TicketsNov. 6, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C.---Maria Pongonis had a match-high 16 kills and Jessie Nevitt and Jessica Elley each added 11, sending Cincinnati to a three-game BIG EAST victory over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at McDonough Arena. The 30-20, 30-28, 30-26 victory improves the Bearcats record to 18-8 overall and 9-3 in BIG EAST play.
The Bearcats enjoyed another outstanding performance from Nevitt, as she hit .562 for the match and added three blocks. Elley, starting in place of the injured Jenny Custer, recorded a career-high in kills and added a career-best seven digs, while hitting .381. Pongonis added her 18th double-double of the year with 14 digs.
Myanna Hellsten paced the Bearcat defense with a match-high eight blocks, while Melissa Zenz led all players with 16 digs. Zenz's dig total moves her into a tie with Trish Ladusaw for third place on UC's single season list with 510. Noel Olson had 46 assists, four kills and three blocks for the Bearcats who hit .258 for the match.
Georgetown falls to 6-20 overall and 2-11 in BIG EAST play with the setback. Rachel Nelson led the Hoyas with 10 kills, but hit just .047 for the afternoon. Cincinnati limited the Hoyas to .072 hitting on the afternoon. Katherine Niesen (five blocks) and Rachel Barton (15 digs) paced the Georgetown defense.
Game one was tight early, before a 6-1 run put the Bearcats into the lead for good at 10-6. Cincinnati continued to build upon its lead from there, leading by five at 22-17. UC saw its lead reach double figures for the first time in the afternoon courtesy of a 6-1 spurt that made it 28-18. The Hoyas stayed alive with two kills by Kate Nulty, but a Pongonis kill, her eighth of game one, along with a Georgetown service error gave Cincinnati the 30-20 game one win. The Bearcats were red hot hitting in game one, finishing at .429, with three hitters ending at at least .500.
The second game was more of a struggle for the Bearcats as they dropped the first three points of the game and jostled the lead back and forth. With the score knotted at five, the Bearcats scored five of the next six points to take a 21-16 advantage. Georgetown closed the deficit to 23-22, forcing a Bearcat timeout that seemed to do the trick. Out of the break, UC scored four straight to move within three points of a game two victory. Georgetown fought back though with five consecutive points that knotted the score at 27. After a Maldo kill stopped the Bearcat bleeding, Nulty countered with a kill of her own. From there, the Bearcats were able to close out the game courtesy of two Hoya errors that put Cincinnati into the break up two games to none. The Bearcats hot hitting disappeared in game two, slipping to .231, but the UC defense held Georgetown to .027.
The third and final game got off to another sluggish start, as the score was knotted at five early on. Cincinnati then took the lead with a 5-0 run, but still led by three at 10-7. The Bearcats would then break the game open with a 6-1 run, fueled by four Pongonis kills to take an eight-point advantage at 16-8. Cincinnati continued to hold a comfortable lead at 21-12, but five straight Hoya points cut the Bearcat advantage to 21-17. Georgetown kept it close until the end, trailing by just 27-25 following a kill by Jessica George. After back-to-back kills by Elley and Hellsten, Nulty kept the Hoyas alive with a kill to make it 29-26. But on the last point of the game, Hellsten went high above the net for her eighth block to close out the 30-26 Bearcat triumph.
The Bearcats will be back in action, wrapping up its five-match road trip on Tuesday. UC will travel to in-state rival Dayton for a key non-conference contest. Action from Dayton will get underway at 7 p.m.