TicketsNov. 3, 2007
CINCINNATI---A return to the friendly confines of Fifth Third Arena was just part of a recipe for success as Cincinnati picked up an important BIG EAST volleyball victory, sweeping Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. After playing six straight matches on the road and dropping five of them, UC's return home resulted in a 30-16, 30-23, 30-26 win for the Bearcats over a Pitt team that entered the weekend tied for third in the BIG EAST standings.
With the triumph, the Bearcats (16-9, 7-4 BIG EAST) move into a tie for fourth place in the league standings, just one-half game behind third place Villanova. The Wildcats knocked off Rutgers on Saturday to hold onto sole possession of the spot. UC is tied with USF for fourth.
Jessie Nevitt had a big game offensively for the Bearcats, finishing with a match-high 16 kills on .469 hitting. Jenny Custer tacked on 10 kills in the win for UC. The Bearcats were able to keep the restraints on a high-powered Pittsburgh (14-12, 7-5 BIG EAST) offense, in particular leading offensive threat Diana Andreyko. The Pitt senior did lead her team with 14 kills, but was limited to just .130 hitting. Stephanie Ross added 11 kills in the defeat for the Panthers.
"This is a really good win for us that puts us back in the hunt in the BIG EAST," UC head coach Reed Sunahara said. "Pitt's a good team that has beaten some good teams this year and playing them is always a tough match. I thought our kids came out focused and locked in and after being down in the second game, we did a good job of coming back and that turned the match around."
The Bearcats made short work of the Panthers in game one, racing to an 11-4 lead and hitting .500 in the 30-16 runaway. Following the early lead, the Bearcats watched their lead balloon to double digits for the first time when Stephanie Niemer and Lindsay Upton combined to block Pitt's Kelly Campbell. Down the stretch, Meagan Dooley kept the visitors close with three kills, but a Jessica Elley ace and a Nevitt kill set the Bearcats up with game point at 29-15. After a kill by the Panthers' Jessica Moses, an Emily Burke serve sailed into the net giving the Bearcats the win. Balance was the name of the game for the Bearcats as Custer and Nevitt put up four kills apiece and Upton and Elley added three each.
Cincinnati was in for more of a challenge in game two, not finishing off the Panthers until late in the going. The Bearcats got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-2 in part because of four attack errors. After falling behind by a 10-4 count, UC roared back with 10 of the next 13 points to take the lead for good. Three Nevitt kills sparked the run for UC. In the late goings, a ball handing error on Pittsburgh sent the Panthers into their second timeout and out of the break, an Andreyko kill and two UC errors brought the visitors within 24-22, prompting a Bearcat timeout. Out of that stoppage, Niemer and Ross traded kills, but the latter's would be Pitt's final point of the game. UC closed game two on a 5-0 run, three coming on blocks to take a two-game lead into the break.
Game three was another nail biter right to the end. Things were tight early on, but an Upton kill put the hosts up by a 19-14 count. After Pitt called timeout, two Ross kills and one by Andreyko helped the Panthers within 20-18 into a Cincinnati timeout. From there, things remained tight until Niemer and Custer buried kills to push the UC advantage to 28-25. Ross knocked down a kill to keep the Panthers alive, but consecutive kills by Elley gave the Bearcats a 30-26 win and a sweep of the Panthers.
The Bearcat defense finished with seven team blocks, including a match-best five by Upton. UC held Pitt to just .115 hitting for the day and got 13 kills from Jaime Frey, 11 from Elley and 10 from Annie Fesl. Ross led her team with three blocks, while Pitt libero Michelle Rossi led all players with 16 digs.
Cincinnati will wrap up its 2007 home schedule tomorrow, taking on West Virginia at 2 p.m. UC's annual Senior Day will be celebrated with Bearcat seniors Custer and Erin Maldo being honored following the contest.