TicketsAug. 30, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Head coach Reed Sunahara and the University of Cincinnati volleyball team defeated the University of Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Ky. Tuesday night 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-13).
The Bearcats were lead on the night by junior Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) who had 8 kills and no errors for a .727 hitting percentage. She also recorded 2 blocks.
Senior Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), for the fourth time this season, led the Bearcats in two different categories with 9 total kills and 12 digs. The defensive side of the net was lead by junior Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) who rejected 4 of the Wildcats' hits with 3 block assists and a solo block. Freshman Caylin Mahoney (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central) again acted as the quarterback with her first double-double of her career. She recorded 26 assists and 10 digs on the night. Sophomore libero Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) passed very well in serve receive with only one error and also recorded 8 digs.
Sunahara was happy with the program's fourth win over Kentucky, "I thought we executed well tonight. We did a nice job of hanging in there after the first two sets, especially after last weekend. They beat the number 23 team in the country last week at their tournament in Florida. I'm proud of the way we played overall, especially being at UK."
The third set started very evenly matched as there were 3 tie scores in the first points with a score of 5-5. The Bearcats gained momentum as they went on to get ahead 10-8. An Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Scott block continued this lead for a 12-9 score and a Kentucky timeout. Scott hit a UK overpass back to the floor to keep their run alive on the serve of Harpenau 16-9. After battling rallies, Harpenau ended it with a kill from the back row to make the score 19-12. She then combined with Refenes for a booming block in the middle and forced a UK timeout. After the short break, the Bearcats kept the momentum and clawed up to set and match point 24-12. The Wildcats got a point, but that was all the Bearcats allowed as a Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) kill sealed the deal. The defense on the net and in the back row was yet again in this set as the Wildcats hit -.061 as a team.
The second set started similar to the first in that Kentucky started off with the first few points until Mahoney and Hayden teamed up for a block to give the Bearcats their first point. A quick coverage dig off a block from Scott was converted to a Turner kill to keep the Bearcats ahead 8-5. She immediately followed that up with another kill for a score of 9-6. After a UK ace, Sunahara called another timeout when the Wildcats were up 12-11. The Bearcats fought back after a deficit of three points to bring the score to 15-14. A Scott kill increased their lead to 20-15. A Mahoney kill and block with Refenes put the Bearcats at set point 24-19. The Bearcats took the set and the lead in the match 25-19 on a Refenes kill. Again, the Bearcats held their best hitter to a .000 hitting percentage.
The first set started with a quick 3-1 lead from the Wildcats. The solo block of Turner brought the Bearcats a tie at 3-3. She then followed that up with an ace. A kill by Hayden put the Bearcats ahead 10-8. After back and forth points, and two timeouts called by the Wildcats, the Bearcats were up 18-10. The Wildcats fought back to decrease that lead 20-14. Sunahara was forced to call a timeout when the score was 21-18 with the momentum with Kentucky. An ace by Refenes put the Bearcats closer to the set at 23-19. After a long rally, the Bearcats came out on top with a 25-20 win. The team, combined with defense and blocking, held the Wildcats to a .156 hitting percentage and individually, their best hitter to date was forced to hit .000.
"Our girls did a great job following the scouting report; they followed it to a tee and shut down who we needed to shut down. Obviously, it paid off," said Sunahara.
The Bearcats will be travelling early tomorrow morning on the way to Denton, Texas for the North Texas Invitational which will start Friday at 4:30 CT against Oklahoma.