TicketsSept. 15, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team put up a strong fight, but fell to No. 6 University of Texas 3-0 (30-28, 28-26, 25-11) in the second match of the Time Warner Cable Invitational in Austin, Texas. Senior Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) led the Bearcats with 14 kills and junior Emily MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) added 11 digs.
"I think this was a great match" said head coach Molly Alvey. "We definitely had opportunities today to win both the first and second sets, there is no doubt about that. It just comes down to execution as far as getting kills when we need them and serving tough throughout the entire set. The best part about the morning is that we competed the best we have all season and we got better."
The Bearcats (2-9) recorded 37 kills and a .208 attacking percentage in the match while the Longhorns (7-3) hit 54 kills for a .393 clip.
Cincinnati fought hard in the first set, but fell 30-28. The Bearcats got off to an early 3-0 lead following a block by Scott and Refenes, and the duo combined for another block to push the lead to 9-6. The Longhorns hit four straight kills to take a 16-12 lead, but the Bearcats would not go away. UC clung to a slim lead until a UT block tied the set at 23-23. The Bearcats served for set point four times and the Longhorns had a foiled set point of their own before Texas used back-to-back blocks to win the game 30-28. Senior Rachel Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Grand Valley State) offered up 13 assists in the set while Scott added 6 kills.
The Bearcats came from behind to tie the second set late, before ultimately falling 28-26. UC found itself down 17-14 after a Texas run of four consecutive points. The Bearcats trailed the majority of the game, but pulled even at 24-24 after two Texas errors. A Cincinnati attack error gave the Longhorns a 27-26 advantage, and once again UT used a block to close out the set. Overall, six of the last eight points in the set were results of miscues from both teams.
The No. 6 Longhorns proved to be too much for the Bearcats in the final set, taking down UC by a score of 25-11. Twice Texas strung together runs of four or more points, including six consecutive points to take a 24-10 lead. After a kill by senior Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central), Texas' Madelyn Hutson sent a kill over the net to take the set, and the match 3-0.
The Bearcats will wrap up the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational tonight at 8 p.m. when they face off against No. 23 Illinois. Cincinnati lost to the Fighting Illini 3-1 on Sept. 8 in the finale of the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge at Fifth Third Arena.
-GoBEARCATS.com-