TicketsOct. 30, 2009
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team set a new program record with its 24th consecutive home win in a 3-0 sweep of Marquette Friday night at Fifth Third Arena. The junior tandem of Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) and Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) led Cincinnati (18-8; 8-1 BIG EAST) to the victory, while Marquette fell to 15-10 overall and 4-6 in the BIG EAST.
Fesl posted a double-double with 29 assists and 11 digs, while adding three service aces and tying a career-high with five kills. Niemer finished with a match-best 14 kills and hit .429 in addition to posting six digs.
The serving Fesl, which included a service ace, helped the Bearcats get off to a 4-0 start in the first set. After the Golden Eagles tied the set at nine, two kills by Niemer and a Marquette attack error pushed UC's lead back to three points, 12-9. A Niemer ace widened the lead to four points, 14-10, but the Golden Eagles hung tough as the Bearcats could not extend their lead to more than four points. After a service error by UC cut the Cincinnati lead to one point, 19-18, kills by Fesl and Niemer moved the score to 21-18, forcing a Golden Eagles timeout. A kill by sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) followed by a Marquette attack error closed out the first set, 25-21, in UC's favor.
Tied at five in the beginning stages of the second set, the Bearcats took four of the next five points to open a 9-6 lead. After a Niemer kill and a Fesl ace helped widen the lead to 16-12, kills by Harpenau, freshman Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North), and freshman Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) sparked a five-point surge giving Cincinnati a 20-12 cushion. From that point, UC cruised to a 25-14 second-set triumph.
Tied at three in the third set, a freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) kill kick started a seven-point run, which also included three Harpenau kills, to open a 10-3 lead. In front by a score of 14-8, Cincinnati took six of the next seven points, opening up a 20-9 lead, before kills by Niemer and Fesl cemented the 25-13 third-set victory.
Scott and Refenes led the team with five blocks apiece as Cincinnati outblocked Marquette 10.0 to 8.5.
UC returns to conference action on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m., when it welcomes Syracuse to Fifth Third Arena.