TicketsOct. 8, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Jessica Elley and Jessie Nevitt combined for 31 kills leading Cincinnati to a sweep of Rutgers in BIG EAST volleyball action on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena. The victory, UC's second of the weekend, came by scores of 30-19, 30-16, 30-22 and improves the Bearcats' record to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in BIG EAST play.
The Bearcats had an outstanding hitting performance for the second straight day, finishing a .336, UC's third-best outing of the season. Nevitt and Elley were at the center, hitting .519 and .379 respectively in the win. Elley led all players with 16 kills and added 11 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Nevitt tacked on a match-best five blocks to her 15 kills.
UC held Rutgers (5-11, 2-4 BIG EAST) to .134 hitting for the match, including a .111 showing by Scarlet Knights' standout Lora Yankauskas. Yankauskas, along with Amanda Meyer led Rutgers with 11 kills each.
"I thought we played pretty well today and our offense has been much better the last two days," UC head coach Reed Sunahara said. "When our outside hitters hit for better percentages like they have this weekend, we are going to win some ball games. I think Jessie (Nevitt) was great today. If she can play like that consistently, it will be very good for us down the stretch."
Cincinnati rode a fast start and a .312 hitting percentage to a 30-19 victory in game one. The Bearcats never trailed in the frame after taking an early 10-5 advantage when Nevitt and Noel Olson combined on a block. UC showed a double-digit advantage for the first time when Myanna Hellsten dropped a kill to put the hosts up 21-11. Freshman walk-on Laurie Weber then recorded consecutive aces and UC had a 23-11 advantage. UC got to game point on an Elley kill at 29-15, but the Scarlet Knights stayed alive with three straight points to force a Cincinnati timeout. After the break, Rutgers recorded a block, but Nevitt's fourth kill of the game produced the final point of the game.
Rutgers grabbed an early 4-2 advantage in game two, only to fall victim to a 15-4 Cincinnati run that forced a Scarlet Knight timeout at 17-8. Shortly after the break, UC ran off six straight points to open a healthy 25-11 lead. Rutgers again battled, again forcing a late Bearcat timeout, this time at 27-16. The stoppage paid dividends as a Rutgers error and kills by Jenny Custer and Elley sealed the second game for the Bearcats. UC continued to excel hitting, finishing game two at a .378 clip.
The third game looked like it would be a blowout as UC jumped to a 7-3 lead, only to see its adversary claw back for a total of seven ties and ultimately build a lead of 16-13. Rutgers continued to hold the lead, getting to 19-16 on a kill by Meyer. That would be the beginning of the end for Rutgers though as the Bearcats closed the match on a 14-3 run. Elley carried the bulk of the scoring load during the run with five kills and four consecutive Rutgers errors ended the three-game victory for Cincinnati.
Lindsey Peterson had 11 digs on defense for the Bearcats as did Elley, while Jaime Frey tacked on 10. Olson handed out 41 assists from her setter position. Rutgers' defense got a match-best 12 digs from Jocelyn Greenwald and 32 assists from setter Roxy Calder.
Cincinnati now has six days to prepare for its biggest rivalry match of the year, traveling to Louisville next Saturday, Oct. 14. The match at U of L's Cardinal Arena will get underway at 1 p.m.
Notes
- Series record: Cincinnati leads, 4-3.
- After losing the first three all-time meetings between the schools, UC has now won four straight against Rutgers.
- Jessica Elley recorded her 11th double-double of the season.
- Cincinnati's .336 hitting performance was the team's best since hitting .353 against Western Illinois on Sept. 2.