TicketsNov. 13, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Cincinnati was held to .092 hitting as Marquette sealed up the number seven seed for next weekend's BIG EAST Tournament with a three-game win over the Bearcats on Sunday afternoon.
The 30-26, 30-16, 30-24 victory propels Marquette to 16-11 overall and 8-6 in BIG EAST play. The Bearcats, who have now dropped three straight are 18-11, 9-5 BIG EAST.
Despite the setback, the Bearcats will be the number four seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and will face fifth-seeded St. John's on Friday (Nov. 18). Game time for the match-up is set for 10 a.m.
Theresa Coughlin, a member of the preseason All-BIG EAST squad, led the Golden Eagles with 13 kills, while Jamie Mueller and Tiffany Helmbrecht each added 10. The latter led all players with a .529 hitting percentage and five blocks.
Maria Pongonis led UC with 10 kills, moving her into 10th place on UC's career kills list with 1,027. Melissa Zenz extended her streak of double figure dig matches to 29 with a match-high 20 digs. She also moves within 16 digs of Trish Ladusaw's single season digs record.
Cincinnati took the early lead in game one, leading by as much as three on two occasions, the last coming on a Jessie Nevitt block that made it 10-7. UC led for the last time in the game at 14-13 and two straight Marquette blocks put the visitors in front to stay. UC came back to as close as one on Jenny Custer's kill at 20-19. But a 7-2 Marquette run forced the Bearcats' second timeout, trailing 27-21. Cincinnati would get to within one a Noel Olson service ace, forcing an Eagle stoppage at 29-26. Out of the break, Kimberly Todd knocked down her fifth kill of game one to end the 30-26 contest.
Game two was a disaster for the Bearcats as they were held to -.100 hitting in the 30-16 loss. Marquette was there to take advantage, as the Eagles hit .343 in the frame, opening a lead of as much as 15 at 29-14. UC staved off a pair of game points on a Nevitt kill and a Pongonis ace, but a Katie Weidner kill gave Marquette the two games to none lead.
The Bearcats were better in game three, overcoming an early deficit to take a 17-16 lead. But two Cincinnati timeouts and an 11-5 Marquette run later, UC was in a 27-21 hole. The home team came back one last time, cutting its deficit to 28-24, but a kill and an ace by Mueller handed Marquette its second straight win over Cincinnati.
UC will now compete in the 2005 BIG EAST Tournament at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. The Bearcats still have one regular season match-up remaining, as they will travel to Kentucky on Nov. 26.