TicketsNov. 8, 2005
DAYTON, Ohio---Dayton snapped a six-match losing streak to Cincinnati and extended its 2005 winning streak to 15 as the Flyers earned a four-game victory over the Bearcats on Tuesday night. The Flyers were victorious in the battle of Ohio heavyweights by scores of 30-24, 26-30, 30-20, 30-27.
The story of the night for the Bearcats was senior Maria Pongonis as she became just the 11th player in school history to go over the 1,000 career kill mark, finishing the night with a team-high 17. It took Pongonis a career-high 60 attempts however, as Dayton limited her to just .050 hitting. Jessie Nevitt had another solid outing, tallying 15 kills on .323 hitting and adding a team-high six blocks. UC falls to 18-9 with the defeat.
The Dayton trio of Faye Barhorst, Robynne Green and Kortney Norris was red hot hitting as the threesome combined for 47 kills on .369 hitting. Barhorst led the way with 18 kills, while Green had 15 and Norris 14. Green also led a Dayton blocking charge that totaled 16.5 blocks, including 11 by Green and six by Jamie-Lee Richards.
The Flyers, the number one seed for this weekend's Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, improve to 20-9 with the victory.
On defense, the Bearcats got Nevitt's six blocks, along with three each by Jessica Elley and Erin Maldo. Elley, in just the second start of her collegiate career, added a career-best 17 digs, while Pongonis had her 19th double-double of the season.
Melissa Zenz, UC's freshman sensation at libero, led all players with 26 digs, her 27th straight match with double digits. Her performance brings her season-total to 536, moving her into second place on UC's single season list.
Three Flyer players finished with double figure kills, led by Adrienne Green's 20. Brittney Scheeringa and Erin Schroeder also reached double digits with 13 and 11, respectively.
Game one was horrendous for the Bearcats, as they hit just .070 in the 30-24 loss. UC never could quite get on track, tying the game early at two-all, but never coming any closer. Leading 10-6, Dayton used a 7-2 run to open up a nine-point advantage. A 6-2 spurt by the Flyers later pushed them ahead by double digits at 24-13. UC clawed back into the contest, getting to within five at 29-24, but Barhorst's fourth kill of the frame gave the Flyers the game one triumph.
The Bearcats looked like a different team in game two, hitting .311 and evening the match-up at one game apiece. UC scored the game's first two points, but later found themselves down 9-8. The one-point deficit was nothing an 8-3 run couldn't cure as the Bearcats found themselves in front for the first time all match. Cincinnati built its lead to a comfortable margin at 23-16 and later at 27-21. Dayton, however, would score five of the next six points to come back to within 28-26. But that would be UD's final markers of the game as a service error and an Erin Maldo kill sealed the 30-26 triumph for the visiting Bearcats.
Dayton turned into a blocking machine in game three, turning back a total of eight Bearcat attempts. UC trailed early 4-3, but scored the next three, two on Pongonis aces to take the lead at 6-4. UC continued to lead at 10-7, but quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a 14-12 score. The Bearcats battled back repeatedly, getting as close as 20-19. That would spell the beginning of the end for UC, though as Dayton exploded on a 7-0 run, with three of the points coming on blocks to take a 27-19 advantage. After a Flyer service error ended the outburst, Dayton got a kill by Green, a three-way block and a Nicole Schott service error to close out the 30-20 victory. UC's cold hitting of game one returned, as the Bearcats managed just .056. Dayton got back on the right track with a .306 hitting performance in game three.
Cincinnati fell behind by six early in the fourth game, but with a stellar performance at the net, fought its way back into the contest. Down 15-9, the Bearcats scored seven of the game's next 10 points, four coming on blocks to cut their deficit down to two. Trailing 21-19, the Bearcats scored four of the next five to take their first lead of game four at 23-22. Nevitt's kill pushed the Bearcats ahead 25-24, but a 4-0 run by the Flyers put them in the driver's seat up 28-25. Elley dropped a kill to bring the Bearcats within two, but a UC ball handling error set up match point for Dayton. After a UD service error, Norris' 14th kill of the evening handed Dayton the victory. The final game four rundown showed both teams struggling to hit with Dayton holding a .113 to .091 edge.
The Bearcats return to action this weekend for the final BIG EAST regular season matches of 2005. UC will host Syracuse on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., with Marquette coming to town for a 2 p.m. match-up on Sunday.