TicketsBearcats Hit Road For C-USA Play
UC faces Southern Miss, Tulane this weekend
Contact: Shawn Sell
10/27/2004
Noel Olson is fifth in Conference USA in assists per game this week. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball will put its 16-8 record on the line when they take to the road this weekend for Conference USA clashes at Southern Miss and Tulane. The Bearcats, with a 6-2 C-USA record, will visit the Golden Eagles (5-16, 0-7 C-USA) on Friday (Oct. 29) at 7 p.m. CT, before paying a visit to Tulane (13-5, 4-3 C-USA) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.
NOTES FROM MEMPHIS/SAINT LOUIS:
? The Bearcats had their 23-match home win streak, the third-longest active streak in the nation, snapped with Sunday?s loss to Saint Louis. The loss also marked the first time Saint Louis had ever won in Cincinnati.
? Rachel Torblaa moved from fourth to third on the school?s career block assists chart with 404. Julie DuPont jumped from ninth to fifth on the same list with 336.
? Maria Pongonis registered a new career-high with 18 digs vs. Saint Louis.
? Torblaa matched her career-high with 20 kills against Memphis. She last reached 20 in 2003 vs. Eastern Kentucky.
? Noel Olson reached a new career-high in assists, when she passed out 62 in Friday?s win over Memphis. She also topped the 1,000 career assist plateau in the Saint Louis match.
? DuPont extended her streak with at least 10 kills to 33 straight, the sixth-longest such streak in the nation.
? Jenny Custer?s four service aces against Memphis were a career-high for the true freshman.
? UC?s win over Memphis was its 11th straight vs. the Tigers and upped the Bearcats? record to 14-2 at home against the team.
ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS: After finishing 27-6 and earning the No. 3 seed in last year?s Conference USA Tournament, Southern Miss has struggled this year, entering weekend play 5-16 overall and 0-7 in league play. The Golden Eagles are in the midst of a five-match losing streak and have dropped seven of their last eight. USM is averaging just 12.37 kills per game, the second lowest total in C-USA, while hitting .143. Leslie Vanduinen leads the team with 2.94 kills per game, with Jazzmien Stephens right behind at 2.58. Stephens also adds a team-best 1.16 blocks per game, while Amanda Blunck paces the squad with 3.61 digs per game. The Bearcats have won the last six meetings between the schools and 16 of the last 17.
ABOUT TULANE: The Green Wave are 13-5 this season and 4-3 in Conference USA despite the injuries to the squad?s top two setters. Anastasia Kenon leads the Tulane offensive attack with 4.09 kills per game, while also adding 3.09 digs. The Green Wave also feature Deva Fowler, a preseason all-conference choice. Fowler adds 3.71 kills and a team-best 1.40 blocks per game. Kelli Dickson is the team?s leader in digs at 4.23 per game, but has moved into the starting setter slot after injuries to Katie Case and Brittany Esser. UC has topped Tulane in 10 consecutive meetings and haven?t lost in New Orleans since 1995.
COMING ON STRONG: Rachel Torblaa has given the Bearcats another viable offensive weapon this season and through the last 12 matches, she has been nothing short of outstanding. For the stretch, Torblaa is averaging 3.36 kills per game, while hitting .371. Against Memphis on Oct. 22, Torblaa matched her career-high with 20 kills, while hitting .359 for the match. In the 12-match stretch, the senior middle blocker has reached double-figure kills 11 times including the last seven matches in a row.
IMPACT PLAYER: During the last 11 matches, the Bearcats have gotten a dramatic increase in production from senior right side hitter Leslie Newell. Since UC?s win over Butler on Sept. 25, Newell has averaged 2.73 kills and 0.89 blocks per game, while hitting .400, helping the Bearcats win 11 of the 13 matches. Included during the span was a season-high 18 kill performance by Newell at TCU on Oct. 16. The hot hitting has moved Newell into third in hitting percentage in the current C-USA rankings at .350.
COACHING CONNECTION: Friday?s match-up between UC and Southern Miss marks a match-up of two long time friends in UC head coach Reed Sunahara and Southern Miss mentor Ricci Luyties. Sunahara and Luyties and played two years together in college at UCLA.
