TicketsBearcats Block Way Into C-USA Semis
UC faces Marquette on Sunday
Contact: Shawn Sell
11/20/2004
Julie DuPont had 13 kills and a career-high nine blocks against Saint Louis. |
LOUISVILLE, Ky.---Cincinnati used a school record 33 block assists to avenge a regular season loss to Saint Louis as the Bearcats handed the Billikens a three-game loss in the quarterfinals of the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Tournament on Saturday at Cardinal Arena. UC was victorious by scores of 30-22, 30-19, 30-16 in advancing to the tournament semi-finals for the eighth time in 10 years of C-USA play.
Julie DuPont and Rachel Torblaa led the blocking assault as each player recorded nine blocks, with the total for the former matching her career-high. Myanna Hellsten added eight blocks and Noel Olson had a career-best six. The Bearcat offense, which hit .370, got a match-high 13 kills from DuPont who was the only UC player in double figure kills. The Bearcats are now 21-9 on the year and will play the winner of Marquette and Charlotte in Sunday?s semifinals.
Another key for the Bearcats was limiting Saint Louis star Aida Antanaviciute to -.024 hitting and just 12 kills. Saint Louis finishes the season with a 15-17 record. The victory by the Bearcats avenges a five-game loss to Saint Louis on Oct. 24.
?We worked on blocking all week and I thought our blocking took over the match,? said Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahra. ?We took Saint Louis out of their rhythm because of blocking well. I thought this was one of our best matches of the year and hopefully things are coming together for us.?
UC never trailed in game one after a Billiken attack attempt sailed out of bounds and put the Bearcats up 4-3. The Bearcat lead reached eight after a trio of DuPont kills and a block by DuPont and Hellsten put UC up 18-10. The Billikens managed to get the deficit back to three on a couple of occasions with the last coming at 21-18 and were down by just four at 26-22. But that would be the final points that SLU would score as UC closed out the frame with four straight points. Leslie Newell and Maria Pongonis each contributed a kill and a Hellsten ace and a block by Torblaa and Newell closed out game one. UC hit a match-high .407 in game one, while limiting Saint Louis to .132.
The second game saw the Bearcats open a 13-7 advantage after back-to-back kills by Torblaa and DuPont. Saint Louis responded with four straight points to get back within two, but the Bearcats countered with five consecutive to show a 18-11 advantage. The Cincinnati lead reached double figures for the first time when consecutive DuPont kills gave UC a 27-17 lead. SLU came back with two in a row, but kills by Olson and DuPont and a block by DuPont and Hellsten ended game two. The Bearcats again held a sizable hitting edge in game two, outhitting Saint Louis by a .361 to .053 count.
Despite their recent troubles in game three, the Bearcats didn?t let up against Saint Louis, as they held the Billikens to .000 hitting, while hitting .345. UC took the lead for good early at 2-1 and continued to build on its lead throughout. A late 7-0 run turned a seven-point UC lead into a 14-point cushion at 27-13. Saint Louis countered with three straight points, but they wouldn?t score again as DuPont?s 13th kill of the night ended the match.
Olson played one of her most outstanding matches of the season, registering a new career-best with four kills, while handing out 36 assists and picking up five digs. Jenny Custer and Pongonis each totaled team-highs of six digs for the Bearcats.
UC will return to the court on Sunday for a 7 p.m. semi-final contest. The Bearcats? opponent will be the winner of the No. 3 seed Marquette-No. 6 seed Tulane match that is currently in progress.