TicketsOct. 21, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Three Bearcats set career-highs for kills as the University of Cincinnati defeated West Virginia, 3-1, in BIG EAST volleyball action on Friday night at Fifth Third Arena.
It was UC's 13th win in its last 16 matches and ran the Bearcats' record to 14-7 overall and 5-2 in the BIG EAST. With the loss, by scores of 30-26, 30-20, 27-30, 30-22, WVU fell to 14-9 and 2-6.
Redshirt freshman Jessie Nevitt led UC with 19 kills, equaling her career-high, while hitting .455. Sophomore Erin Maldo added a career-best 17 kills and freshman Lindsey Peterson, starting in place of the injured Maria Pongonis, recorded new highs of eight kills, four aces and four block assists. Jenny Custer posted her ninth double-double of the year with 12 kills and a career-high 15 digs and Melissa Zenz had a career-best 34 digs, her 11th match with over 20.
Stephanie Zolna and Julie Hockenson led the Mountaineers with 11 kills each, while Aurora Ebert-Santon added 21 digs and Lisa Hough had seven blocks.
All the games were close, starting with game one, which featured nine ties before a pair of Peterson aces gave UC a 20-17 lead. Custer extended the advantage to four at 23-19 with an ace of her own. WVU got no closer than three the rest of the way as Maldo closed out the game with a kill.
UC was dominant in game two, hitting .429 with 19 kills and just four errors. Two kills by Peterson helped the Bearcats to a 4-0 lead. After the Mountaineers closed to 12-10, UC embarked on a 9-1 run to take a 21-11 lead. Peterson had her other two aces in the run and Maldo had two kills. The lead stayed at least eight before a Custer kills won the game.
Game four saw six early ties before WVU went out to a 12-9 lead on a Hockenson kill. UC closed to 13-12 on a Maldo kill, but could not even the game. Hockenson put the Mountaineers ahead 23-18 with an ace and UC was never closer than two the rest of the way. UC hit just .082 for the game.
WVU maintained a one to two point lead for much of the early part of game four before a pair of Custer kills keyed a 4-0 run that gave the Bearcats a 14-12 lead. A 6-2 run pushed the lead to 24-18, with Nevitt recording two kills and two blocks in the run. Myanna Hellsten, who recorded a team-best six blocks, teamed with Peterson on a block for the final point of the match.
The Bearcats are next in action on Sunday, Oct. 23 when they host Pittsburgh, a game ahead of UC in standings, at 2 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena.