TicketsSept. 27, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.---Jenny Custer and Jessie Nevitt each had 16 kills and eight blocks as the University of Cincinnati held off IUPUI in a five-game battle on Tuesday night at the IUPUI Gymnasium. UC took the match by scores of 26-30, 30-20, 26-30, 30-28, 15-8 and are 8-5 with the win.
The play of Custer and Nevitt propelled the Bearcats to a .280 hitting performance as the duo combined to swing .351. Custer's eight blocks were a career-high, as were Nevitt's six digs.
Serving played a key role in the match as the team's combined for 20 service aces and 31 errors. Maria Pongonis and Myanna Hellsten joined Custer and Nevitt in double figure kills with 12 each, while the Bearcats narrowly missed placing all five in double figures for the second straight match as Erin Maldo finished with nine. Noel Olson registered 59 assists from her setter position and Melissa Zenz led the UC defense with 19 digs.
IUPUI withstood a match-high 21 kills from Casey Chrzastowski, who led three Jaguars in double figure kills. Carol Newell, younger sister of former Bearcat Leslie Newell added 12 kills and Tracy Bailey had 10. The Jaguars slip to 8-6 with the setback.
Cincinnati struggled out of the gates in game one against the Jaguars, falling 30-26. IUPUI took an early three-point lead and the scoreboard didn't show in the Bearcats' favor until a Jaguar error made it 10-9. That would be the one and only time that UC would lead in the game, however, as the Jaguars scored five of the next six points to reclaim a three-point edge. UC forged ties at 18 and 19 and came to within 26-25 on back-to-back kills by Custer and Maldo. The home team quickly retook a three-point edge and Hellsten's kill to make it 28-26 would be as close as UC would get. A Bearcat serve sailed out of bounds to set up game point for the Jaguars and Bellamy and Bailey converged for a block that sealed game one for IUPUI.
The second game was a different story as UC outhit IUPUI .333 to .138 and trailed only at 1-0. After dropping the first point, the Bearcats roared back with five straight to assume a lead they would never surrender. UC steadily pulled away from the Jags with its lead reaching seven at 20-13. Cincinnati still held a seven-point lead after an IUPUI timeout at 26-19. After the stoppage, the Bearcats took advantage of three Jaguar errors and a Custer service ace to close out the 30-20 triumph.
Cincinnati came out sluggish in game three, falling behind by a 13-9 score. The whole complexion of the game changed then, however as Nevitt sparked a 10-1 run with three blocks and two kills to push UC up 18-14. IUPUI recovered with five of the next six points to even the count again at 19. The teams battled back and forth to a 25-all tie, but the Jags pushed through, scoring five of the last six points of the game to take a two games to one lead.
In game four, the Bearcats roared to a .500 hitting performance, but a .316 outing by the Jaguars kept the score close. Cincinnati trailed as late as 21-20, but found itself in the lead at 26-23 on a Custer kill. Hellsten put UC in a position to even the contest at two games each with a kill that secured a 29-26 Bearcat lead. A kill and an ace by Newell, however cut the UC lead to one and forced a Bearcat timeout. Out of the break, Nevitt delivered her 15th kill to force game five.
As was the case with the entire match, game five was another war that went down to the end. UC caught fire early to take an 8-2 lead, due in part to a kill, a block and an ace by Nevitt. The match of runs continued once more as IUPUI scored five of the next six to force a Cincinnati timeout at 9-7. Out of the break, Maldo and Newell exchanged kills to make it 10-8. But that would spell the end for the Jaguars as UC scored the last five points of the match to earn the hard fought triumph.
The Bearcats are back in BIG EAST Conference action this weekend with a pair of road contests. UC travels to Rutgers for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday, with Villanova the opponent at the same time on Sunday.