TicketsSept. 22, 2006
MILWAUKEE, Wis.---Marquette used a 6-0 run in the deciding game five to come away with a BIG EAST opening win over Cincinnati on Friday night at the Al McGuire Center. The setback for the Bearcats snaps the team's four-match win streak and drops their record to 9-3 on the year.
The Bearcats had numerous obstacles they couldn't overcome in the 21-30, 33-31, 30-28, 25-30, 10-15 defeat. Cincinnati hit .134 in the match, the team's second lowest output of the year and saw its top offensive threat, Jessica Elley, held to -.039 hitting. Kimberly Todd, a first team All-BIG EAST selection last year, scorched the Bearcats for 28 kills, while Jamie Mueller added 21. Marquette improves to 5-7 with the win.
Cincinnati put all five of its hitters in double figure kills for the second time this year, led by Jenny Custer's 18. Myanna Hellsten added a career-best 15, while Jessie Nevitt (13), Lindsey Peterson (12) and Elley (10) also reached double digits.
After losing game four, Cincinnati scored the first four points of game five and was up 6-2 when Marquette called timeout. In a game of runs, Marquette's was next as four straight points tied the game at six. UC countered with a 3-0 run, but then saw Marquette score six points in a row to take control. Only a Custer kill at 13-10 stopped the bleeding before a Mueller kill and a Todd ace sealed the Golden Eagle victory.
Cincinnati finished the match with 13 blocks as a team, after not blocking any in game one. Nevitt led the way with nine, while Peterson added a career-best eight. Myanna Hellsten, ranked second nationally, had only one. Jaime Frey just missed a career-high with 25 digs, while setter Noel Olson dished out 59 assists.
"Obviously this is not a good way to start BIG EAST play," UC head coach Reed Sunahara said. "I didn't feel like anyone really stepped up and we made too many errors that led to a lot of Marquette's points. Overall, I am not very happy with our performance tonight."
Marquette took advantage of its own hot start and a cold opening by the Bearcats, riding to the 30-21 win. UC took its first lead at 7-6, but quickly saw the lead go away when Marquette scored five in a row to take an 11-7 lead. After the Bearcats stopped that run with an Elley kill, the Golden Eagles scored six of the next eight points to open a 17-10 lead. From there, Marquette continued to build upon its lead, stretching it to 11 at 25-14, courtesy of a Todd kill. UC could get no closer than seven as a Bearcat error sealed the Marquette game one win. The Bearcats struggled in game one, hitting only .100, while Marquette hit .356. UC also posted a zero in the blocks column in game one.
Cincinnati shook off its game one performance, running out to a 17-8 lead in the second frame. That lead would evaporate in a hurry, however as Marquette used a 12-3 run to even the game at 20-all. From there, the score would be tied nine times as the Eagles forced "overtime." UC saw three game points wasted, before Peterson and Nevitt combined on a block and the former added a kill to give the Bearcats a much needed 33-31 win. Marquette saw a drop in its hitting to .233, while the Bearcats actually improved to .212.
The Bearcats fought through the adversity of a 6-0 hole at the outset of game three, ultimately gutting out a 30-28 win. UC trailed almost the entire stanza, overcoming a pair of five point deficits along the way. Following a timeout down 25-23, Cincinnati responded with four straight points, two on Custer aces to assume its first lead at 27-25. Up one, an Olson kill and a block by Nevitt and Elley gave the Bearcats game point at 29-26. But Nicole Wallace spurred a mini Golden Eagle comeback as the senior recorded a kill and then combined with Todd on a block to trim the deficit to 29-28. Elley came up big for the Bearcats on the next play, knocking down a kill to put UC up two games to one. Neither team did much hitting in the frame, with UC holding an edge of .146 to .140.
Marquette didn't let the disappointment of the game three setback carry over, as the home team used an early 6-0 run to take a 10-4 advantage. Cincinnati clawed back, getting within two at 14-12, but then seeing itself behind 21-15. The Bearcats got within four when Custer connected on a kill at 26-22, but two Mueller kills and a UC error gave Marquette game point at 29-23. Cincinnati stayed alive on a Nevitt kill and a Frey ace, but Mueller's 17th kill of the match closed the 30-25 win for the Eagles. Cincinnati's hitting woes hit a match-low (.095), while Marquette recovered to .256.
Marquette got an incredible all-around performance from setter Monica Renfrow, as she turned in a triple-double with 11 kills, 58 assists and 12 digs. Mueller added 24 digs and five blocks to her kill count, while Hailey Viola tacked on 21 digs.
The Bearcats will try to recover from the setback, traveling to Syracuse on Sunday for a Noon match-up.