TicketsBearcat Winning Streaks Roll On
DuPont leads UC to eighth straight win
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/12/2004
Julie DuPont had 18 kills in Tuesday's win over Morehead State. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Julie DuPont tallied 18 kills with no errors to lead Cincinnati to its eighth straight victory, a three-game home sweep of Morehead State on Tuesday night. The victory also pushed the Bearcats home winning streak to 22 and upped UC?s record to 13-6 on the year.
DuPont ended the night with a season-high .562 hitting percentage as the Bearcats were victorious by scores of 30-14, 30-18, 30-18. UC?s senior standout added 10 digs for her 15th double-double of the year. Rachel Torblaa also reached double digit kills for the Bearcats, registering 12 on .375 hitting. The Bearcat defense also did the job, limiting Morehead State to .023 hitting, led by five Myanna Hellsten blocks and four by Leslie Newell.
?I thought we played pretty well,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?If we hit like we did tonight, we are going to win a lot of games. We need to keep working on our defense, though. The better we dig and block, the easier it is for us to transition into our offense and score more points.?
The Bearcats started the night slowly as the score was tied at four early on. But an 11-1 run by the home team pushed UC?s advantage into double figures for the first time at 15-5. Cincinnati continued to pull away from the Eagles during the frame, building the lead to its highest point, 16 on Hellsten?s ace to end the game. UC hit a staggering .538 for the game, while limiting Morehead to just .030.
Game two saw Cincinnati jump out to a 6-2 lead on a block by Hellsten and Newell, but quickly found themselves up by just one at 9-8 and again at 11-10. The small cushion didn?t last long though as the Bearcats used an 8-1 run to blow the game open. Two kills by Cassie Garland and one by Jennifer Kennedy brought Morehead back within five at 19-14. But that would be as close as the visiting Eagles would get as they closed out the game with an 8-2 run to end the 30-18 victory. UC continued to hit well in the frame, finishing at a .300 clip and holding the Eagles to .000.
In game three, Sunahara took the opportunity to play many of his reserves as Lindsey Garrison, Erin Maldo, Hannah May and Ann Broering all drew time. That allowed Sunahara to rest Natalie Dossman, Newell and Maria Pongonis. Garrison had the biggest impact as she compiled 11 digs in just one game. Maldo added a kill, as did Broering, with the latter?s the first of her short career. May also broke onto the stat sheet with her first ever dig. On the court, UC again shook off Morehead early on to lead by a 19-12 score. Kennedy notched back-to-back kills to bring the Eagles to within five before the Bearcats again pulled away. The Bearcats scored 10 of the last 14 points of the game to close out another 30-18 win. Game three provided another solid offensive and defensive effort, as the Bearcats hit .459 and held Morehead State to .043.
?Maria and Leslie are warriors out there,? Sunahara added. ?They play through pain because that?s what they have to do. It was good we could get them some rest tonight.?
Three Bearcats reached double figure digs, with Pongonis leading the way with 13. Garrison added 11, while DuPont had 10. Kennedy was the only player in double figure kills for Morehead (6-12) as she tallied 11. Noel Olson won the battle of the setters by a 41-26 cushion over Garland.
The Bearcats return to Conference USA action with a tough trip to Texas. UC opens the weekend with a contest against Houston on Friday, who boasts a 3-1 league mark. TCU, 4-0 in C-USA, will serve as the opponent on Saturday.