TicketsSept. 16, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio---The University of Cincinnati volleyball team overcame a spirited challenge from a group of seven former Bearcats, taking a three games to none victory on Saturday night in the program's annual Alumni Match. The Bearcats bettered the Alumni by scores of 30-25, 30-24, 30-20 before a nice crowd of family and friends in the Richard E. Lindner Center practice gym.
The Bearcats, who played without the services of middle blockers Myanna Hellsten and Jessie Nevitt, got an impressive showing in the middle by redshirt freshman Jami Torok who tallied 18 kills and eight blocks. Jessica Elley led all players with 19 kills, while Jenny Custer added 15.
The Alumni were paced by a familiar face as current UC assistant coach Chrissy Smith recorded 16 kills and six blocks. Leslie Newell tacked on nine kills for the former Bearcats.
"Tonight was fun. I was glad the alumni came to see what we are up to and check out our new facilities," UC head coach Reed Sunahara said. "It was a good event and we hope that our alumni come back every year and support us."
The Alumni jumped to a 5-3 lead in the first game and used a 4-0 run later to secure a tie at 17. The Bearcats would go on to take a 22-19 lead only to see their counterparts again run off four straight to assume a 23-22 advantage. Later, the Alumni clawed to within 27-25, but the current crop of Bearcats scored three straight to take the 30-25 victory. Newell and Smith paced the Alumni in the frame with six and five kills, respectively, while Elley scored eight for UC. Custer and Torok added five apiece in game one for the Bearcats.
In game two, the Bearcats ripped off a 7-1 run to double up the Alumni at 14-7. The former Bearcats would surge to within 16-13 only to see another 7-1 run by UC push the score to 23-14. Down the stretch, the alums could no closer than four as the Bearcats scored the 30-24 win. Custer, Elley and Torok each totaled six kills in game two, with Smith pacing the Alumni with four.
The Bearcats flexed their muscle early in game three, staking a 7-1 lead. It wasn't long, though before the Alumni had shocked their younger counterparts with a 10-3 run to go in front by a point at 11-10. The Alumni couldn't make the lead stick, however, as eight consecutive points by the Bearcats put them in front for good. From there, the Bearcats used a pair of 4-0 spurts to get within two points of victory at 28-18. The Alumni scored twice more, before Torok's 18th kill of the night drew the event to a close.
The UC Volleyball program would like to thank all the Alumni, family and friends for their support of the 2006 Alumni Match.
The Bearcats return to the court of Tuesday, Sept. 19 travelling to Western Kentucky for a final tune-up for BIG EAST play. UC's second season in the league kicks off on Friday, Sept. 22 at Marquette.