TicketsOct. 8, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati is back in BIG EAST volleyball action this weekend when it travels to South Orange, N.J., for the program's first-ever meeting with Seton Hall on Sunday, Oct. 9. The Bearcats (10-6, 3-1 BIG EAST) find themselves in a five-way tie for third in the BIG EAST standings and are coming off a huge win over previously 18-1 Western Kentucky on Wednesday night. UC will be looking to stay in the thick of the conference championship race after falling in its most recent BIG EAST contest last Sunday at Villanova. Seton Hall is 7-9 overall and 1-3 in league play, having dropped three straight league matches. Action from Walsh Gymnasium will get underway at 2 p.m.
NOTES FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY:
- UC put all five of its primary hitters into double figure kills for the fourth time this season. Jenny Custer led the way with a career-high 19, while Jessie Nevitt (18) and Myanna Hellsten (14) each matched their career-bests. Maria Pongonis and Erin Maldo joined their teammates with 14 and 10, respectively.
- The Bearcats played the part of spoiler for the third consecutive year, as they again snapped a lengthy WKU winning streak. The Hilltoppers entered this season's match having won 14 in a row, after entering the previous two season's matches with eight and nine-match winning streaks.
- Melissa Zenz's 18 digs improved her streak of at least 10 digs to 16 consecutive matches, which spans the freshman's entire collegiate career.
- Hellsten's eight blocks matched her season-best which she also registered against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
- The Bearcats stretched their winning streak against WKU to three in a row after falling on the road in 2002.
ABOUT SETON HALL: The Pirates are in the midst of a three-match losing streak after opening their BIG EAST calendar with a sweep of DePaul on Sept. 24. With losses to Notre Dame, St. John's and Connecticut, Seton Hall is now 7-9 overall and 1-3 in league play to stand tied for 12th in the BIG EAST race. The Pirates' offense is paced by Jessica King, who leads the team with 3.46 kills per game and a .283 hitting percentage. Cincinnati native Tricia Meyers tacks on 2.72 kills per game for SHU. Defensively, libero Jessica Pompei is tops on the squad with 4.26 digs per game, while Amber Davis leads the way with 1.20 blocks per game. Seton Hall was picked to finish 13th in a preseason poll of the BIG EAST coaches.
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 mark represented the fourth-highest single match performance in program history. Annisa Blosser holds the record after a .793 outing in 1994.
BALANCE, BALANCE: Balance has become the name of the game for the Bearcat offense as of late as they have put all five hitters into double figure kills in three of the last five matches and four times totals this year. In all three of the contests, Jenny Custer, Myanna Hellsten, Erin Maldo, Jessie Nevitt and Maria Pongonis have all reached double digits, with Pongonis (twice), Custer and Nevitt (once each) all taking a turn as team-high honoree. In the four matches, UC is averaging 17.29 kills per game and hitting .272, while setter Noel Olson is averaging 14.12 assists per game. UC almost recorded the feat 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 3.33 kills, 2.05 digs and 0.83 blocks per game, while hitting .279 and 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 in UC's win over Western Kentucky on Oct. 5, recording a career-high 19 kills and hitting .484.
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 5.13 digs per game to rank second in the BIG EAST, and has 20-plus digs in seven of this year's 16 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 2005 season and she 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 1.41 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in nine of 16 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 3.67 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 13 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.
CONFERENCE KILLERS: Since the beginning of BIG EAST play, the Bearcats' offensive numbers have taken a vast jump up from the performance during the non-conference slate. A comparison of UC's conference vs. non-conference statistics:
Stat BIG EAST play Non-conference play
K/G 16.40 14.90
A/G 15.07 13.10
Hit % .254 .231
UC also has several players among the BIG EAST leaders in the conference-only stats. A summary of those players' performances follows:
- Noel Olson leads the conference in assists per game with 13.93.
- Jessie Nevitt is third in hitting percentage (.404).
- Melissa Zenz is fifth in digs per game with 4.47.
MORE SCORING RECORDS: For the second time this season, UC reached a team scoring milestone, tying the previous mark for points in a four-game match in the Oct. 5 contest vs. Western Kentucky. Against the Hilltoppers, the Bearcats recorded a total of 128 points, matching the mark achieved on Sept. 29, 2001 vs. TCU. The mark was aided by a 38-36 UC win, along with a 32-30 loss.
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 132-52 (.717) record at home and are 67-6 (.918) 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 winning 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 seven in a row at home dating back to last season.
AT THE CONTROLS: Junior Noel Olson has been solid in her second year as the Bearcats setter, ranking third in the BIG EAST with 12.43 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 7.85 assists per game in two-plus seasons of action and has registered 2,316 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.
WINNING TRADITION: Cincinnati entered this season hoping to stretch its streak of 20-win seasons to 11 and achieve the feat for the sixth time under head coach Reed Sunahara. By virtue of the Bearcats' win over Western Kentucky on Oct. 5, UC earned its 10th win of the year, stretching that streak to 14 consecutive seasons.