TicketsNov. 4, 2005
TAMPA, Fla.---Jessie Nevitt and Maria Pongonis each had 16 kills and Cincinnati hit .421 as a team, propelling the Bearcats to a three-game win over South Florida in BIG EAST volleyball action on Friday night at The Corral. UC improved to 17-8 overall and 8-3 in BIG EAST play with the 30-16, 30-19, 30-15 victory.
Nevitt played one of the best games of her short career, hitting .652 for the contest, tying the fifth-best single match performance in school history. Nevitt also holds the number four spot on the list after hitting .654 vs. Rutgers on Oct. 1. The redshirt freshman also added three solo blocks.
Pongonis also had one of her top performances of the year, hitting a season-high .405 and adding 10 digs for her team-leading 17th double-double of 2005. Erin Maldo tacked on 10 kills with a .381 hitting percentage.
Kristina Fabris, a preseason All-BIG EAST selection, led the Bulls (3-19, 1-11 BIG EAST) in both kills (10) and digs (13). UC was able to limit Fabris to .138 hitting and USF to .066 overall.
The Bearcats never trailed during the match and jumped to an early 4-2 lead in game one. Four straight points put UC in control at 8-2 and the Bearcats were still in a comfortable position leading 22-15. From there, the visitors closed out the frame with a bang, scoring eight of the last nine points, with Nevitt providing two kills and a block in the spurt. The Bearcats dominated the hitting stats, hitting .324, while limiting USF to -.029.
Nevitt was the hero of game two as she tallied eight kills on .800 hitting to propel the Bearcats to a .436 mark for the game. The game was tight early, showing seven ties in the first half. Leading by just two at 14-12, the Bearcats launched a 10-2 run on the strength of four Nevitt kills to build its lead to 10. Down the stretch, Jessica Elley, Maldo, Myanna Hellsten, Pongonis and Nevitt all contributed kills as the Bearcats scored the 30-19 victory.
The third game started much the same way as the previous with UC holding a slim 6-5 lead. Pongonis then into the spotlight with five kills highlighting a 10-1 Bearcat run. Cincinnati continued to pour it on from there, scoring six of the next eight to open its largest lead of the night at 22-8. UC saved its best hitting for last, finishing at .500 for game three and holding the Bulls to .026.
Freshman libero Melissa Zenz again paced the Bearcat defense as her 13 digs extended her streak of double figure performances to 25 straight. She also moved past Barb Mannix into fourth on UC's single season digs list with 494. Noel Olson recorded 48 assists, matching her second-highest three-game assist total of the year.
The Bearcats will continue their five-match road trip on Sunday, traveling to Georgetown for a 2 p.m. match-up.