TicketsSept. 28, 2007
- Watch Sunday's Match With Bearcats All-Access
- Niemer Becomes Second BIG EAST Freshman of the Week From UC
- UC To Once Again Participate In Dig For The Cure
CINCINNATI---It certainly wasn't pretty, but when it counted Cincinnati got the job done as a gritty Bearcats team earned an important BIG EAST sweep of Marquette in Friday night volleyball action at Fifth Third Arena. UC, winners of four in a row, took the match by scores of 30-27, 30-28, 30-24 and improve to 11-4, 3-0 BIG EAST with the victory.
A determined Cincinnati team overcame a nine-point game two deficit to take a 2-0 lead into the break, then plowed through game three to complete the sweep. Freshman Stephanie Niemer led the way with 14 kills, while Jessie Nevitt added 12 and Jenny Custer 10. The night proved to be a struggle offensively for the Bearcats who registered a hitting percentage of just .173.
Kimberley Todd was nearly unstoppable early in the night, leading all players with 21 kills. UC did cool Todd off after a hot start, as the senior hit just .091 in the final two frames. The Golden Eagles fall to 4-7 overall and 1-1 in BIG EAST play with the defeat. The UC triumph also snaps a three-match losing streak to Marquette, dating back to the 2004 Conference USA Tournament.
"It wasn't pretty, but we will certainly take it," UC head coach Reed Sunahara stated. "We played our best with the score between 20 and 30 and that made all the difference. A win is a win and we won't say no to it."
Cincinnati looked like it would turn game one into a rout as it raced to a 5-1 lead and still had a comfortable margin when Marquette took a timeout trailing 16-9. Through the end of the opening game, the Bearcats held the lead without fail, but not without a fierce challenge from the Golden Eagles. Todd nearly brought Marquette back single-handedly as she tallied five kills to help her team trim the deficit to 27-26. UC reclaimed a two-point edge on a Marquette error, but a kill by Tiffany Helmbrecht brought the visitors back within one. Nevitt and Custer came up big on the next play, blocking an Ashlee Fisher shot and Custer finished the game off with an ace. UC was able to secure the win, despite allowing Todd 10 game one kills on .500 hitting.
The turning point of the entire evening came late in the going of game two. Early on, the hosts did hold a 9-8 lead, but five straight Marquette points changed that in a hurry. From there, the Bearcats continued to struggle, falling behind by as much as nine at 23-14. Things looked bleak for the Bearcats when a kill by Helmbrecht put the visitors up comfortably at 28-24. Needing just two more points to even the match, Marquette imploded watching UC rip off the final six points of the game to take a two game advantage into the break. Marquette committed three errors during the stretch, while Custer knocked down a pair of kills to aid in the comeback.
Much of game three was a see-saw battle until the wheels fell off the Marquette wagon late in the frame. Once again, UC played its best between 20 and 30, as it once again was forced to play catch-up. Trailing 19-16, UC regained the lead with a 6-1 run that put the hosts in front to stay. Marquette got within 23-22 on a Rabbecka Gonyo kill, but Cincinnati scored four straight, two on Jessica Elley kills to pull away. Up four, consecutive kills by Niemer and Custer brought the match to a close.
UC libero Jaime Frey had another solid performance, leading all players with 18 digs. Nevitt's three blocks topped the Bearcats in that category. For Marquette, Jenn Brown had six blocks, while Todd and Terri Angst had 14 digs apiece.
The Bearcats will go for their fifth straight win on Sunday, taking on Syracuse in Fifth Third Arena. Action is set to get underway at 2 p.m.