Strong Defensive Effort Pushes Orange Past Cincinnati, 3-1

Friday, November 11

Cincinnati, Ohio

7:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

Cincinnati

Sophomore Joscie Kaup established a new career high with 33 digs.

Strong Defensive Effort Pushes Orange Past Cincinnati, 3-1

11/11/2005 10:32:08 PM | Volleyball

Box Score
Updated Stats

CINCINNATI, Ohio, Nov. 11, 2005 – Sophomore libero Joscie Kaup set a new career high with 33 digs as the Orange defeated Cincinnati, 3-1 (30-32, 30-27, 30-27, 31-29), in a crucial BIG EAST match up tonight at Fifth Third Arena. SU outplayed the Bearcats at the net, hitting .221, while holding Cincinnati to a .137 hitting percentage. The Orange totaled 16.5 blocks to the Bearcats’ 4.0.

Senior Kelly Duan nearly notched her first triple-double of the season as she compiled a match-high 18 kills, 10 digs, and eight block assists. Senior Kristen Conway continued her stellar play to record her fourth-straight double-double as she had 12 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Jen Malcom contributed at the net with 12 kills and 10 total blocks, while sophomore Cheryl Cobbina put down 16 kills. Senior Aila Dommestrup dished out 53 assists while adding eight kills.

SU was in control early in the opening game, 13-8, before Cincinnati rattled off six-straight points to take its first lead at 14-13. From there, the two teams stayed close to each other the rest of the way. At 30-30, Custer put down a kill to put Cincinnati up 31-30, and then Pongonis added another to seal the game one win.

SU came out firing in game two, scoring the first four points. Duan and Malcom combined for two blocks in that stretch. SU extended its lead to 7-2 on kill by Cobbina. The Orange would maintain a steady lead throughout, and the closest the Bearcats got was 11-8 on an Olson solo block. SU closed out the game with a 30-27 win.

Syracuse found itself down 14-9 in game three, but rallied for three-consecutive points to cut the lead to 14-12. Duan and Malcom assisted on two blocks, while Conway chimed in on a third in that run. Down 19-17, Cobbina put down a kill to pull SU within one. Then a Bearcats attack error tied the game, 19-19. The two teams traded points to 25-25, but SU sealed the game three win with a four-point run to go up 29-25. Cobbina had a pair of kills in that streak, while Malcom and Dommestrup added a block. SU won the game, 30-27.

Game four was close the entire way, with neither team gaining a lead of more than two points. Cincinnati found itself up 29-28, but Duan tied the game, 29-29, with a kill. Conway came up huge for the Orange with a kill of her own to give SU a 30-29 advantage. Following a Bearcats timeout, Conway ended the match with a kill as SU took the final game, 31-29.

For the Bearcats (18-10, 9-4 BIG EAST), Jesse Nevitt and Maria Pongonis both had 13 kills, while Pongonis also added 14 digs. Jenny Custer and Lindsey Peterson had 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Melissa Zenz totaled 21 digs for Cincinnati, while Noel Olson distributed 49 assists.

SU (24-8, 11-2 BIG EAST) set a new school record with its 11^th conference win of the season. The Orange had 10 wins in 1989 and 1990. SU takes on No. 7 Louisville on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in its final match of the 2005 regular season.