TicketsSept. 11, 2010
CHARLESTON, S.C.---Stephanie Niemer tied for match-high honors with 18 kills, but it wasn't enough as the University of Cincinnati volleyball team dropped its second straight match, a four-set decision to Oregon State on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by the College of Charleston.
The Bearcat (7-3) offense struggled throughout, only hitting above .100 in one set and finishing the day at .144. The Beavers improve to 4-5 on the season with a 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-18 victory. Oregon State was led by 18 kills from Jill Sawatzky.
Cincinnati started slowly, hitting just .079 in the first set, compared to a .265 mark put up by the Beavers. UC was trailing at 16-15 in the opener, only to see the Beavers rip off five straight to open a comfortable margin. Oregon State got within a point of victory at 24-19, but a Jordanne Scott kill and an OSU error kept UC alive. Sawatzky ended it on the next point, however, with a kill.
The second set saw a dip in offensive output by both teams as the Bearcats actually held a .081 to .028 hitting advantage despite falling 25-23. The frame featured 11 ties and seven lead changes after Oregon State jumped to an early 12-6 lead. UC fought back to take an 18-16 lead and, after falling behind by two, evened the score at 23 forcing an OSU timeout. Out of the break, Sawatzky dropped a kill and Ashley Eneliko and Camille Saxton combined on a block to give the Beavers a two-set lead.
The Bearcats climbed back into it in set three, improving both offensively (.370 hitting) and defensively (.000 hitting for OSU). Cincinnati actually trailed for much of the first half of the set, before finally taking the lead for good on a Niemer kill at 17-16. OSU came back to within 18-17 on a Megan McBride kill, but UC ripped off the last seven points to seal the win.
Oregon State shook off the set three setback, leading nearly all the way to pull out the four-set victory. The Bearcats trailed by two early on, before battling back to within 21-18 late in the going. But UC would be held scoreless from there as Sawatzky kill and three Bearcat errors brought the match to a close. Oregon State rebounded to hit .269 in the deciding set, while UC struggled to a .100 mark.
Scott accompanied Niemer as UC players with double-digit kills as she finished with 12 on .381 hitting. Becca Refenes tallied seven blocks for the Bearcats, while libero Emily MacIntyre had 17 digs and Niemer 14 for yet another double-double for the senior.
Sawatzky narrowly missed a triple-double for the Beavers, adding nine digs and nine blocks to her 18 kills. Saxton chipped in 10 kills and 10 digs, while libero Becky Defoe had 14 digs for OSU.
UC will try to snap its modest two-match losing streak, taking the court at 5:30 p.m. today against Auburn.