TicketsNov. 21, 2010
PITTSBURGH - No. 18-ranked University of Cincinnati fell to the University of Louisville in three sets (20-25, 20-25, 15-25) in the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 21, at Fitzgerald Field House.
Cincinnati was limited by the play of the Cardinal defense, which recorded 11 team blocks and held UC to a .211 hitting percentage.
After Cincinnati took a 2-1 lead in the first set, UofL quickly came back and built a four-point lead. Down 14-10, UC went on a 3-0 run on a Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) kill, a Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) service ace and a block by Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central).
After a media timeout, Cincinnati tied the score at 15, but Louisville scored on consecutive kills to build a two-point lead. After a Refenes kill made the score 20-22 in favor of UofL, the Cardinals scored the final three points of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Bearcats shot a .205 hitting percentage in the set, compared to .400 for UofL. Refenes led UC with five kills in the first, followed by four each from Stepahnie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) and Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North). Senior setter Annie Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) led UC with 14 assists and Onuki had four digs.
After Louisville scored the opening point of the second set, Cincinnati scored three consecutive points to take a 3-1 lead and eventually increased its margin to 10-6. UofL then went on a 7-0 run that featured four blocks to take a 10-13. The Bearcats fought back to close the gap to 13-14 after kills by Niemer and Refenes, but the Cardinals again went on a run to increase the lead to 16-21 and went on to take the second set 20-25.
Cincinnati shot a .314 percentage in the second set, while Louisville had a.303 rate. Niemer had a set-high eight kills and a .615 hitting percentage. Fesl led the Bearcats with 14 kills and four digs in the second.
With the Bearcats down 3-4 early in the third set, the Cardinals went on an 8-1 run to take a 4-12 lead. Cincinnati was not able to make a comeback and eventually fell 25-15.
UC, the regular season champions of the BIG EAST, were led offensively by Niemer (14 kills), and sophomore middle blockers Scott and Refenes (11 kills each). Fesl, who dished out 38 assists, dug eight UofL attack attempts, as did Niemer, sophomore defensive specialist Karen Onuki (Troy, Ohio/Troy) and freshman libero Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown). BIG EAST Player of the Year Niemer and Scott were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team after receiving first-team all-conference honors earlier in the week.
Cincinnati next plays at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 26, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.