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Bearcats Pause From Road Swing To Host WKU

Bearcats Pause From Road Swing To Host WKUBearcats Pause From Road Swing To Host WKU

Oct. 4, 2005

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati faces a stiff challenge on its home floor when it returns to volleyball action on Wednesday night, taking on Western Kentucky. The Bearcats, in the midst of five of six matches on the road, are 9-6 on the year after splitting a pair of BIG EAST contests over the weekend at Rutgers and Villanova. UC stands 3-1 in league play and is part of a five-team tie for third place in the BIG EAST. Western Kentucky has been the class of the Sun Belt Conference in 2005, with an 18-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in league play. The meeting marks the ninth consecutive year the teams have met on the volleyball court.

NOTES FROM RUTGERS/VILLANOVA:

  • For the third time this season, UC put all five of its hitters in double figure kills in the win over Rutgers. The list included Maria Pongonis (19), Jessie Nevitt (18), Jenny Custer (13), Myanna Hellsten (11) and Erin Maldo (11).
  • By hitting .564 in UC's win over Rutgers, Nevitt recorded the fourth-highest single match hitting performance ever by a UC player.
  • Noel Olson's 63 assists vs. Rutgers were a season-high and just three off her career-best.
  • With 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Villanova, Pongonis recorded her 12th double-double in 15 matches this season after totaling 11 all of last year.
  • Pongonis who entered the weekend with just 10 solo blocks in her career, had three in the win at Rutgers.
  • With 12 digs at Rutgers and 19 at Villanova, Melissa Zenz now has double-figure digs in all 15 matches of her collegiate career.

ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY: The Lady Hilltoppers enter the week red hot, having won 14 straight matches and 39 consecutive games to improve to 18-1 on the year, which is the best start in program history for WKU. Western Kentucky, picked to win the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference in the preseason, received votes in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches poll for the first time in this week's rankings. Megan Argabright has been a star at middle hitter for the Toppers this season, leading the team in kills (3.58), hitting (.416) and blocks (1.12) as a true freshman. Jessie Wagner adds 3.40 kills per game, while Crystal Towler, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, adds 2.78. Libero Ashley Deignan leads the squad with 3.55 digs per game. Western Kentucky will be seeking revenge after losing to the Bearcats two years in a row, including a hard fought four-game match in Bowling Green, Ky. last season.

NEVITT NAMED TO BIG EAST HONOR ROLL: After two straight weeks being named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, redshirt freshman Jessie Nevitt earned a spot on this week's BIG EAST Honor Roll. The list includes five top conference performers other than the Player of the Week that excelled. In three matches during the week, Nevitt led UC to a 2-1 record by averaging 3.58 kills and 1.25 blocks per game, while hitting .420. Nevitt is the first Bearcat to be named to the honor roll this season.

HOT HITTING: Jessie Nevitt contributed to UC's hot hitting in the Oct. 1 win over Rutgers with one of the top performances in program history. For the match, Nevitt hit .564, recording 18 kills with just one error on 26 swings. The .564 mark represented the fourth-highest single match mark in program history. Annisa Blosser holds the record after a .793 performance in 1994.

BALANCE, BALANCE: Three times this season, the Bearcats have put all five of their primary hitters into double figure kills in the same match, with the most recent outburst coming in the Oct. 1 win over Rutgers. In all three of the contests, Jenny Custer, Myanna Hellsten, Erin Maldo, Jessie Nevitt and Maria Pongonis have all reached double digits, with Nevitt and Pongonis (two) each taking a turn as team-high honoree. In the three matches, UC is averaging 16.54 kills per game and hitting .255, while setter Noel Olson is averaging 13.92 assists per game. UC almost registered the feat again on Sept. 27 vs. IUPUI, but came up just short when Maldo finished with nine kills.

MOST IMPROVED: Sophomore right-side hitter Jenny Custer has been the team's most improved player thus far after a stellar start to her second collegiate season. This season, Custer is averaging 3.24 kills, 2.03 digs and 0.85 blocks per game, while tallying the first six double-doubles of her career. Custer was at her best during the State Farm Bearcat Invitational presented by the Vernon Manor Hotel as she earned MVP honors. She turned in one of her most brilliant performances against St. John's in UC's BIG EAST opener, racking up 17 kills on .406 hitting and adding 12 digs.

