TicketsOct. 9, 2005
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.---Jenny Custer recorded 17 kills and Maria Pongonis added 16 as Cincinnati picked up a four-game BIG EAST Conference win over Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon at Walsh Gymnasium. UC won the match by scores of 30-26, 36-34, 15-30, 30-21 to improve to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in BIG EAST play. Seton Hall falls to 7-11, 1-5 BIG EAST.
UC struggled throughout the match, hitting just .153 but limiting the Pirates to .122. Tricia Meyers led all players with 18 kills for the Pirates, while Jennifer Procuniar tacked on 10.
Cincinnati's Jessie Nevitt also reached double figures with 10 kills and setter Noel Olson passed out 52 assists, while adding a career-high 14 digs. Melissa Zenz had 21 digs to lead the Bearcats. At the net, UC got a season-high nine blocks from Myanna Hellsten and seven from Custer.
The Bearcats scored the first five points of game one in a frame that featured poor hitting on both sides. UC finished game one at .096, while Seton Hall was held to .000. The Bearcats led from start-to-finish in the game and built a lead as great as seven at 27-20. Cincinnati got to game point at 29-23 only to see Seton Hall score three straight points. The Bearcats finally sealed game one when Hellsten and Lindsey Peterson converged at the net for a block to end the 30-26 game.
Seton Hall jumped to an early 6-1 led in game two and controlled play throughout the stanza. UC clawed back all the way to the end, but found itself facing a Seton Hall game point at 29-27. The Bearcats rallied to tie the game at 29 and five tie scores later, the game was knotted at 34-all. Olson and Hellsten combined for a block to put UC up one and Nevitt dropped down a kill to give Cincinnati the 36-34 win. Both teams were able to turn around their hitting woes of game one, with UC hitting .263 to .204 for Seton Hall.
The third game was forgettable for the Bearcats, as they hit -.125 in the dominating win by Seton Hall. The Pirates staked an early 8-3 advantage and pushed their lead to 20-8 later. UC could get no closer than 10 from there and leading 26-15, Seton Hall scored four in a row to close out the game.
Cincinnati turned it on in the fourth game, using a .286 hitting performance and seven blocks to wrap up the match. The score was close early at 9-8, but UC ripped off six straight to take a comfortable lead. UC pushed its six-point advantage to 10 with a 5-0 spurt that made it 22-12. Seton Hall came back, though to score six of the next eight points to close within 24-18. UC then scored five of the next six to set up match point courtesy of a Custer-Hellsten block. After two Seton Hall points, Procuniar's shot sailed into the net ending the contest in UC's favor.
The Bearcats will look to keep the winning going with a non-conference trip to Morehead State on Wednesday. That match is set to get underway at 6 p.m.