serious doubt as Marshall used a 9-1 run to open up a 17-7 advantage over the Bearcats. UC could get no closer than five as the Herd pulled away on the strength of a .452 hitting effort for the game.
Game four was a back-and-forth battle throughout and saw Marshall take control with a 5-0 run that snapped a 17-all tie. Marshall got to game point at 29-22 on a kill by Christin Bimberg, but the Bearcats refused to stay down. With their collective backs against the wall, UC ripped off five straight points to close within a point. But unable to make any errors, a Jenny Custer serve sailed out of bounds to give Marshall a 30-28 win and force the deciding game five.
Marshall took the early advantage in game five, but Cincinnati rebounded to take what appeared to be a comfortable four-point cushion at 13-9. The Herd then took advantage of a trio of Bearcat errors to creep within 13-12. UC had match point on a Marshall serving error, but the Herd once again showed their fight, scoring the last four points of the match, two on Bimberg kills and two on Kelly-Anne Billingy service aces to bring the match to a close in Marshall?s favor.
Billingy led all players in the match with 22 kills, leading three Herd players in double figures. Amber Sims totaled 18 kills, while Stephanie Cahill added 15. Marshall held the advantage in hitting over the Bearcats by a .227 to .183 margin.
The Bearcat blocking was much improved in the match as they finished with 13.5 team blocks, including seven by Myanna Hellsten and six by Torblaa. Natalie Dossman had her eighth straight match in double figure digs with 15, while DuPont added 10. For Marshall, setter Katie Stein had a match-best 18 digs, along with 55 assists. Cahill added 15 digs and Maggie Arias had 11.
UC is back in action with a pair of matches tomorrow in the InnTowner Invitational. The Bearcats will battle Virginia at 10 a.m. CT, before taking on the host Wisconsin Badgers at 7 p.m. CT.