TicketsNov. 20, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Behind a well-balanced offensive attack that featured four players recording double-digit kills, the University of Cincinnati volley ball team defeated the Connecticut Huskies 3-1 Friday afternoon in its quarterfinal match-up of the 2009 BIG EAST Volleyball Championships at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) led all players with 15 kills and added 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while freshman Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) put on a show in her first career match in her hometown with 13 kills en route to a .632 hitting percentage.
Junior Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) dished out 48 assists and led Cincinnati (23-9) to a team hitting percentage of .331, while tying a career-high with five kills of her own. In addition to Niemer and Hayden, freshman Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) hit .476 for the match and ended with 11 kills, while sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) put down 10 kills and dug up 12 balls for her 13th kill-dig double-double of the year.
UC took advantage of UConn hitting errors at the beginning of the first set and used kills by Hayden and Niemer to take an 8-4 lead. Still with a four-point lead, 15-11, a Bearcats serving error followed by a Huskies kill cut the Cincinnati lead to two points, 15-13, but a kill by Niemer precluded a Fesl ace which pushed the UC lead back to four and forced a Connecticut timeout. Out of the timeout, Connecticut cut the lead to two at 17-15, but two kills by Scott kick started a five-point spurt that put Cincinnati in front, 22-15. The seven-point lead held as the Bearcats took the opening set, 25-17.
Cincinnati continued to keep its foot on the gas pedal in the early stages of the second set as two kills by Niemer to close out long rallies and two kills by Hayden helped UC double up UConn, 10-5. A Scott kill widened the lead to six points, 12-6, but Connecticut used a trio of kills by Rebecca Murray and a block to close its deficit to 12-10, forcing a Bearcats timeout. Two Samantha Arriaran aces tied the set at 12, and two ties ensued before kills by Hayden and Niemer coupled with a Huskies attack error placed UC in front, 19-16. Down the stretch, four ties occurred with the last at 23, before Cincinnati stepped up in crunch time. A triple block by Hayden, Fesl, and Niemer on a Devon Farrell attack gave UC set point and a Huskies attack error clinched the 25-23 second-set triumph.
With the third set tied at seven, an ace by Fesl started a four-point run, which was capped off by two Scott kills, giving UC an 11-7 lead. The serving of UConn's Chauntay Mickens got the Huskies back in the set as she led Connecticut on a five-point surge that placed it ahead, 17-15. Connecticut's lead reached as many as four points, 21-17, but the Bearcats continued to crawl back. Niemer led a four-point spurt behind her serving that tied the set at 21. Tied at 22, a Mickens kill followed by a Connecticut block and a Mattison Quayle kill gave UConn a hard-fought 25-22 third-set win.
The serving of freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) broke open a tie fourth set giving UC some breathing room. A Hayden kill gave UC an 8-7 lead, before Refenes posted two aces in a four-point rally that saw Cincinnati take a 12-7 lead. Kills by Refenes, Hayden, Scott, and junior Lindsay Upton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) helped UC widen its lead to eight points, 20-12, and the Bearcats never looked back and cruised to a 25-17 fourth-set victory.
Senior Jaime Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) finished with 13 digs to lead Cincinnati.
The Bearcats advance to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament for just the second time since joining the conference in 2005 and will meet the sixth-seeded USF Bulls, who opened the tournament with a four-set win over the third-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers. The semifinal meeting between UC and USF begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21.