TicketsBearcats Sweep C-USA Opener
DuPont has 16 kills in win over Marquette
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/1/2004
Julie DuPont had a match-high 16 kills vs. Marquette. |
MILWAUKEE, Wis.---Julie DuPont had a match-high 16 kills in her return home and the Bearcats limited Marquette to .039 hitting as Cincinnati opened Conference USA play with a sweep of the Golden Eagles on Friday night at the Al McGuire Center.
The Bearcats improved to 8-6 on the season with the 30-14, 31-29, 30-28 win over Marquette. The Golden Eagles drop to 9-4 with the defeat.
DuPont, a native of Muskego, Wis., just a few miles from Milwaukee, was joined in double figure kills by Rachel Torblaa who added 10. Torblaa had a solid all-around game for the Bearcats, matching her career high with six digs and blocking five balls. Myanna Hellsten also got in the blocking act with six, while Leslie Newell had five. DuPont just missed 12th double-double of the season with a team-high nine digs.
The Bearcats raced out in game one, scoring the match?s first four points and then opening up a 10-2 lead with a 6-0 run. From there, UC was never seriously challenged as they continued to build on its advantage. Up by seven at 20-13, the Bearcats erupted on a 10-1 run down the stretch to close out the 30-14 win. For the game, Cincinnati hit .344, getting six kills by DuPont and three each by Torblaa and Maria Pongonis. UC committed only four errors in the game, while holding Marquette to -.029 hitting.
Game two was a completely different story as it was a battle to the end, featuring 17 ties and 11 lead changes. Trailing 22-21, the Golden Eagles used a 7-2 run to take what appeared to be a commanding lead at 28-24. But the Bearcats refused to stay down, using a 4-0 spurt to knot the score at 28. Marquette set up game point on a Coughlin kill, but quickly lost the advantage on a Coughlin error. UC then closed out the big comeback with a Newell kill and a Marquette error to take the 31-29 win. In game two, the Bearcats? hitting dipped to .196, but a defense that limited Marquette to .062 for the game proved key. DuPont added six more kills in game two, while Torblaa had four more.
The Bearcats had to withstand a huge comeback in game three reminiscent of their own in game two. UC overcame a 10-9 deficit with a 10-3 run to open a 19-14 edge. Cincinnati looked to be in a comfortable spot with a 26-21 lead, but Marquette roared back to make a contest of the game. The Golden Eagles got to within 26-23 to force a Bearcat timeout and coming out of the break, UC got kills by Pongonis and Torblaa and a Marquette error to set to set up match point at 29-23. But Marquette stormed back once more, scoring five points in a row to get within 29-28. With momentum in the Golden Eagles favor, a Kimberly Todd shot sailed out of bounds to end the match in the Bearcats favor.
Preseason all-conference selection Coughlin and her 15 kills paced Marquette. Libero Erin Freer led the defense with a match-high 13 digs.
The Bearcats are back in C-USA action on Saturday night, when they travel to DePaul. The match from the DePaul Athletic Center is set to get underway at 7 p.m. CT.