TicketsSept. 8, 2006
BOULDER, Colo.---One night after hitting a season-low .105, Cincinnati hit .330 en route to a three-game sweep of former Conference USA rival Southern Miss on Friday night. UC won the tilt by scores of 30-19, 30-17, 30-17 to improve to 6-2 on the year.
The Bearcats got outstanding performances from Jenny Custer and Myanna Hellsten, as each player tallied 11 kills and hit .526 and .500, respectively. The latter added a match-best five blocks to pace the Bearcat defense. The Bearcats, ranked second nationally in blocks per game, finished with nine team blocks, including four each by Jessie Nevitt and Jessica Elley.
Cincinnati held Southern Miss (5-5) to .072 hitting, marking the fourth time this season the Bearcats have held an opponent under .100.
"We played good enough to win," UC head coach Reed Sunahara said. "I thought our hitting got better as the match wore on and our overall game was better than last night. A key was Custer and Hellsten having big games. From here, we just need to get everyone more involved."
The Bearcats never trailed during the event as they jumped to a 5-0 lead in game one and never looked in the rearview mirror. UC opened its first double figure lead of the match when Hellsten stuffed a Morgan Johnson attack to make it 26-16. Nevitt's fourth kill of the frame clinched UC's game one victory.
The Bearcats were dominant in game two, holding USM to -.034 hitting in the frame. UC jumped to a 7-1 lead capped by a Hellsten kill and later opened a 27-17 lead on a Golden Eagle error.
Game three was the same old story as the Bearcats ran to an early 10-3 edge and never looked back. Leading by 10 at 25-15, UC scored five of the last seven points of the match to secure the victory.
In addition to the nine blocks, UC got a match-best eight digs from libero Jaime Frey. Noel Olson passed out 35 assists from her setter position.
Southern Miss was led by Johnson with six kills, while three Golden Eagle players had six digs apiece.
Cincinnati wraps up play in the Colorado Invitational on Saturday against Central Connecticut State. The match, originally scheduled to start at 1 p.m. MT, will possibly move up due to a home football game for Colorado. UC's match will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the CU-Southern Miss contest which begins at 11 a.m. MT.
Notes
- Series record: Cincinnati leads, 21-2.
- Cincinnati stretched its winning streak over Southern Miss to eight straight.
- Freshman Laurie Weber made her collegiate debut, earning her first dig.