TicketsNov. 8, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. - In front of a raucous crowd on Senior Night, the University of Cincinnati volleyball team downed the University of South Florida Bulls on its home court, 3-0, Sunday afternoon, behind a superb performance from freshman Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central). In a reserve role, Turner sparked Cincinnati (20-9; 10-2 BIG EAST) with a career-high 32 assists, while adding three kills and six digs.
The win is Cincinnati's 20th on the season and marks the ninth time that UC has reached the 20-win plateau under the direction of 10th-year head coach Reed Sunahara. In addition, the win also gave UC its 10th conference victory as the Bearcats have now registered back-to-back 10-win conference campaigns for the first time since joining the BIG EAST in 2005.
Sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) was a force to be reckoned with after putting down 18 kills at a .556 clip. Despite the dominance of Harpenau, junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) put down 15 kills and freshman Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) added eight kills at a .727 clip to help lead UC to the victory.
Cincinnati used a pair of USF (16-7; 8-4 BIG EAST) attack errors to help capture a 4-0 lead in the opening set, before consecutive kills later in the set by Hayden helped UC take an 11-5 lead, forcing the Bulls to use their first timeout of the set. With UC holding on to a six-point lead, 12-6, USF took seven consecutive points to take its first lead of the set, 13-12. Tied at 16, the Bearcats used kills by freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland), Harpenau, and two kills by Hayden to recapture a four-point cushion, 20-16. The Bulls cut the deficit to one point, 23-22, but UC remained calm and a kill by Turner followed by a Harpenau kill gave the Bearcats a 25-22 first-set triumph.
UC continued to keep the pressure on in the second set as a pair of kills by Harpenau and junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) helped the Bearcats take a 10-6 lead. Leading 13-10, a Refenes kill sandwiched between Harpenau kills widened the lead to six, 16-10, before two attack errors later in the set allowed Cincinnati to take a commanding 20-12 advantage. Down the stretch, UC used kills by Harpenau and Niemer to finish off the 25-15 second-set win.
Out of the intermission, the third set was tight from the get-go. UC slowly took a 15-11 lead at the mid-way point of the set, before a Bulls rally knotted the set at 19. After an exchange of side outs kept the score tied at 20, a kill by Harpenau, an USF attack error, and a dump kill by Turner put UC in front, 23-20, forcing USF to call timeout. The Bulls closed within one point, 24-23, but their night ended on Harpenau's 18th kill, sending UC home with a 25-23 win.
Cincinnati returns home next weekend when it closes out its regular season against St. John's and Connecticut. The Bearcats welcome Connecticut to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a 2 p.m. clash, before hosting St. John's on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. Sunday's match against the Red Storm will be senior day as UC honors its lone senior, Jaime Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon).