The volleyball team’s struggles continued over the weekend as the Cougars dropped their 20th consecutive match. | Justin Cross/The Cougar
A light weekend for Cougar sports saw three teams in action following the football team’s dramatic victory Thursday night.
Swimming and diving, volleyball and women’s basketball all competed in the days leading up to Thanksgiving Break.
Volleyball
The Cougars’ losing streak climbed to 20 straight as they fell to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in their final road match of the season, 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 16-25), at Fifth Third Arena.
Junior setter Keandra McCardell fell just one dig shy of her sixth straight double-double with a 14-assist, nine-dig performance.
The Cougars were unable to counter the Bearcat defense, hitting just .071 with 27 total kills. Leading the way was sophomore middle blocker Chenelle Walker with a team-high seven kills.
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 5-24 overall and 0-18 in the American Athletic Conference with two chances remaining to get a conference victory.
Women’s basketball
Behind freshman guard Angela Harris’ team-high 14 points, the Cougars were unable to complete a comeback. They lost to Long Beach State University 65-55 inside Walter Pyramid Friday.
Harris went 4-11 from beyond the arc, but the Cougars (1-2) shot just 34.5 percent and failed to top 60 points for the second straight game.
After starting just 2-14 from the floor, the Cougars shot 42.5 percent in the third quarter, cutting a 35-19 49ers lead at halftime to just 12 points.
Junior guard Mariah Mitchell and junior forward Brianne Coffman added eight points each on a night when only one Cougar reached double-digit scoring.
Swimming and diving
The Cougars scored 1,392.5 points en route to a victory when they hosted nine other teams at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium for the annual Phill Hansel Invitational.
Three school records were broken as the Cougars totaled 16 podium finishes while winning seven events in the three-day contest.
Freshman Laura Laderoute continued her impressive freshman campaign. She got her third individual first-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:00.58, a school record.
The 400-yard medley relay team of sophomore Eleanna Koutsouveli, freshman Peyton Kondis, junior Sharo Rodriguez and freshman Zarena Brown put their names in the record books with a 3:41.44 swim.
Kondis broke her second school record Saturday morning with a 1:01.55 in the 100-yard backstroke prelims, which brought her to a third-place finish in the finals.
On the springboards, junior Micaela Bouter continued her dominant season with wins in the 1-meter (321.80) and 3-meter (332.10) dives.
Freshman Lauren Burrell was second in both events with 283.15 and 314.20.
