TicketsSept. 21, 2009
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Trailing 2-0, the University of Cincinnati volleyball team rallied to win the third set, but could not complete the comeback as it fell to Western Michigan, 3-1 (23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25), Monday evening. Cincinnati (9-6) recorded more kills, assists, and digs than Western Michigan (8-7), but UC had nine more attack errors and five more service errors than the Broncos.
From the get-go, neither team could create much separation from one another in the first set as UC's biggest lead was two points, and WMU's was three points. Twelve ties occurred, with the last at 20, before three consecutive Bearcats attack errors saw the Broncos seize a 23-20 lead. Still trailing by three points, kills by junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) and freshman Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) brought UC within one point, 24-23, but a kill from the Bronco setter, Jillian Mitchell, gave Western Michigan the 25-23 opening-set triumph.
Six early errors in the second set allowed the Broncos to take control at 9-5, forcing a Cincinnati timeout. Following the timeout, UC climbed within one point on three occasions, with the last at 18-17, before three more Bearcats attack errors put the Red and Black back in a four-point hole, 22-18, forcing head coach Reed Sunahara to use his final timeout of the set. A Niemer kill precluded a Broncos error, bringing UC within two points, 22-20, but two Broncos kills coupled with a Cincinnati attack error handed WMU the second-set, 25-20.
After a sluggish start in the third set, two kills by Niemer and three consecutive freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) kills pushed Cincinnati in the lead, 9-7. Despite opportunities to expand its lead past three, UC was unable to do so as WMU kept the set tight and eventually tied the set at 18. The Bearcats remained resilient and two Niemer kills in addition to kills by sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) and Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) widened the UC lead to 23-19. Cincinnati went on to take the third set, 25-20.
UC carried the momentum from its third-set win into the fourth set and took an early 7-4 lead. UC continued to hold its lead as late as 14-11, but a four-point WMU run gave the Broncos a 15-14 advantage. From that point, the Bearcats could never put together a run and Western Michigan slowly pulled away for the 25-20 fourth-set victory.
Niemer led all players with 19 kills and added 13 digs for her fourth kill-dig double-double of the season. Harpenau also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs, while Turner put down a career-high 12 kills in the losing effort.
Cincinnati begins BIG EAST Conference action on Friday, Sept. 25, when it travels to Villanova for a 7 p.m. tilt.