TicketsUC Downs Southern Miss, 3-1
Five Bearcats hit double-figures in win
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/29/2004
Julie DuPont surpassed 2,000 career kills in UC's win over Southern Miss. |
HATTIESBURG, Miss.---Cincinnati recovered from a slow start to put five players in double-digit kills as the Bearcats handed Southern Miss a four-game defeat on Friday night in Conference USA volleyball action at the Payne Center. The 30-26, 30-17, 25-30, 30-16 victory ups the Bearcats? record to 17-8 on the year and 7-2 in conference play. Southern Miss dips to 5-17, 0-8 with the loss.
Julie DuPont once again led the charge for the Bearcats, tallying 29 kills, her second-highest total this season, while surpassing the 2,000-kill mark for her career. The senior is the first player in school history to accomplish the feat and just the fourth in C-USA history.
Myanna Hellsten and Leslie Newell each added 13 kills for UC, while Maria Pongonis chipped in with 12 and Rachel Torblaa 11. Sophomore setter Noel Olson who dished out a career-best 66 assists in the win paced the balanced Bearcat attack.
The Bearcats started the night out slow as they fell behind by an early 9-3 score in game one. UC still trailed by five at 21-15, before starting a game one rally. The visitors used a 9-2 run, highlighted by three DuPont kills, including number 2,000 of her career to take its first lead at 24-23. Cincinnati then scored six of the last nine points of the frame, the final coming on a solo block by Torblaa to put the finishing touches on the 30-26 victory.
The second game was a different story and featured a dominating Cincinnati performance. UC limited Southern Miss to just .026 hitting in the game in rolling to the 30-17 win. The Golden Eagles hung close early, but UC turned a two-point advantage into an eight-point cushion at 20-12 with an 8-2 run. The Bearcats opened their first double-digit advantage of the night with a 6-0 run, fueled by three kills and two blocks by Torblaa that made it 29-16. After a USM kill, DuPont dropped her 14th kill of the night to send UC into the break with a 2-0 lead.
Game three proved to be another struggle for the Bearcats as a 7-1 Southern Miss spurt pushed the hosts into a 12-7 advantage. Despite getting within three points on several different occasions, the last at 28-25, UC couldn?t get over the hump as Southern Miss forced a game four with a 30-25 victory. The Golden Eagles saved their best hitting performance of the night for game three when they hit .293, while holding UC to .239.
Just as Southern Miss had done in game three, the Bearcats erupted for their top hitting frame of the night in game four. UC hit a scorching .571 in the game, as they jumped to a 7-3 lead and never looked back in claiming the 30-16 win. A kill by Newell put the Bearcats up by 10 at 20-10 and UC scored 10 of the last 16 to end the match.
The Bearcats ended the match with 69 digs and 10 team blocks, one less than Southern Miss in each category. Natalie Dossman posted 16 digs for UC, as did Pongonis, with the latter scoring her eighth double-double of the year. DuPont made it double-double number 19 of the season with 13 digs. Hellsten led UC with six blocks, while Newell had five and Torblaa four.
Southern Miss placed two players in double figure kills, with Amanda Blunck pacing the club with 13, along with a match-high 22 digs. Morgan Johnson added 12 kills and 13 digs, while Cassie Conley added 16 digs. Setter Amy Truong handed out 38 assists and added 13 digs on defense.
The Bearcats will try to close the weekend on a high note when they visit Tulane on Saturday night. Match time from Fogelman Arena is set for 7 p.m. CT.