TicketsOct. 13, 2005
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will step into the national spotlight when it hosts No. 6 Louisville this Sunday (Oct. 16) at 12:30 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPNU, the new college sports branch of ESPN. The Bearcats come into the contest having won three in a row to improve to 12-6 overall. UC's 4-1 BIG EAST slate leaves the squad in fifth place in the league standings, but just one game out of first. Louisville has been one of the nation's best teams this year, having won its first 17 matches in a row, including five straight in BIG EAST play.
NOTES FROM MOREHEAD STATE:
- The Bearcats finished the match with a season-high 14 service aces, including four by Maria Pongonis. The total was the most by UC since recording 17 on Sept. 10, 2004 vs. Washington State.
- UC limited the Eagles to -.044 hitting, the lowest performance by a Bearcat opponent this season. Cincinnati had previously held Texas-Pan American to -.017 hitting in the first match of the season.
- Myanna Hellsten jumped from eighth to sixth on UC's career block assists chart with four vs. MSU. With 335 for her career, Hellsten sits just 29 behind former teammate Julie DuPont for fifth on the list.
ABOUT LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals have roared to a 17-0 start and a No. 6 ranking in the country after opening the year No. 14 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll. Louisville is one of only five undefeated teams in the nation and is tied with Notre Dame for first place in the BIG EAST standings. Senior Lena Ustymenko was a first team All-Conference USA selection last year and leads the U of L attack with 5.10 kills per game. Classmate Jennifer Hoffman is also outstanding, leading the team in hitting (.470) and blocks per game (1.46), while adding 2.71 kills per game. Ustymenko also leads the team in digs with 2.86 digs per game.
A LASTING MEMORY: Louisville's last trip to Cincinnati will no doubt be in the mids of both teams on Sunday as the Cardinals will be seeking redemption for a three-game UC sweep on Oct. 10, 2003. Louisville entered that contest ranked No. 17 nationally, only to lose in three straight to the Bearcats. With the victory, UC went on to receive its first ever national-ranking of 25th in the next AVCA poll.
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 six matches and four times total 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.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE: After twice breaking school records for most points scored earlier this season, Cincinnati established a new defensive mark in its Oct. 12 win over Morehead State by allowing the Eagles just 46 points in three games. The total matched the effort of a Sept. 14, 2002 win over Austin Peay that set the mark for fewest points allowed in a three-game match since the inception of rally scoring. The -.044 hitting by Morehead also marked the second time this year UC had held an opponent under zero hitting (-.017 vs. Texas-Pan American, Sept. 2).
NEVITT WINS BIG EAST ROOKIE AWARD FOR THIRD TIME: For the third time this season, Jessie Nevitt has been named the BIG EAST Conference Volleyball Rookie of the Week. Nevitt picked up the award after helping UC to an upset win over Western Kentucky and a conference win at Seton Hall. For the week, Nevitt averaged 3.50 kills and 0.88 blocks and hit .418. In the win over previously 18-1 Western Kentucky, Nevitt tied her career-high with 18 kills, while hitting .516. She added 10 kills with four blocks in UC's Sunday win at Seton Hall.
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 16.05 14.82
A/G 14.79 13.04
Hit % .231 .235
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 13.74.
- Jessie Nevitt is fourth in hitting percentage (.383). Nevitt also ranks 10th with 0.37 service aces per game.
- Melissa Zenz is fifth in digs per game with 4.63.
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 3.40 kills, 2.00 digs and 0.86 blocks per game, while hitting .284 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.
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.
THE NEXT QUEEN?: While she is still nearly 1,600 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 5.10 digs per game to rank third in the BIG EAST, and has 20-plus digs in eight of this year's 18 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 eight 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 fourth in the BIG EAST with 1.39 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in nine of 18 contests.
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.
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 3.60 kills per game. Pongonis has reached double figure kills in all but two matches 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 3.44 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.
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.
AT THE CONTROLS: Junior Noel Olson has been solid in her second year as the Bearcats' setter, ranking third in the BIG EAST with 12.44 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 7.96 assists per game in two-plus seasons of action and has registered 2,404 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 300 behind Beth Herman's (1993-96) 2,638.