TicketsAug. 26, 2011
DeKalb, Ill. - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team fell for a second time Friday evening in the Northern Illinois Tournament to the host team Huskies 3-0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-18).
The most vulnerable part of the floor in the sport of volleyball is the middle of the floor. That proved to be the case for the Bearcats this evening as NIU placed several points in that spot. Junior Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) led the Bearcats with a .526 hitting percentage for the match with just one error and 11 kills, she was also the only one in double digit kills for the team.
NIU began the first set fueled by the crowded gym and went on a 4-0 run before the Bearcats got a kill off of junior middle blocker Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich. /Lutheran Westland). Even after kills from junior rightside hitter Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) and senior outside hitter Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), NIU still found themselves on top 15-10 going into the first timeout called by UC. A kill from junior outside hitter Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence North) and the serve of Harpenau brought the Bearcats within 5 at 18-13. The next timeout belonged to the Huskies as the Bearcats inched closer to a tie at 20-17. Several missed blocks and miscommunication by the Bearcats led the Huskies to a 25-19 win.
The second set began in favor of the Bearcats with a score of 6-5 thanks to a pair of aces by Refenes. The momentum quickly switched to NIU with a net violation by the Bearcats with a score of 11-9 and a timeout called by head coach Reed Sunahara. A kill by Scott brought the score to a tie at 12, then she teamed up with Refenes on a block to make the score 14-13. The Huskies came back to push ahead of the Bearcats 20-19 with a block of their own. After a Bearcat timeout, Refenes and Harpenau came up kills to put them within one at 24-23. After point-for-point rallies, the Huskies of NIU came out on top with a score of 27-25. NIU hit a blistering .488 in the win compared to UC's .361.
Cincinnati began the third set like they began the second with a score of 5-3. An extremely long rally ended in NIU's favor to tie the score at 7. A "joust" win by freshman setter Caylin Mahoney (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central) against two Huskies brought the score to 9-9. The Huskies used the cheers of the crowd to go on a 5-0 run to bring the score to 14-9 before a solid kill by Refenes brought the score to 14-10. Freshman Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill. /Belleville Althoff) made her collegiate debut in the third set with a kill to bring the Bearcats within five at 16-11. Due to errors by the Bearcats and execution by the Huskies, the score was 22-16. The match ended with a score of 25-18.
The Bearcats will look to redeem themselves tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. against No. 14 Northern Iowa.