TicketsSept. 16, 2011
Champaign, Ill. - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team lost its first match of the Big 10/BIG EAST Challenge Friday evening to No. 3 Illinois 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-12).
The Bearcats struggled offensively against the Illini, with only 24 kills as a team. The Fighting Illini of Illinois proved why they should be in the top few teams in the country with only four hitting errors recorded. Junior Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) led the Bearcats with 7 kills. Sophomore libero Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) and senior Missy Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) led the back row efforts with 11 digs each. Freshman Caylin Mahoney (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller Central) recorded 16 assists in the loss.
The Bearcats started the third set down 10-1. The first earned point from the Bearcats came from a kill by junior Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) at 11-2. The Illini continued their run to make the score 16-4. Mahoney came up with another kill from her setter position and placed the ball right in the middle of the court for a score of 16-5. A kill from Harpenau brought the Bearcats closer 18-7. A Scott kill earned the Bearcats another point 19-8. The Bearcats scored more points on kills from Mahoney and digs from MacIntyre and Harpenau 23-12. The match ended just like the other two sets with a Bearcat hitting error 25-12.
Junior Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) earned two kills right away in set two to keep the Bearcats close 7-5. Sunahara was forced to call a timeout when the Illini went on a 8-4 run to make the score 15-9. Miscommunication from the Bearcats allowed the Illini run to continue 18-9. A Scott kill from the back row to get the Bearcats another point 21-12. Sophomore Juliana Behrens (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) reached to get a kill off of an Illini overpass 21-14. Just like set one, set two ended with a Bearcat hitting error, with the Illini coming out on top 25-14. After two sets, the Illini was dominating the hitting percentage numbers with .418 compared to the Bearcats' struggling offense -.031 as a team.
The Illini started the match strong with a quick 7-3 lead over the Bearcats. A Hayden kill kept them within four at 9-5. Harpenau then came flying out of the back row a few points later for a score of 14-8. Mahoney came up with a set-over kill to continue the Bearcats' climb 15-11. Then, junior Karen Onuki (Troy, Ohio/Troy) set a great ball from the back corner to Harpenau who put it down for a kill 16-12. The Fighting Illini went on a 5-0 run to get closer to the set win 21-12. Hayden and Scott teamed up for a block on the right side to bring the score to 21-13. The Illini claimed the set on a Bearcat hitting error 25-19. The Bearcats had 7 hitting errors with 8 kills for a .029 percentage, compared to the Illini's .409 dominant percentage.
The Bearcats will continue the Big 10/BIG EAST Challenge when they face No. 14 Purdue tomorrow evening at 5:30 p.m. ET.