TicketsBearcat Volleyball To Host C-USA Foes
UC to play UAB, USF at St. Ursula Academy
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/8/2004
Julie DuPont will be out to break Becky Tenkman's career kills record this weekend. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will put its five-match winning streak on the line when they take to the court at St. Ursula Academy this weekend for a pair of Conference USA contests. The Bearcats (10-6, 2-0 C-USA) will host UAB (1-12, 0-2 C-USA) on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m., with USF (3-9, 1-1 C-USA) paying a visit on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. UC is coming off one of its most impressive victories of the season, a four-game triumph over Western Kentucky (16-2) on Tuesday night.
NOTES FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY:
? Julie DuPont drew within five kills of Becky Tenkman?s school record for career kills with 14 against the Lady Toppers. DuPont now has 1,838 kills in her career.
? Maria Pongonis played in the 150th game of her career, enabling her to qualify for UC?s career lists. Pongonis has moved into seventh place in career kills per game with 3.29.
? The Bearcats snapped WKU?s eight-match overall winning streak and its 17-match home non-conference winning streak.
? Senior Rachel Torblaa played in the 100th match of her collegiate career.
? UC put all five of its primary hitters into double figure kills for the first time this season and the first time since Nov. 7, 2003 vs. Houston.
? Torblaa established a new career-high with eight digs.
? DuPont moved into sole possession of fifth place on UC?s career digs list with 1,144. She now trails Katie Graham by just eight digs.
? Noel Olson moved into ninth place on the school?s career assists chart with 702. She passed Tina Durbin who had 678 assists from 1984-88.
ABOUT UAB: The Blazers have endured a tough season that has seen them post a record of 1-12, including losses in each of their first two Conference USA contests. UAB has just a four-game win over Samford this season and has a games record of 6-37. The UAB offense is averaging just 11.88 kills per game, which ranks last in C-USA, as does the squad?s .093 hitting percentage. Freshman Nicole Bowland averages a team-best 2.47 kills per game. On defense, UAB gets 1.37 blocks per game from sophomore Cassi Ociesa and 4.09 digs from Brianna Galvin.
ABOUT USF: USF has lost eight of its last nine contests to fall to 3-9 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA play. The Bulls opened league play last weekend with a win over Charlotte, before dropping a five-game contest to East Carolina. Brazil native Flavia Silveira leads the offense with 4.41 kills per game, but is hitting only .185. USF hits just .138 as a team which ranks 11th in C-USA. On defense, five players average over two digs per game, led by Silveira at 3.18.
MATCHES MOVED: Due to a previously scheduled event in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, the Bearcats? matches on Oct. 8-9 have been moved to St. Ursula Academy. The school, located at 1339 E. McMillan St., is just minutes from UC?s campus. Admission for both of the Conference USA matches against rivals UAB and USF, is free to all fans. Fans travelling to St. Ursula should park in the parking lot directly behind the school?s soccer field.
DUPONT NEARING HISTORY: During her career, senior Julie DuPont has made her mark as one of the top players in program history and she is on the verge of reaching another career milestone. DuPont, who is tops in school history in kills per game with 4.66, ranks second on the kills chart with 1,838, after passing Cathy Guye in the Sept. 10 contest against Washington State. She now has only Becky Tenkman to catch on the UC charts. Tenkman recorded 1,843 kills from 1995-98, only five more than DuPont?s current total. DuPont also ranks in the UC annals in attempts (second), digs (fifth), digs per game (seventh) and block assists (ninth). She is also nearing the top-10 in both total blocks and service aces.
OUT FOR REVENGE, PART 2: After avenging a loss in its trip to Western Kentucky on Tuesday, the Bearcats will be out for more revenge this weekend, this time from USF. The Bulls have topped the Bearcats in each of the last three meetings, with each of the defeats proving costly. A loss during the 2002 regular season cost UC a share of the league title, while last season?s set back took away the league title outright from the Bearcats. USF also eliminated UC from the 2002 C-USA Tournament.
OFFENSIVE OUTBREAK: For the first time this season, UC put five players in double figure kills against Western Kentucky on Oct. 5. In addition to Julie DuPont?s team-high 14 kills, Leslie Newell (12), Rachel Torblaa (12), Myanna Hellsten (11) and Maria Pongonis (11) all reached double figures. The Bearcats pulled the trick three times in 2003, with the last coming vs. Houston on Nov. 7.
