TicketsBearcats Fall To No. 1 Minnesota
DuPont records double-double in defeat
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/20/2004
Julie DuPont had 12 kills and 10 digs vs. Minnesota. |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.---No. 1 Minnesota got 14 kills from Erin Martin and 10 from Trisha Bratford as the Gophers rolled to a three-game sweep of Cincinnati on Monday night in college volleyball action at the Sports Pavilion on U of M?s campus.
The Gophers improve to 11-1 on the year with the 30-24, 30-14, 30-19 victory. The Bearcats are now 5-6 on the year and in the midst of a six-match losing streak, the program?s longest since 1992.
Julie DuPont had a double-double leading the Bearcats with 12 kills and 10 digs, but UC was limited to just .046 hitting, including negatives in the final two games. Minnesota?s All-American libero Paula Gentil led all players with a match-best 15 digs. The Gophers also blocked 11 balls in the match, including four each by Meredith Nelson and Martin.
The first game was tightly contested as the Bearcats hung close with the nation?s number one team. UC stayed point for point with the Gophers until a 4-0 Minnesota run put the home team up 14-10. The Bearcats continued to battle, but found themselves down eight at 27-19. Cincinnati then came back with four straight points on a Minnesota serving error, kills by Erin Maldo and Noel Olson and a Leslie Newell ace. The Gophers came out of a timeout to score three of the last four points to close the 30-24 contest.
Game two was never in doubt as Minnesota raced to a 10-0 lead and never let up. DuPont provided a bit of a bright spot for the Bearcats during the game, accounting for five kills. During the frame, Minnesota hit a match-high .357 and limited the Bearcats to -.026 in rolling to the win.
The final game was again close at the beginning and was tied at seven when DuPont and Myanna Hellsten blocked a Minnesota hitter. But for the duration of the game, the Gophers showed their dominance, scoring 23 of the final 35 points to continue pulling away. For the game, Minnesota hit just .219, but a stingy defense held UC to only -.111 hitting.
The Bearcats will be out to snap their losing streak when they wrap up their eight-match road trip this Saturday, Sept. 25. UC will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. for a 5 p.m. CT match-up with the Butler Bulldogs.