TicketsDec. 4, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the University of Cincinnati volleyball team fell short, 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 15-25, 23-25), to the Ohio State University Buckeyes Friday evening at St. John Arena. Sophomore Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati Ohio/Mother of Mercy) put together a terrific all-around performance with 13 kills and 14 digs, her 16th kill-dig double-double of the season, in the loss.
Junior Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) led all players with 17 kills and hit an impressive .342 for UC. The Bearcats posted nine service aces and outblocked OSU 10.5 - 4.0, but Ohio State finished with 13 more kills and hit .320 for the match.
In the opening set, the Buckeyes committed three hitting errors and four serving errors and freshman Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) registered three kills and a solo block to help the Bearcats take a 15-12 lead heading into the media timeout. Ohio State rallied and took its first lead of the set at 17-16 and still holding on to a one-point lead, 21-20, a Katie Dull kill followed by a UC error saw UC trail 23-20, forcing a Bearcats timeout. Out of the timeout, another Dull kill preceded a Cincinnati attack error giving the Buckeyes the 25-20 first-set win.
After dropping the first set, UC regrouped and used kills by freshman Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Niemer and an ace by freshman Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) to take a 10-5 lead, forcing Ohio State to burn an early timeout. Out of the timeout, a pair of kills by Hayden followed by a Niemer kill placed UC on top, 13-5. Despite the large lead, UC continued its strong play and cruised to a 25-16 second-set win to tie the match at one set apiece.
Coming out of the intermission, the score was tied at five until the Buckeyes took seven of the next eight points to take a 12-6 advantage. The Bearcats struggles continued as a series of errors widened the Ohio State lead to nine points, 18-9, forcing a UC timeout. From that point Ohio State went on to capture the third set, 25-15.
The struggles continued for Cincinnati in the fourth set as Ohio State jumped out to a 5-0 lead, forcing head coach Reed Sunahara to take his first timeout. UC fell behind by as many as six points, 10-4, before the Bearcats began a surge behind the serving of Harpenau. A kill by Niemer made the score 10-5, before Harpenau led a four-point surge, which included two aces, to bring Cincinnati within one point, 10-9. Just as UC closed it deficit to one point, the Buckeyes mounted a four-point surge of their own to expand the lead back to five points, 14-9. Niemer and Harpenau slowly brought the Bearcats back within striking distance at 20-18, but a service error, and a Buckeyes kill and ace quickly upped the lead to five, 23-18. The Bearcats never quit and cut the deficit to 24-23, but a Dull kill that clipped the end line ended the fourth set, 25-23, in Ohio State's favor.
Cincinnati finished the season 25-11 overall and will carry its 28 match home winning streak into the 2010 campaign.