AN OLD FRIEND: UAB?s roster features sophomore libero Brianna Galvin, a player with ties to UC head coach Reed Sunahara. Galvin was one of the 13 collegiate players and Sunahara was one of the three coaches selected for the USA Select Team that competed in the 2004 European Spring Cup this spring.
BALANCE, BALANCE: Lost in the fact that the Bearcats had five players in double figure kills in the Oct. 5 win over Western Kentucky was the great balance with which the team accumulated attempts. With setter Noel Olson at the controls, four UC players had between 22 and 28 attempts. Though Julie DuPont had a team-high 52 attempts, the rest of the team was close as Myanna Hellsten (28), Maria Pongonis (27), Leslie Newell (24) and Rachel Torblaa (22), were all within six swing of each other.
FACING NEW FOES: For the first time in her career, junior Maria Pongonis will take the court against UAB and USF. She missed the match-ups last season, her first as a Bearcat, while battling a bout with mononucleosis. For her career, Pongonis is averaging 3.53 kills and 3.04 digs per game against Conference USA rivals.
TWO EXTREMES: UC?s senior class of Julie DuPont, Leslie Newell and Rachel Torblaa have found great success in league play during their collective careers, as their 53-7 record against Conference USA schools would indicate. This weekend, though, represents each extreme as the Bearcats are 4-0 against UAB, but just 1-4 vs. USF.
DUPONT STREAKING: With 14 kills on Tuesday at Western Kentucky, senior Julie DuPont extended her streak of consecutive matches with at least 10 kills to 25 matches. The current streak is the fifth-longest in the country, trailing Stacey Gordon (Ohio State-90), Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford-40), Leah Ratzlaff (Creighton-37), Tera Lobdell (Northern Illinois-30) and Sarah Meek (Idaho-26). DuPont is tied with Mary Hock of Winthrop at 25.
SIXES ARE WILD: The Bearcats had a rare occurrence in their win over Marquette on Oct. 1, as five members of the UC roster registered exactly six digs. Natalie Dossman, Julie DuPont, Myanna Hellsten, Noel Olson, Maria Pongonis and Rachel Torblaa all accomplished the feat, with the totals for Hellsten and Torblaa being season highs. The latter topped the total with eight at Western Kentucky on Oct. 5.
APPROACHING NO. 700: Now in its 33rd year as a varsity program at UC, the Bearcat volleyball program is closing in on 700 wins all-time. Cincinnati enters the weekend with an all-time record of 697-437-8 (.614) and with win number 700 will become only the second Conference USA school to reach the feat. Houston, with an all-time record of 762-417 (.646), is currently the only 700-club member in the league, with USF (683), Memphis (679) and Louisville (613) getting close.
C-USA COACHES SPEAK: For the third consecutive campaign, the Bearcats have been selected second in the preseason poll of Conference USA coaches. UC, after sharing the Conference USA regular season championship with Louisville, was once again chosen one spot back of the Cardinals. In addition, senior Julie DuPont, the reigning C-USA Player of the Year, was tabbed the league?s preseason player of the year.
SISTER, SISTER: Senior Leslie Newell has a unique opportunity during her final season as a collegiate player, as she and her Bearcat teammates will play contests against both of Newell?s younger sisters. UC defeated IUPUI with youngest sister Carol, a freshman, on Sept. 28 and is scheduled to play Conference USA rival Charlotte and sibling Lisa, a junior, at home on Nov. 5. Leslie Newell has bettered sister Lisa in all three of the sisters? head-to-head match-ups. UC has won each of the last two regular season match-ups between the schools, while also taking a C-USA Tournament quarterfinal win in 2002.
REMEMBERING STEPH: The Bearcats will play their 2004 season in honor of assistant coach and former UC star player Stephanie (Meinig) Rosfeld, who passed away unexpectedly during the preseason. UC will honor Stephanie?s number 10, as no player will wear the number this season, while the entire team?s uniforms will bear the initials SAR and the number 10.
