TicketsOct. 27, 2013
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 2 RUTGERS (4-19, 0-9 AAC) Rank: NR |
Piscataway, N.J. |  3 CINCINNATI (1-22, 0-8 AAC) Rank: NR | ||||||||||||||||||
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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team came from behind to force its fourth fifth-set match of the season, and picked up its first win with a 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13) victory at Rutgers University on Sunday afternoon at College Avenue Gym in Piscataway, N.J.
Sophomore Morgan Allred (Carrolton, Texas/Hebron) led the Bearcats with 19 kills while freshman Breanna Barksdale (Chula Vista, Calif./Eastlake) added 15. Freshman Kristin Conor (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) dished out 36 assists and freshman Shelby Green (Dripping Springs, Texas/Dripping Springs) led the defensive effort with 19 digs.
The Bearcats recorded a .178 hitting percentage with 60 total kills and 58 assists. They tied a season-high with seven service aces and collected 64 digs.
In the deciding fifth set, the Bearcats held on for a 15_13 victory to claim their first win of the season. Cincinnati rushed out to an 8-1 lead following two kills by Allred and two service aces by Green. Rutgers climbed back to within two points, but on the first match point, Barksdale connected on her 15th kill of the match to give the Bearcats the win.
The Bearcats stormed out of the gate with a 25-21 victory in the first set. Allred and junior Me'Ashah Nicholson (Shiloh, Ill./Belleville Althoff) led Cincinnati with five and four kills apiece while Conor had 13 assists. UC found itself down early before employing a six-point run to take an 8-5 lead. The Bearcats scored on four kills, an Allred ace and a RU attacking error to take the lead. The Scarlet Knights pulled back to tie the set at 12-12 following a kill by Lauren Cloyd, but two consecutive RU errors gave UC a lead that they would not relinquish. Rutgers fought off the first set-point opportunity for the Bearcats, but Allred's fifth kill of the game gave her team the 25-21 win.
The Scarlet Knights pulled even after the second set, winning 25-22. Rutgers went ahead 14-10 in the second set after three straight points, including two UC errors, and led throughout the game. Three more UC errors and three RU kills led to another six-point run for the home team to bring the score to 20-11. The Bearcats clawed back to within 23-18 after two kills and a block by Barksdale and a service ace by Conor, but a kill by Cloyd officially gave RU the second set victory. Barksdale led the UC effort in the second, notching six kills and a block.
Rutgers took control early in the third game and never looked back. The Scarlet Knights won 25-16 behind four service aces from Ali Schroeter. Cincinnati scores four straight points to get to within 23-16, but a block and a Schroeter ace closed out the game and gave Rutgers a 2-1 match lead.
Cincinnati stormed back to win the fourth set 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set. The two teams played close with neither team gaining much of a lead. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as three points at 19-16, but the Bearcats tied the game at 20-20 with a block by Barksdale and junior Madi Lang (Commerce Township, Mich./Florida Atlantic) and took a 21-20 lead on a kill by freshman Samantha Schrenker (Elmburst, Ill./York Community). On its second set point opportunity, an RU service error gave the Bearcats the 25-23 victory. Cincinnati hit 15 kills during the fourth game, the last time it has done so since the final set of a 3-2 loss at USF on Oct. 13.
The Bearcats will continue their road swing with a match at Memphis on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. UC also will play at Temple on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. before heading back to Cincinnati, Ohio. It will be the second matchup of the season for Cincinnati against both teams.
-GoBEARCATS.com-