TicketsAug. 27, 2011
DeKalb, Ill. - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team (1-3) posted their first win of the 2011 season over the Jaguars of IUPUI Saturday evening at the Northern Illinois Tournament 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-14). Junior outside hitter Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) was honored after the tournament with an All-Tournament accolade after posting consistently high hitting percentages in every match.
The team posted a total of 13 blocks in the match led by junior Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and her 9 total blocks. Scott also led the team in hitting percentage with .471. Senior Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) lead all players with her second double-double of the season (16 kills, 12 digs). She also recorded 3 aces. Freshman Caylin Mahoney (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central) led all players with 30 assists on the match. Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) had a career night as well with 5 digs.
For the first time all season, the Bearcats earned the first point of the match thanks to a kill by Scott. This was the indicator for the rest of the set as the Bearcats went on to a 11-5 lead. Scott in the middle teamed up with Hayden for a block to increase their lead 14-5. The serve of Harpenau put the Bearcats up by 11 with a score of 17-6. After kills from Harpenau and Hayden, a timeout was then called by the Jaguars at a score of 22-13. Two Bearcat blocks in a row by the combinations of Scott, Harpenau and Turner propelled the Bearcats to set point 24-14. Then a Harpenau kill sealed the set 25-15. Three Bearcats hit over .500 in the set: Harpenau (.636), Scott (.571) and Hayden (.600). As a team, the hitting percentage was a blazing .484.
The second set began uneasy for the Bearcats. Sophomore libero Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) came out of the match after colliding with another player to keep the ball alive. Hayden, who has never played back row for the Bearcats, came up with two digs which surged the energy of the team to put them ahead 9-6. Still no libero, the Bearcats stayed ahead 13-10 going into a Jaguar timeout. Scott then teamed up with Turner for two blocks, Refenes for another two and had one of her own to put the Bearcats closer to the set end at 22-12. The Bearcats did not let the Jaguars get more than another point as the set ended with a 25-13 score. The team added a total of 6 blocks in the set to help the Bearcats stay on top the entire set and hold the Jaguars to a negative hitting percentage.
Freshman Jamie Netisingha stepped in at the libero position in the third set for the second time in the season. Junior Rachel Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) also made her Cincinnati debut to set a 6-2 offense with Mahoney. The slight changes did not affect the Bearcats as they went up 8-5 with a block by freshman Erica Stahl (Indianpolis, Ind./Chatard). At the score of 10-7, there were four newcomers on the court at once. Scott added yet another block to her stats when she teamed up with freshman Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) to make the score 12-8. After a serve receive pass that turned into a kill from Harpenau and an ace by Nicholson, the Bearcats remained on top 14-9. Jaguar errors mixed with a Turner ace and digs by Netisingha brought a score of 20-12. An ace by Mahoney gave the Bearcats match point 24-14. A hitting error from the Jaguars ended the match 25-15.
The Bearcats will be in action Tuesday when the travel to Lexington to play against South Eastern Conference powerhouse Kentucky at 7:00 p.m.