TicketsBearcat Winning Streak Comes To An End
TCU gets first ever win over UC
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/16/2004
Leslie Newell had a season-high 18 kills vs. TCU. |
FORT WORTH, Texas---TCU hit .367, the highest by any Cincinnati opponent this season, as the Horned Frogs snapped the Bearcats? nine-match winning streak with a four-game win on Saturday night in Conference USA volleyball action. The win, by scores of 30-21, 31-29, 24-30, 30-23 was also the Horned Frogs first ever against the Bearcats in four tries.
The Frogs combination of Dominika Szabo and Ellen Rehme scorched Cincinnati for a combined 51 kills to lead TCU to the win. Anna Vaughn reached double digits with 13, as did Emily Allen with 11.
The Bearcats got a season-best performance from senior Leslie Newell, who tallied 18 kills on .400 hitting despite the defeat. Rachel Torblaa added 12 kills, while Julie DuPont had 11.
UC falls to 14-7 on the year with the defeat and is now 5-1 in C-USA play. TCU is 14-6 overall and 5-1 in C-USA.
The Bearcats played from behind nearly all of the first two games as an inspired Horned Frogs team jumped to a two games to none lead. In game one, TCU led for all but a couple of early points as they cruised to a 30-21 win. The score was knotted at 13-all when TCU went on a big 6-0 spurt to take control of the game. From there, UC could get no closer than five points at 21-16 as TCU went on to the win. The Horned Frogs hit .413 for the game, accumulating 23 of their 30 points via kills. Szabo and Rehme did much of the damage, totaling nine and seven kills, respectively.
TCU controlled a great portion of game two, but the Bearcats were able to draw to a 17-all tie with a 4-0 run that forced a Horned Frog timeout. Out the break, TCU reassumed the lead with back-to-back points. Down two, the Bearcats got a Newell kill and a Jenny Custer ace to retie the game at 24. But the Frogs responded with five of the next six points to set up a commanding game point at 29-25. The Bearcats, unable to yield another point, suddenly rose to the occasion taking four straight points to tie the score at 29. But a kill by Szabo, her eighth of the game and 17th of the match and a DuPont error handed TCU the 31-29 victory. TCU continued its hot hitting in the game, holding a .302 to .250 advantage over the Bearcats.
The Bearcats rebounded in game three by hitting .500 en route to a 30-24 win. UC trailed early by a 5-4 score, but went on a 6-2 spurt to take a three-point edge. TCU scrapped back to get within a point at 12-11 and 15-14, but then UC pulled away from the Frogs. Cincinnati built a cushion of as much as six points and got to game point on a kill by Newell that made the score 29-23. Allen countered with a kill for TCU, but a kill by Pongonis ended the game in the Bearcats? favor. The Frogs kept their hot hitting rolling, finishing at .395 despite the defeat. Szabo?s kill count was up to 24 by the end of game three, while Rehme had 16. Newell was pacing UC through three games with 13 kills, while Torblaa and DuPont each had 10.
Cincinnati was in control at the outset of game four, holding leads of 6-1 and 10-5. Down 11-7, TCU battled back with a 4-0 run that knotted the game. The teams battled back and forth but a 4-0 spurt that put TCU up 19-15 proved key. The Bearcats continued to stay close, but found themselves down 28-20 late in the game. UC fought hard with a Newell kill, a block by Noel Olson and Torblaa and a kill by Maria Pongonis that drew UC to within five. But a Cincinnati error and a kill by Szabo pushed the Frogs to the victory.
DuPont led the Bearcats with a season-high 18 digs and five blocks, while Torblaa also blocked five. Talaya Whitfield led all players with 26 digs, while Allen added 12. Allen also had four blocks as did Vaughn.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Wright State for a 7 p.m. contest.