TicketsBearcat Streak Stopped By Saint Louis
UC loss snaps 23-match home win streak
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/24/2004
Maria Pongonis had 15 kills and a career-high 18 digs vs. Saint Louis. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Saint Louis did something no team has done in nearly two years as the Billikens handed Cincinnati a loss on its home floor in Conference USA volleyball action on Sunday afternoon in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. The defeat snaps the Bearcats? 23-match home court winning streak, the third-longest active string in the nation.
The victory for the Billikens was also Saint Louis? first-ever in Cincinnati. SLU was victorious by scores of 30-28, 26-30, 22-30, 30-27, 15-13 to improve to 11-13 overall and 4-5 in C-USA. The Bearcats fall to 16-8 and 6-2 in league play.
Julie DuPont started out red hot, carding 18 kills in the first two games, but being held in check in the final three, finishing with a team-best 25. DuPont narrowly missed a triple double, adding 17 digs and seven blocks. Maria Pongonis added a double-double with 15 kills and a career-best 18 digs, while Leslie Newell (14) and Rachel Torblaa (12) each reached double figures.
Saint Louis? Aida Antanaviciute, who entered the match ranked second nationally in kills per game burned the Bearcats for a match-high 32 kills, while adding a match-high 20 digs. Kayla Kmitta (16), Lauren Boissevain (20) and Sutton Lasater (12) also joined Antanaviciute in double figures.
?We blew too many opportunities and Saint Louis took advantage of them and that was the difference,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?It?s been the story of our season, we play good in spurts, but we aren?t consistent and that?s why we aren?t a great team.?
The Bearcats never led in game one as the visiting Billikens led from start to finish. UC kept it close throughout, but fell 30-27 after hitting only .217 in the game. SLU led by a 28-23 score late, but had to hold off a late Bearcat charge. UC scored six of the next seven points of the game to draw within 29-28 and force a Billiken timeout. Coming out of the break, Boissevain knocked down a kill to end the game in SLU?s favor.
Game two was quite the opposite of the opener as they used an early 4-2 run to take a 6-4 edge, a lead they would never relinquish. UC built its lead to as much as six on a couple of different occasions, but then had to hold off a late SLU run, spear headed by Antanaviciute. The Bearcats set up game point on a Myanna Hellsten kill to go up 29-23, but back-to-back Antanaviciute kills and a Bearcat error put Saint Louis back within three. DuPont ended the game, though with a kill to give UC the 30-26 win.
The third game featured an interesting twist, as the Bearcats fired out of the gates, running to a 23-9 lead. UC dominated both offensively and defensively early on, registering four blocks and getting multiple kills from a number of players. But Saint Louis made a spirited comeback, scoring 13 of the last 20 points of the game, getting as close as seven at 28-21. Hellsten ended the game, however with two straight kills to give the Bearcats a two games to one lead.
In game four, the Bearcats hit just .143 and Antanaviciute started to heat up. The SLU junior exploded for 13 kills during the game, including one on game point to lift the Billikens to a two-all tie.
Game five went back and forth throughout and was tied at 10 on a kill by Pongonis. Saint Louis then used a block and two Cincinnati errors to take a comfortable 13-10 lead. UC answered with a kill by Noel Olson and a block by DuPont and Hellsten to make it a 13-12 score. Saint Louis got to match point on a Hellsten error, but Cincinnati quickly countered with a kill by DuPont. The Billikens sealed the victory when Kayla Kmitta?s shot landed out of reach of the Bearcat defense.
UC freshman Natalie Dossman reached double figures in digs, with 13, while Olson added 10 along with 59 assists. Hellsten had 10 blocks, while Newell and Torblaa each tacked on five.
Three other players joined Antanaviciute in double figure digs for Saint Louis, as Chrissy King had 19, Jessica Kmitta 14 and Boissevain. Kayla Kmitta paced her team with eight blocks, while Lasater had five.
Cincinnati will try to get back on the winning track when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. on Friday for a 7 p.m. CT match. The Bearcats will also meet Tulane on Saturday night.