TicketsOct. 12, 2008
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati's volleyball team won concluded its five-match homestand with a perfect 5-0 record after defeating the Villanova Wildcats, 3-0, Sunday afternoon in Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati (15-5; 4-2 BIG EAST) hit .379 for the match, while holding Villanova (11-9; 2-3 BIG EAST) to a .045 hitting percentage.
Senior Jessie Nevitt (Kennesaw, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) recorded four kills in the early stages of the first set to help the Bearcats jump on top, 11-7. Villanova closed to within one point, 13-12, but a kill by sophomore Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) and two Wildcat attack errors pushed the Bearcat lead back to four points, 16-12. A four-point Wildcat spurt cut the Villanova deficit to one point, 17-16, but Cincinnati would not relinquish the lead. Ahead by a score of 23-20, a block by sophomores Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) and Lindsay Upton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), followed by a Wildcat attack error gave Cincinnati a 25-20 set-one triumph.
Cincinnati jumped on top of the Wildcats early in set two. After Villanova took a 2-0 lead, a kill by freshman Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), two kills by Nevitt, and a Niemer kill ignited a seven-point spurt that put Cincinnati in front, 7-2. The Wildcats used a few Bearcat miscues to crawl within two points, 12-10, but the serving of Harpenau caused problems for the Villanova as Cincinnati put together a five-point run to jump on top, 17-10. The seven-point cushion proved to be insurmountable for Villanova as the Bearcats took the second set, 25-15.
Two kills by Niemer, two Bearcat blocks, and a pair of Wildcat miscues gave Cincinnati a 10-6 set-three lead, forcing a Villanova timeout. Consecutive block assists by Harpenau and Nevitt pushed the Cincinnati advantage to 12-6, and later in the set, an ace by Harpenau gave Cincinnati its biggest lead of the set to that point, 17-9. From that point, the Bearcats cruised to a 25-17 third-set victory.
Nevitt and Niemer led the Bearcats with 12 kills apiece and both hit .435 for the match. Fesl dished out 31 assists and led the team to a .379 hitting percentage.
Cincinnati steps away from conference action on Tuesday, Oct. 14, when it heads to Bowling Green, Ky., to face the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 9 p.m. (ET).