Creighton University
Connecticut
UConn Tops Volleyball In Five Sets
9/12/2009 3:00:00 PM | Volleyball
DAYTON, Ohio -- The Creighton Volleyball team lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon, falling in five sets to Connecticut at the Dayton Flyer Classic. Scores of the match in favor of UConn were 25-16, 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13.
Creighton dropped to 2-6 with the defeat, while UConn is now 4-6.
The teams split the opening two sets, with UConn winning 25-16 in the first set before CU answered with a 25-22 second set triumph. The Jays would then take a 2-1 lead in the match, never trailing in a decisive 25-17 third set victory.
The fourth set provided Creighton with an opportunity for a victory, but the Huskies made an impressive comeback to force the fifth set. The Jays led 21-18 late before UConn closed the set on a 7-2 surge to even the match. With the score tied at 23 and CU just two points from victory, the Huskies got kills from Jordan Kirk and Chauntay Mickens to take the 25-23 win.
The fifth set saw Creighton take an early 7-4 lead, only to see UConn storm back to knot the score at seven. The Jays would own their last lead at 8-7, but when the teams switched sides of the net the momentum did not. Connecticut scored three straight points to go ahead 10-8, only to see Alicia Runge pound consecutive kills to even the score at 10-all. The Huskies again went on a run with three points to go ahead 13-10, only to see CU tie it again on an ace by Nayka Benitez. With both teams just two points from victory and the score knotted at 13, Mickens would hammer consecutive kills to give UConn the win in a wild final set that featured seven ties and four lead changes.
"We definitely had opportunities in the fourth set and I thought we had opportunities in the fifth game," said CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth in her post-match radio interview. "I saw some positives but I'd like to win so I'm disappointed and I know the team is disappointed. I think we had opportunities and I think you're always going to say would have, could have, should have when you lose a match 15-13 and when you were up four in the fourth set."
Connecticut was led by 21 kills and 11 digs by Mattison Quayle, who also hit .405. Kirk finished with 17 kills while Mickens had 12 kills and Rebecca Murray added 10. The Huskies owned 65 kills, six aces, 64 digs and four blocks while hitting .250.
Creighton had three players with 10 or more kills, led by 14 from Allie Oelke and 10 each from Jessica Houts and Runge. Nayka Benitez led CU with 16 digs, while Laurel Sanford had 10 blocks for the Jays. Creighton finished with 53 kills, seven aces, 46 digs and 14.5 blocks while hitting .271. Creighton's .271 hitting percentage was its best in a loss since Oct. 4, 1996 against Evansville.
Creighton concludes play in the Dayton Flyer Classic tonight at 6 pm when it plays Dayton. The Flyers are 8-0 on the season and have already beaten Connecticut and Samford this weekend. The match can be heard on KOIL (1180 AM), with free video available at http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=dayt.
NOTES: This was Creighton's first five-set match of the season, but Connecticut's fifth in 10 matches ...Creighton is now 20-8 under Kirsten Bernthal Booth in five-set matches ...Creighton fell to 39-4 under Booth when leading a match 2-1 ...Connecticut was 21-11 last year and finished fourth in the Big EAST ...Creighton sophomore Laurel Sanford had a career-high with 10 block assists, three more than her previous best.
