TicketsNov. 4, 2012
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team downed Villanova University 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon in the Lindner Center on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. The win officially clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Championship for the Bearcats. The conference tournament will be played in Milwaukee, Wis., Nov. 16-18.
Senior Jordanne Scott (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs to lead the Bearcats. Seniors Emily Hayden (Louisville, Ky./Assumption), Becca Refenes (Westland, Mich./Lutheran Westland) and Megan Turner (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central) and sophomore Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) also got into the action offensively for Cincinnati with nine, eight, seven and seven kills, respectively. Senior Rachel Rohlfs had a match-high 41 assists and junior Emily MacIntyre had a match-high 18 digs. Nicholson also tallied four blocks in the contest.
The Bearcats (11-16, 9-4 BIG EAST) led the Wildcats (11-17, 5-8 BIG EAST) in most statistical categories including hitting percentage (.323 to .133) and kills (44 to 30). UC also recorded 55 digs to VU's 35 and had 42 assists compared to 29 from Villanova.
It was also the second consecutive match that Cincinnati has recorded at least a .323 attacking percentage and recorded 44 kills.
Cincinnati came from behind to win the first game 25-18 and take a 1-0 match lead. The Wildcats scored three straight points to jump out to an 8-3 lead early in the game, but the Bearcats responded with strong play of their own. Hayden had three kills and Refenes had two to lead the comeback. With the score tied at 13-13, Cincinnati registered six consecutive points and received kills from Scott, Nicholson and Turner to grab a 19-13 lead. Each team recorded its fair share of mistakes, including a string of five straight service errors (two by Cincinnati and three by Villanova). The Bearcats were able to capitalize, however, using a kill from Nicholson to end the game 25-18. Cincinnati finished the first game with a .344 attacking percentage and held Villanova to a mere .088 clip. Hayden and Nicholson each had four kills while Rohlfs added 14 assists and MacIntyre recorded seven digs.
The Bearcats used a five-point run to propel them to a 25-16 victory in game No. 2. While holding a 12-11 advantage, UC used two kills from Refenes during a string of five consecutive points to take a 17-11 lead. The lead grew to 21-13 after kills from Refenes and Turner and ended the game with another kill to give UC the 25-16 victory. Scott and Refenes each recorded four kills in the game and Rohlfs again added 14 assists.
In the third game, UC surged to a 25-16 victory to win the match 3-0. Cincinnati received from Scott and Nicholson as part of a four-point swing to grab a 17-9 lead. The Bearcat advantage grew to 20-12 after a turner kill. Hayden was able to put it away on a kill to end the game with the 25-16 margin.
The Bearcats will finish the regular season with two BIG EAST road matches next weekend. Cincinnati will play at Notre Dame on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. and will visit No. 13 Louisville on Nov. 11 at noon.
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