THE NEXT QUEEN?: While she is still nearly 1,700 digs away from the school record, freshman libero Melissa Zenz may be the next UC player to challenge the program's "Queen of Digs," Trish Ladusaw. This season, Zenz has averaged 5.17 digs per game to rank second in the BIG EAST, and has 20-plus digs in seven of this year's 15 matches, including a career-high 29 twice. In recording 28 digs vs. Tulsa and 26 vs. New Mexico State, Zenz became the first Bearcat since Ladusaw in 2002 to total over 20 digs in two consecutive matches. Her seven 20-plus dig efforts are the most by a Bearcat since Ladusaw had nine in 2002.

STRONG AT THE NET: Redshirt freshman Jessie Nevitt has proven to be a force at the net during the early stages of 2005 and has twice written her name into the UC record books. On Sept. 3 vs. New Mexico State, Nevitt set a new mark with 11 block assists in a four-game match. Her 11 total blocks also matched the mark held by current Bearcat Myanna Hellsten and former UC standout Rachel Torblaa. Nevitt went one step better in UC's Sept. 20 contest at Marshall as she recorded 13 total blocks, setting a record for most in a five-game contest and most ever by a UC player. For the season, Nevitt is third in the BIG EAST with 1.46 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in nine of 15 contests.

NEW LEADER: With the graduation of four-year mainstays Julie DuPont, Leslie Newell and Rachel Torblaa, Maria Pongonis has stepped forward as a team leader for the 2005 season. The only senior on the Bearcat roster, Pongonis leads the squad with 3.68 kills per game. Pongonis has reached double figure kills in all but one match this season, including a season-high 19 against Texas-Pan American, Tulsa and Rutgers and has also added 12 double-doubles. Pongonis has shown her defensive prowess by twice recording a career-best 23 digs, including in UC's BIG EAST triumph over Connecticut. She ranks second on the squad with 3.56 digs per game.

SCORING RECORD: The Bearcats' Sept. 15 match with Jacksonville State provided a memorable moment as UC recorded a 44-42 game two win over the Gamecocks. Since the inception of rally scoring in 2001, the 44 points scored by the Bearcats was the most a UC team had ever scored. UC's 104 total points in the match was also a school record for a three-game contest. Both of the previous highs (39 points in one game and 99 points for the match), occurred in UC's win over Wright State on Sept. 14, 2002.

AT THE CONTROLS: Junior Noel Olson has been solid in her second year as the Bearcats setter, ranking third in the BIG EAST with 12.27 assists per game. Earlier this year, Olson climbed to sixth on UC's career assists per game chart and moved into seventh on the total assists list, passing Carrie Smith on both. Olson is averaging 7.76 assists per game in two-plus season of action and has registered 2,257 assists to become just the seventh player in school history with 2,000 assists. Olson will next challenge for sixth on the assists chart, as her total is less than 400 behind Beth Herman's (1993-96) 2,638.

HOME COURT HEROICS: Cincinnati has enjoyed a strong home court advantage since the opening of Fifth Third Arena in 1989. In the 16 years the building has been in existence, the Bearcats have posted a 131-52 (.716) record at home and are 66-6 (.917) over the past seven years. A handful of those contests have also taken place outside the Arena at both the former Laurence Hall and, more recently, at St. Ursula Academy. During the program's time in Fifth Third, it has enjoyed two lengthy win streaks, including a school-record 23 match string that ended last season. At the time the streak was snapped, it represented the third-longest active streak in the nation. UC has currently won six in a row at home dating back to last season.

TOURNAMENT HONORS: A total of four Bearcats have earned all-tournament honors as UC competed in three tournaments to open the 2005 season. A look at the award winners and their performances:

  • Maria Pongonis (Las Cruces Hilton Classic)-4.82 kills and 3.00 digs per game; 19 kills against both Texas Pan-American and Tulsa.
  • Melissa Zenz (Waikiki Beach Marriott Challenge)-6.17 digs per game; three 20-plus dig performances, including career-high 29 vs. Cal State Northridge.
  • Jenny Custer (State Farm Bearcat Invitational MVP)-4.00 kills, 1.91 digs, 0.64 blocks per game, .441 hitting percentage; hit .500 twice with 17 kills and 11 digs vs. Jacksonville State.
  • Jessie Nevitt (State Farm Bearcat Invitational)-2.82 kills, 1.36 blocks, 0.64 digs per game, .351 hitting percentage; 10 kills, eight blocks, .500 hitting vs. Jacksonville State.
  • Pongonis (State Farm Bearcat Invitational)-3.36 kills, 4.09 digs, 0.73 blocks per game; 17 kills, 22 digs vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee.