TicketsNewell Helps UC To Win Over Sister, IUPUI
Bearcats top Jaguars in three
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/28/2004
Leslie Newell had a season-high 11 kills in UC's win over IUPUI on Tuesday. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio?Round one of the ?Battle of the Newell Sisters,? went to the University of Cincinnati and senior Leslie Newell, as the Bearcats topped IUPUI and freshman Carol Newell on Tuesday night in college volleyball action in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.
Leslie Newell was one of three Bearcat players to reach double figure kills as the senior from Merrillville, Ind. finished the match with a season-best 11. Classmates Julie DuPont topped all players with 21 kills, while Rachel Torblaa tacked on 13 on .591 hitting percentage. The Bearcats improved to 7-6 on the year by scores of 30-24, 30-16, 30-23 in dropping the visiting Jaguars to 5-11 on the season.
DuPont registered her 11th double-double of the season, adding a team-best 11 digs to lead the Bearcat defense. Maria Pongonis had 10 digs, while libero Natalie Dossman added nine. Myanna Hellsten topped the Bearcat blockers with five and Newell added four.
?We?ve had some good practices lately and I think our confidence is still high,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?Even with the losing streak, we haven?t lost our confidence. This team is tough mentally and I?ve been pleased that we played pretty well the last couple of matches.?
The Bearcats got off to a slow start, falling behind 3-1 and leading by just a point at 5-4 following a Noel Olson service error. But UC then forced the Jaguars into their first timeout of the game, with a 5-0 run, sparked by kills by DuPont and Newell and a block by the latter and Hellsten. From there, the visitors hung close, but could never get closer than four. Sunahara used a timeout at 27-23 and following the break, UC scored three of the last four points of the game, two on DuPont kills to finish off game one.
The second game was a dominating performance as they hit .432 for the frame and gradually pulled away from the Jaguars. After the two teams traded points to start the game, DuPont went on a personal 6-0 run with six straight kills to push the Bearcats ahead 7-1. With the home team leading by seven, IUPUI cut the lead to three with four straight points, two on Casey Chrzastowski kills to get within 11-8. Later, the scoreboard showed a 22-15 lead after a kill by the Jaguars? Michelle Sobocinski, but IUPUI could get no closer as the Bearcats dominated down the stretch. UC scored eight of the last nine points of the game, three on Torblaa kills to close the 30-16 game two victory.
Game three was again close at the outset, but saw the Bearcats again pull away, despite hitting just .205 for the game. UC pushed its lead to as much as eight on several different occasions throughout the game and appropriately a Newell kill finished off the 30-23 game three Bearcat triumph. Game three also marked the initial collegiate appearance for freshman Hannah May.
The final stats showed the Bearcats with a comfortable .286 to .137 edge in hitting. Chrzastowski led the Jaguars with 14 kills, while libero Erin Jones had a match-high 15 digs. Carol Newell got the start for the visitors, but played in just game one and finished with two kills. UC setter Olson dished out 42 assists in the match, while her counterpart Tanna Smith handed out 27.
The Bearcats will be back in action this weekend when they open Conference USA play with a pair of matches. UC travels to Marquette on Friday (Oct. 1), before battling DePaul on Saturday. Both matches are set to begin at 8 p.m. ET.