NEAR MISSES: Throughout her career, Julie DuPont has shown her talent as an impact all-around player, but still has come up short of achieving the fourth triple-double in program history. DuPont?s most recent near miss came on Sept. 25 at Butler when she recorded 33 kills, 15 digs and seven blocks. Only Becky Tenkman (1996), Tobi Kirchenwitz (2000) and Bonita Wise (2000) have achieved triple doubles in school history.
HIGH RISER: Maria Pongonis has proven to be an integral part of UC?s success this season, as she ranks second on the team in kills (3.04) and third in digs (2.67). Against Washington State on Sept. 10, Pongonis recorded a new career-high with 23 kills, three more than her previous high from last season?s Marquette contest. She also recorded a new best in digs on Sept. 25 at Butler as she finished with 16. In 16 matches this season, Pongonis has led or tied for the team lead in kills four times, after accomplishing the feat just three times all of last season. Cincinnati?s success has also paralleled Pongonis? as during the team?s 10 wins, she is averaging 3.03 kills and 2.91 digs per game and hitting .170, but the numbers dip to 3.05 kills and 2.32 digs and a .038 hitting percentage in UC?s six defeats.
STRUGGLING TO HIT: During UC?s recent six-match losing streak, one of the team?s biggest problems was struggling to hit for a high percentage. During the stretch, UC hit just .144 as a team and was under .100 in the last three contests. No Bearcat player hit over .228 in the six-match stretch and the team?s top two offensive threats, Julie DuPont and Maria Pongonis, hit just .152 and .038 respectively. The sub-.100 hitting in the three contests marked the first time since Nov. 17, 2001 that UC hit under .100 in a match. That event was a Conference USA Tournament loss to DePaul that saw the Bearcats hit just .095. The Bearcats have rebounded from that slump to hit .252 in the last five matches, all wins.
DUPONT JUMPING THE C-USA CHARTS: In addition to her name being written throughout the UC record books, Julie DuPont is also starting to make waves in the Conference USA annals as well. DuPont is currently sixth in conference history in kills with 1,838. Next on the list for DuPont to catch is former UC star and school record holder Becky Tenkman who closed her career with 1,843 kills. Former USF star Michelle Collier, the only player in C-USA history to be named All-American besides DuPont, is the all-time record holder with 2,729.
TORBLAA CLIMBING THE CHARTS: While she has proven to be a solid and valuable offensive player during her career, senior Rachel Torblaa has made her name at the net with her strong blocking ability. With two block assists at Western Kentucky on Tuesday, Torblaa moved closer to third in school history with 371. Torblaa is now chasing Becky Tenkman (393) and Bontia Wise (431). Former UC assistant coach Stephanie Meinig is the program?s all-time leader with 518 block assists. Torblaa also ranks in UC annals in both blocks per game (seventh-1.29) and total blocks (seventh-426).
HOME SWEET HOME: The Bearcats? win over IUPUI on Sept. 28 allowed UC to stretch its consecutive home match winning streak, as they have now won 19 in a row, dating back to 2002. The new streak, which became a record in the Sept. 7 win over Miami (Ohio), is two better than the previous best of 17 straight home wins, established from a Sept. 7, 1999 win over Dayton to an Oct. 18, 2000 defeat to Louisville. Since the opening of Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, the Bearcats have been nothing short of dominant on their home floor. In the 14 years the building has been in existence, the Bearcats have posted a 119-50 (.704) record at home, with exactly half of those losses coming in a three-year span from 1991-93. UC has now won eight straight home Conference USA matches and 16 in a row in home non-conference action.
FINALLY ON THE CHARTS: By playing in their 150th career game in UC?s Sept. 18 match against Wisconsin, sophomores Myanna Hellsten and Noel Olson are now eligible for inclusion on the school?s career charts. Junior Maria Pongonis became the third Bearcat to reach 150th games this season at Western Kentucky on Oct. 5. Already, Hellsten is listed in two categories, ranking sixth in blocks per game (1.29) and 10th in hitting percentage (.269). Olson ranks 10th in assists per game with 4.13, while also being shown ninth with 702 career assists. Pongonis broke onto the charts in kills per game, ranking seventh with 3.29 per game.
OLSON NOW IN CHARGE: After starting the season in a two-setter alignment, sophomore Noel Olson has stepped to the forefront as the team?s primary setter. Twice this season, Olson has registered new career-highs in assists, including a best of 59 against Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 11. She also dished out 50 assists in just three games in UC?s win over DePaul on Oct. 2. Olson ranks ninth in Conference USA averaging 11.16 assists per game.