ACADEMICS STARS: A number of players on the Bearcats? roster are receiving attention not only for their athletic ability, but also their stellar work in the classroom. On Oct. 27, sophomore Myanna Hellsten joined current teammates Julie DuPont and Rachel Torblaa as member?s of UC?s prestigious Legion of Excellence. Each fall, the legion honors one student-athlete from each of Cincinnati?s teams that holds the highest cumulative GPA on the team. In addition, all three of the players have been nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-District team which will be unveiled on Nov. 11.
SENIOR DOMINANCE: UC?s senior class of Julie DuPont, Leslie Newell and Rachel Torblaa have found great success in league play during their careers, as they hold a collective 57-8 record against Conference USA schools. Since Newell is a fifth-year senior, the mark dates back to the 2000 season, Newell?s freshman year.
NEWELL COMES UP BIG: History repeated itself on the Oct. 15-16 trip to Texas as senior Leslie Newell continued her outstanding play against Houston and TCU. Newell entered the weekend averaging a combined 3.38 kills and 1.31 blocks per game, while hitting .305 against the two Texas schools. She didn?t do much to hurt those numbers as she tallied 10 kills and five blocks on .316 hitting against Houston and followed that up with a season-high 18 kills on .400 hitting vs. TCU.
TAKE A BREAK: With the Bearcats in firm control of their match on Oct. 12 against Morehead State, head coach Reed Sunahara took the opportunity to rest some of his regular players, while allowing younger players to gain playing experience. Lindsey Garrison made the most of the opportunity, as she filled the libero slot in game three in place of Natalie Dossman. Last season?s third team all-conference performer had a dazzling performance, registering 11 digs in just one game. Jenny Custer, Erin Maldo and Hannah May also saw extended time for the Bearcats during the frame.
DUPONT STREAKING: With 25 kills on Sunday vs. Saint Louis, senior Julie DuPont extended her streak of consecutive matches with at least 10 kills to 33. The current streak is the sixth-longest in the country, trailing Stacey Gordon (Ohio State-96), Ogonna Nnamani (Stanford-48), Leah Ratzlaff (Creighton-43), Tera Lobdell (Northern Illinois-37) and Erin Heffner (Alabama-35). DuPont is one ahead of Sarah Meek of Idaho and two better than Winthrop?s Mary Hock.
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.
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.
DUPONT TOPS KILLS CHART: During her career, senior Julie DuPont has made her mark as one of the top players in program history. Now, she can claim yet another milestone in her long list of accomplishments. During game one of UC?s win over UAB on Oct. 8, DuPont became the program?s career leader in kills, passing Becky Tenkman?s mark of 1,843 established from 1995-98. DuPont, who is also tops in school history in kills per game (4.70), has 1,996 kills during her career. She also ranks in the UC annals in attempts (first), digs (fourth), block assists (fifth), digs per game (seventh) and total blocks (ninth). DuPont is also on the verge of cracking the top-10 in service aces and games played.
WIN NO. 700: Now in its 33rd year as a varsity program at UC, the Bearcat volleyball program has reached 700 wins all-time. The Bearcats got the milestone victory in an Oct. 12 win over Morehead State. UC enters the week with an all-time record of 703-439-8 (.615) and with win number 700 became only the second Conference USA school to reach the feat. Houston, with an all-time record of 764-421 (.645), is currently the only other 700-club member in the league, with USF (685), Memphis (683) and Louisville (619) getting close.
TIME CHANGE: The start time for UC?s home match on Nov. 6 vs. East Carolina has been changed to 7:30 p.m.
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 Oct. 24 vs. Saint Louis when she recorded 25 kills, 17 digs and seven blocks. Only Becky Tenkman (1996), Tobi Kirchenwitz (2000) and Bonita Wise (2000) have achieved triple doubles in school history.
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.
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. UC showed its balance again on Oct. 9 vs. USF as all five hitters took between 13 and 26 swings. DuPont was again the leader with 26 attempts, with Torblaa (21) and Pongonis (20) right behind. Newell (16) and Hellsten (13) also got in the act.
