TicketsOct. 26, 2008
MILWAUKEE - The University of Cincinnati's volleyball team kept rolling after recording a three-set sweep (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) over Marquette (8-13; 2-6 BIG EAST) Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center. Cincinnati (20-5; 7-2 BIG EAST) achieved several milestones with the win as the victory secured the 13th 20-win season in the past 14 seasons, improved the team's winning streak to 10 matches, and gave head coach Reed Sunahara his 200th win at the helm of the Cincinnati volleyball program.
The Bearcats got off to a sluggish start in the opening set as the Golden Eagles jumped on top, 13-9. Trailing by three points, 14-11, a kill by senior Jessica Elley (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert), two Marquette attack errors, and a block by Elley and senior Jessie Nevitt (Kennesaw, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) helped Cincinnati grab a 15-14 advantage. After a Marquette side out evened the set at 15-15, a Nevitt kill made the score 16-15 and brought Elley to the service line. Elley put together a nine-point run, which included four service aces, that stamped shut an impressive 25-15 opening set triumph.
Early in the first set, Nevitt and Elley teamed up for a block, which moved Nevitt past Stephanie Meinig (1997-00) into first place on Cincinnati's all-time total blocks chart. Nevitt recorded five kills and four block assists in set one.
A series of Golden Eagle errors coupled with a handful of kills from sophomore Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry), Nevitt and freshman Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), helped the Bearcats win the race to 15 points as Cincinnati jumped on top, 15-11. With its four-point lead still intact, 17-13, a Nevitt kill followed by consecutive Golden Eagle attack errors helped Cincinnati widen its advantage to seven points, 20-13. The Bearcats called a timeout after Marquette closed within four points, 21-17, but two kills by Elley, and a kill by sophomore Lindsay Upton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) set up set point for Cincinnati. A Nevitt smash closed out a 25-18 second-set win for the Red and Black, sending the Bearcats into the 10-minute intermission with a two sets to none lead.
The Bearcats jumped out to 7-4 lead in the third set, but Marquette battled back to take the lead, 9-8. Marquette's lead reached as many as three points, 17-14, but the Bearcats bounced back to tie the score at 20-20, before a Niemer service ace put Cincinnati in front, 21-20. With the score tied at 21-21, two Harpenau kills followed by a block from Nevitt and Elley gave Cincinnati three match points to work with. After the Golden Eagles spoiled two match points, an Elley kill gave Cincinnati a 25-23 third-set victory.
For the second straight match, Elley led the team in kills after registering 13, while Nevitt added 12 kills. Sophomore Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) distributed 39 assists and led the team to a .324 hitting percentage for the match.
The Bearcats return home for a pair of BIG EAST matches with USF and Georgetown on Friday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 2, respectively. Friday's match versus USF begins at 7:30 p.m., while the Georgetown match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.