DUPONT FEATURED: Senior Julie DuPont?s academic and athletic excellence are chronicled in the latest edition of Volleyball Magazine. A one-page story, with full color photos appears in the October 2004 issue of the magazine. The periodical?s college preview also lists DuPont as one of the top 20 players in the country to watch this season.
SUNAHARA REACHES THE TOP: Cincinnati head coach Reed Sunahara became the program?s all-time winningest coach in the Bearcats? Sept. 10 win over Washington State. Sunahara now has 107 wins in his Cincinnati career, topping Mike Lingenfelter?s previous. Lingenfelter recorded 101 wins in his five-year career, which covered 1986-87 and 1993-95. Sunahara, now in his fifth year as the Bearcats? mentor, is 126-79 (.615) in his coaching career, with an even more impressive 107-39 (.733) mark at UC.
DUPONT JOINS ELITE CLUB: As she has so many times during her career, Julie DuPont made history in the Sept. 4 match against Kent State. Against the Golden Flashes, DuPont became just the fifth UC player ever with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. DuPont, with 1,838 kills and 1,144 digs, joins an exclusive club that includes Sonja Jackson (1,443 kills; 1,135 digs), Dani Peterson (1,040 kills; 1,132 digs), Becky Tenkman (1,843 kills; 1,303 digs) and Trish Ladusaw (1,465 kills; 2,074 digs).
BEARCATS IN C-USA: In the eight years of Conference USA play, the Bearcats have gone 108-26 for an .806 winning percentage, ranking second in both, trailing only Louisville. The Bearcats have now won 72 of their last 85 matches against C-USA opponents. Five of the 13 losses have been to Louisville, while four have come against USF. The marks exclude C-USA Tournament play.
DUPONT WINS C-USA AWARD: For the sixth time in her career, senior Julie DuPont was honored on Sept. 7 as the Conference USA Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Saint Louis? Aida Antanaviciute. In earning MVP honors at the Bearcat Invitational, DuPont averaged 5.22 kills and 3.89 digs per game, while hitting .370. DuPont now shares the top spot with former USF players Paula Araujo and Michelle Collier and Saint Louis? Colleen Hunter in number of career Player of the Week awards.
BEARCATS WITH THE ACE: Over the past few seasons, the Bearcats have not been considered one of Conference USA?s top serving teams. Last season, they ranked eighth in the league in aces, but are up to sixth in the latest C-USA rankings. Much of the damage was done in the Sept. 10 match against Washington State, as the Bearcats established a school record for a four-game match with 17 aces, one better than a 1993 effort against Evansville. Senior Rachel Torblaa led the charge against the Cougars, with a career-high six aces. Maria Pongonis is the current leader in aces with 24, six better than Torblaa and Jenny Custer?s season totals. UC has had at least five aces in 11 of 16 matches this season, after reaching five in 21 of 33 matches last year.
MORE OUTSTANDING FRESHMEN: Head Coach Reed Sunahara and his staff have once again assembled another outstanding freshmen class that appears poised to continue the tradition of outstanding freshmen at UC. During the nine years of Conference USA Volleyball, the Bearcats have featured five freshman or co-freshman of the year in the league. Myanna Hellsten continued the run last year, capturing league and region freshman of the year honors, giving UC four recipients of the C-USA award in the last five years. This year?s crop includes promising newcomers Jenny Custer, Natalie Dossman, Erin Maldo, Hannah May and Jessie Nevitt. This season, both Custer and Dossman have moved into key roles in the Bearcat line-up. Custer has played both hitter and setter, averaging 0.54 kills, 1.31 digs and 1.91 assists per game. She is also tied for second on the team with 18 service aces. Dossman has registered double digit digs in 12 matches this season as the starting libero, averaging 3.60 digs per game including a career-high 18 against Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 11. Maldo has seen limited action, averaging 0.75 kills and 0.25 digs per game, while May made her collegiate debut in game three of the Sept. 28 win over IUPUI.
TIME CHANGE: The start time for UC?s home match on Nov. 6 vs. East Carolina has been changed to 7:30 p.m.