By Benjamin Lampkin
After taking a 2-0 lead into the third game over Cincinnati, the CardinalVolleyball team learned just how tough a Conference USA opponent can be. TheBearcats responded to the 2-0 deficit by taking the Cardinals in the final threegames for the win Thursday night at Cardinal Arena.
The Bearcats relentless attacks, led by Julie DuPont and Becky Stahl, ledCincinnati to a 24-30, 28-30, 30-24, 30-22, 15-9 victory.
The first game saw the Cards quickly building a 9-3 lead. With 22 team kills, 5by Outside Hitter Sonja Percan, the Cards never allowed the Bearcats in thegame, ending on a Stacy Mercer kill with the score 30-24.
Quickly building a lead, the Cards dominated the second game early. With anearly insurmountable 21-12 lead (following a kill by Anastasia Zaitseva), theBearcats began a massive turnaround, quickly taking a 26-27 lead beforeeventually dropping the game to the Cards, 30-28.
“From the middle of the second game on we executed better,” said Cincinnatihead coach Reed Sunahara. “We made better adjustments, and that’s what kept usin the game and helped us win.”
The third and fourth games belonged to the Bearcats. Aside from a 1-0 lead inthe third and a 12-4 lead in the fourth, the Bearcats never allowed the Cards tomake a serious run. In the third, with the score at 19-25 in favor ofCincinnati, a controversial point went the Cards way, followed by a kill byPercan to keep the Cards within three. However, a huge kill by DuPont, followedby a service ace by Stahl, and the game was soon a 30-24 Bearcats win.
The Cards seemed to come out sharper in the fourth game, taking a quick leadand utilizing kills by Mercer, Zaitseva, Percan, Lesley Drury, and Jing Ding.After a timeout, the Cards appeared to unravel. Cincinnati tied the score at 14after a 12-4 Cards lead, and permanently took over the game after a kill byBonita Wise. 12 attack errors by the Cards, along with a poor .037 hittingpercentage, gave Cincinnati their second straight game, 30-22.
The Cards poor hitting continued to plummet all match, dropping to -.115 in thefifth and deciding game. The Bearcats, behind a raucous set of fans who made thejourney down to Louisville, pulled out four straight points during the earlygoing to take an 8-4 lead. With little if any life left in their tanks, theCards committed 7 attack errors to just 4 kills. Three kills by Julie DuPont putthe match in the Bearcats hand, and they went on to take the final game 15-9.
“The team (Cincinnati) made adjustments in the second game, and we told ourteam that we can’t keep playing the way we have,” replied U of L head coachLeonid Yelin. “Unfortunately, our team did not respond.”
The Cardinals never put together a solid game after the second, with theirhitting percentage plummeting from the first game on. After starting hot andhitting .364, the final number saw their percentage at a paltry .163, fallingwell below their Conference USA .283 percentage.
The Cardinals look to rebound Friday night against Marquette in Cardinal Arenaat 7 p.m.