SISTER, SISTER: Senior Leslie Newell has a unique opportunity during her final season as a collegiate player, as the Bearcats will play contests against both of her 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.
DUPONT JUMPING THE C-USA CHARTS: In addition to her name being written throughout the UC record books, Julie DuPont is making waves in the Conference USA annals as well. DuPont is currently fourth in conference history in kills with 1,996 after overtaking both Becky Tenkman (UC) and Sonja Percan (Louisville) in the Bearcats? Oct. 8 win over UAB. Next on the list for DuPont to catch is former DePaul star Stephanie Bishop with 2,052 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.
HOME SWEET HOME: After a school-record 23 straight home wins which dated back to the 2001 season, the Bearcats had their home winning streak snapped on Sunday by Saint Louis. The streak, which became a record in the Sept. 7 win over Miami (Ohio), tops 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 123-51 (.707) record at home, with 25 of those losses coming in a three-year span from 1991-93. A handful of those contests have also taken place outside Fifth Third Arena at both the former Laurence Hall and more recently, at St. Ursula Academy. At the time the streak was snapped, it represented the third-longest active streak in the nation.
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. The squad has nearly pulled the feat on four other occasions, with the most recent coming in the Oct. 24 match against Saint Louis. Against the Billikens, DuPont led the way with 25 and was trailed closely by Pongonis (15), Newell (14) and Torblaa (12). Hellsten just missed double figures, finishing with eight.
BEARCATS IN C-USA: In the eight-plus years of Conference USA play, the Bearcats have gone 112-28 for an .800 winning percentage, ranking second in both, trailing only Louisville. The Bearcats have now won 76 of their last 91 matches against C-USA opponents. Five of the 15 losses have been to Louisville, while four have come against USF. The marks exclude C-USA Tournament play.
DEFENSIVELY SOUND: While she has struggled at times offensively this season, junior Maria Pongonis has proven to be one of the Bearcats? most valuable defensive players this season. Twice this season, Pongonis has established a new career-best in digs, with the newest mark of 18 coming on Oct. 24 against Saint Louis. Pongonis ranks third on the team in digs per game (2.67) and has reached double figures 12 times this season. She also has seven double-doubles this season and 18 for her career. Offensively, Pongonis set a career-best in kills on Sept. 10 when she burned Washington State for 23. Her 2.81 kills per game averaged ranks third on the team entering the week.
BACK ON TRACK: After struggling to hit during a six-match losing streak earlier this season, the Bearcats rebounded during the recent nine-match winning streak with some outstanding hitting. UC hit .287 in the nine matches, after hitting just .144 in the previous six. The .287 mark includes a season-best effort of .420 in an Oct. 9 win over USF and a .417 performance vs. Morehead State on Oct. 12. During the losing streak, UC hit under .100 in the last three contests, while no Bearcat player hit over .228. The team?s top two offensive threats, Julie DuPont and Maria Pongonis, hit just .152 and .038 respectively in the six matches. 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.
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 12 block assists last weekend, Torblaa moved into third in school history with 404, passing Becky Tenkman (393). Torblaa is now just 27 block assists behind former teammate Bontia Wise (431) for second. 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-1.26) and total blocks (seventh-448). In the Conference USA career rankings, Torblaa is listed in 11th in total blocks.
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. Three times this season, Olson has registered new career-highs in assists, including a best of 62 against Memphis on Oct. 22. She also dished out 50-plus assists in just three games in UC?s win over DePaul on Oct. 2 and again in an Oct. 9 triumph over USF. Olson ranks fifth in Conference USA averaging 11.90 assists per game.
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 1,996 kills and 1,242 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).
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 150 games this season at Western Kentucky on Oct. 5. Already, Hellsten is listed in two categories, tied for fifth in blocks per game (1.29) and listed ninth in hitting percentage (.276). Olson ranks ninth in assists per game with 5.53, while also being shown eighth with 1,111 career assists. Pongonis broke onto the charts in kills per game, listed ninth with 3.15 per game.
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 113 wins in his Cincinnati career, topping Mike Lingenfelter?s previous mark. 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 132-81 (.620) in his coaching career, with an even more impressive 113-41 (.734) mark at UC.
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.