TicketsSept. 15, 2009
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team extended its home winning streak to 20 matches with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20) win over Western Kentucky University Tuesday evening at Fifth Third Arena. Junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) put down a match-high 21 kills, and in the second set she became the 15th player in UC history to eclipse 1,000 career kills.
Niemer reached the milestone in the 76th match of her career, tying her with Becky Tenkman as the second-fastest player in program history to reach the mark. Niemer also became the eighth UC player to reach 1,000 career kills as a junior.
In the opening set, two kills by freshman Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption), a service ace by sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), and a kill by Niemer helped Cincinnati jump in front, 5-1. Holding on to a three-point lead, 12-9, four Bearcat kills, including two from freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland), helped UC widen its lead to seven points, 17-10, forcing a WKU timeout. The seven-point lead held as UC took the opening set, 25-18.
Two service aces by Harpenau spurred a six-point UC run at the beginning of the second set, giving UC a 6-0 lead. The Lady Toppers overcame the early deficit and tied the set twice, with the last occurring at 16, before a freshman Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) kill, a Harpenau kill, and a Refenes kill widened Cincinnati's lead to three points, 19-16. With a 23-21 lead, consecutive Western Kentucky errors gave Cincinnati the 25-21 second-set win.
The Bearcats got off to another great start in the third set taking a 10-5 lead. Cincinnati's lead reached as many as six points, 19-13, before WKU made its comeback. A four-point Lady Topper run cut the deficit to one, 20-19, before a Tiffany Elmore kill knotted the set at 23. A Brittany Bowen kill followed by a Bearcats attack error gave WKU the 25-23 third-set win, forcing a fourth set.
Three consecutive WKU attack errors and a Niemer kill put Cincinnati in control from the get-go in the fourth set. Kills by Niemer and junior Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) expanded the lead to 10-3, forcing a WKU timeout. Cincinnati's lead reached as many as nine points, 19-12, and from that point, UC cruised to a 25-20 win.
Harpenau continued her strong all-around play with 13 kills and a match-high 16 digs, her sixth kill-dig double-double of the season. Hayden was the other Bearcats player to finish with double-figure kills, tallying 11 on the evening.
The Bearcats return to the Land of Lincoln this weekend, this time traveling to Evanston, Ill. for the Northwestern Tournament. Cincinnati takes on Long Island in the tournament opener at 6 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 18, before closing the tournament with matches against Akron and Northwestern at 11:30 a.m. EDT and 8 p.m. EDT, respectively, on Saturday, Sept. 19.