TicketsNov. 11, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Syracuse clinched at least the number three seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament with a tight, four-game win over Cincinnati on Friday night in Fifth Third Arena. The Orange handed the Bearcats their second straight loss with a 30-32, 30-27, 30-27, 31-29 victory.
Four Orange players reached double figure kills and the Bearcats were limited to .137 hitting in the contest that improved Syracuse's record to 24-8 overall and 11-2 in the BIG EAST. Cincinnati is 18-10, 9-4 and could be seeded from fourth to sixth, pending the outcome of the remainder of the weekend.
Like Syracuse, the Bearcats put four players into double figure kills, with Jessie Nevitt and Maria Pongonis each totaling 13. Jenny Custer returned from injury to contribute 12 on .391 hitting, while Lindsey Peterson came off the bench to tack on 10.
Syracuse got a near triple-double from Kelly Duan as the senior finished with 18 kills, 10 digs and eight blocks. Cheryl Cobbina had 16 kills, while Kristen Conway and Jen Malcom each had 12. The latter also was dominating at the net, finishing with a match-best 10 blocks. Malcom's defense keyed a 16.5 to 4.0 Syracuse edge at the net.
"We just couldn't execute the way we are capable of tonight," stated a dejected UC head coach Reed Sunahara. "We made some runs to stay close, but we just made way too many mistakes. Syracuse is a very experienced team and unfortunately, tonight just wasn't one of our best performances."
The story of the first two games had a similar start, but a different ending as the squads spilt the first two frames. The Bearcats started off slow in each, falling behind 12-6 in the early stages of the first game. Cincinnati charged back into the game courtesy of an 8-1 run that pushed the Bearcats ahead 14-13 and forced an Orange timeout. In a game that featured 12 ties and three lead changes, neither team led by more than two for the duration of the game. Syracuse was the first to reach game point as Duan and Katie Allen combined for a block that made it 29-28. UC answered with a Custer kill and set up its first game point on a Conway error. But Malcom responded with a kill to tie the game at 30. The Bearcats once again proved up to the task as back-to-back kills by Custer and Pongonis gave UC the 32-30 triumph.
Syracuse would go on to lead start to finish in game two despite a valiant late push by the Bearcats. The Orange jumped to an early 5-1 lead and controlled play until the end. SU held a 26-21 leadnlate in the going, but saw its lead shrink to 27-25 heading into a timeout. Out of the break, Cincinnati crept to within one twice, but a kill by Conway and a Bearcat attack error evened the match at one. Despite hitting only .140 in the game, Syracuse held UC .000 for the frame.
Cincinnati came out strong in game three, opening up a lead of 11-6. The Orange kept cutting into the deficit, though and finally evened the count at 19-all. Six ties later, the visitors took the lead for good at 26-25 on a UC service error. An Orange block and kill gave Syracuse game point at 29-25, but two straight Pongonis kills brought the score to 29-27. Cincinnati could no closer though as Cobbina's kill sealed the 30-27 triumph.
Game four was heartbreak city for the Bearcats as they led early and came up short late. The game featured 15 ties and five lead changes with neither team ever holding a lead of more than three points. That three-point margin was in the Bearcats' favor and came at the 28-25 mark. Needing just two more points to set up deciding game five, the Bearcats saw Syracuse rip off six of the last seven points of the night to clinch the victory. With the score even at 28, an error by Malcom gave UC game point. But three straight kills, two by Conway and one by Duan pushed Syracuse to the clinching win.
Syracuse got an outstanding defensive performance from libero Joscie Kaup who finished with a match-best 33 digs. Conway added 12 digs for a double-double, while setter Aila Dommestrup handed out 53 assists and added eight kills.
UC's Melissa Zenz ran her streak of double figure dig matches to 28 with a team-high 21. She is now just 37 short of breaking Trish Ladusaw's single season digs record. With her 13 kills, Pongonis is just one back of cracking the UC career top-10 for career kills as her total of 1,017 is just one short of former teammate Rachel Torblaa's 10th place total.
The Bearcats will wrap up the 2005 BIG EAST regular season on Sunday, hosting Marquette at 2 p.m. It will be Senior Day at Fifth Third Arena, with Pongonis along with student assistant Maddie Barron being honored in post-match ceremonies.