TicketsNov. 19, 2011
Press Conference: Reed Sunahara and Missy Harpenau
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -The University of Cincinnati volleyball team overcame an 0-2 deficit and defeated host Marquette University 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13) in their semifinal match of the BIG EAST Championship.
The two hour, 17 minute thriller was the first match that took five sets in the tournament. With the win, Cincinnati will take on the No. 5 seed Fighting Irish of Notre Dame who upset No. 1 seed Louisville in the previous semifinal.
The Bearcats were led by five players with double-digit kill performances. Senior Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) recorded a match high 21 kills and a .304 percentage. Juniors Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind. /Lawrence North) followed with 15, Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y. /Wayne Central) and Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky. /Assumption) recorded 11 and Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich. /Lutheran Westland) rounded out the offensive effort with 10 kills.
Sophomore libero Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind. /Yorktown) led the defense with a match high 26 digs. Freshman setter Caylin Mahoney (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central) recorded 58 assists and a career high 14 digs for a double-double.
Hayden teamed up with Mahoney to start the fifth and final set for a block, but the Golden Eagles were still ahead 6-5. Kills from Turner and Harpenau brought the lead to the Bearcats 11-9. Harpenau ended the fifth set and the match with a kill and a score of 15-13.
Mahoney and Turner started the fourth set with kills for a 10-7 Bearcat lead. Hayden then added to a 6-3 Turner serving run with a kill for a 17-11 lead. Scott and Refenes added to that lead with kills 20-13. Scott then added a block for a 23-15 lead. The Bearcats forced a fifth set with a 25-17 fourth set win.
The Bearcats came out of the break with a 4-1 lead thanks to hustle from Turner, a Harpenau kill and an ace from Refenes. Scott and Harpenau recorded additional kills to extend the Bearcat lead 15-8. Digs from MacIntyre and two kills from Mahoney allowed the Bearcats to stay ahead 20-12. Hayden ended the set with a kill 25-22.
The second set started with an ace from Harpenau and kills from Turner and Hayden for an 8-5 Golden Eagle lead. Even with kills from Harpenau, the Golden Eagles took advantage of their momentum with a 16-9 lead. Refenes then teamed up with Harpenau and Mahoney for two blocks at 19-14. Marquette got the second set with the same 25-21 score due to a Bearcat serving error.
Harpenau, Hayden and Turner got the first kills of the match for the Bearcats to tie the score at 7. Marquette used the energy from their home crowd to get ahead 13-9. Mahoney then came up with a solo block to pull the Bearcats within three 18-15. Refenes continued her solid serving game by adding another ace onto her total at 24-21, in favor of the Golden Eagles. The set ended with a 25-21 Golden Eagle victory.
The final match of the BIG EAST Championship tournament will be tomorrow November 20 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
The match will be aired live on ESPNU. Fans can also follow the showdown on Twitter @CincinnatiVball or the Championship Central.