TicketsOct. 18, 2005
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati, winners of seven of its last nine contests, continue a four-match homestand tonight (Oct. 18), hosting in-state rival Wright State at 7:30 p.m. The Bearcats, 12-7 overall and 4-2 in BIG EAST play, are coming off a hard fought four-match defeat to No. 6 Louisville on Sunday. The WSU contest is a tune-up for the Bearcats for this weekend's BIG EAST tilts against West Virginia and Pittsburgh. UC will also be looking to extend its winning streak against the Raiders to seven.
NOTES FROM LOUISVILLE:
- Jessie Nevitt recorded a career-high when she paced the Bearcats with 19 kills. She also hit a team-best .455 for the contest.
- The match was played before a season-high home crowd of 551. The mark topped the previous best of 361 vs. Western Kentucky on Oct. 5 and was the highest for a home match since Nov. 5, 2004 when 605 attended the UC-Charlotte match-up.
- Maria Pongonis recorded her team-best 15th double-double of the season and the 37th of her career. Jenny Custer tallied her seventh career double-double.
- Melissa Zenz ran her streak of matches with at least 10 digs to 19. Her 20 digs vs. the Cardinals also put her at 20+ for the ninth time this year.
- Zenz's dig total gives her 377 for the year, leaving her just 39 short of qualifying for 10th place on UC's single season digs chart.
- The 29 kills recorded by U of L's Lena Ustymenko were the most the Bearcats had surrendered to a single player since Saint Louis' Aida Antanaviciute had 32 on Oct. 24, 2004.
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders come to Cincinnati with a 6-12 record after splitting weekend contests at Butler (win) and IPFW (loss). Sarah Poling, who ranked seventh in the Horizon League in kills last season, paces the Raiders with 3.57 per game this year in just 49 games, while adding 3.92 digs per game. Tara Geegan, Alisha Kimbro and Jenny Schultz each add over two kills a game for WSU. On defense, libero Taylor Gerlach is the leader, ranking second in the Horizon with 4.53 digs per game. Lisa Griffith paces Wright State at the net with 1.05 blocks per game.
WELCOME BACK: Tonight's contest will feature a return to Cincinnati for former Bearcat assistant coach Josh Steinbach. Now in his first season as an assistant to WSU head coach Trina Smith, Steinbach served on Reed Sunahara's staff in 2003-04.
BALANCE, BALANCE: Balance has become the name of the game for the Bearcat offense in 2005 as they have put all five hitters into double figure kills four times this year. In all four 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) taking turns 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.
IN-STATE SUCCESS: Since Reed Sunahara took over as head coach in 2000, UC has enjoyed great success against in-state rivals, holding a record of 15-5 (.750). Ohio State has been the Bearcats' biggest nemesis, winning all three contests. UC has been at its best against Dayton, winning all five meetings with the Flyers under Sunahara. A look at UC vs. the state of Ohio with Sunahara as head coach: Bowling Green (0-1), Dayton (5-0), Kent State (1-0), Miami (3-0), Ohio (0-1), Ohio State (0-3), Wright State (3-0), Xavier (3-0).
NEVITT HONORED BY BIG EAST AGAIN: Jessie Nevitt's season of accolades continued on Monday when she was named to the BIG EAST's Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season. In addition to the two honor roll mentions, Nevitt is also a three-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week. Her most recent recognition came after averaging 3.86 kills and 1.00 blocks per game and hitting .511 in two matches. Included in the week for Nevitt was a career-best 19 kills vs. No. 6 Louisville.
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).
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 hitting .793 in 1994.
MOST IMPROVED: Sophomore right-side hitter Jenny Custer has been the team's most improved player this season with a stellar second collegiate season. This year, Custer is averaging 3.45 kills, 2.04 digs and 0.82 blocks per game, while hitting .274 and tallying the first seven 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. She also leads the team with 31 service aces and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with 0.42 per game.
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 16.22 14.82
A/G 15.04 13.04
Hit % .221 .235
UC also has several players among the BIG EAST leaders in the conference-only stats.
- Noel Olson leads the conference in assists per game with 13.78.
- Jessie Nevitt is fourth in hitting percentage (.398).
- Melissa Zenz is fourth in digs per game with 4.70.
- Jenny Custer is tied for eighth with 0.39 service aces per game.
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 1.35 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in nine of 19 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 132-53 (.714) record at home and are 67-7 (.905) 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.
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 5.09 digs per game to rank third in the BIG EAST, and has 20-plus digs in nine of this year's 19 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 nine 20-plus dig efforts are the most by a Bearcat since Ladusaw had nine in 2002. Zenz is also closing in on 10th place on UC's single season digs list as her total of 377 is just 39 digs back of Mindy Backus (1988) and Barb Mannix's (1990) shared mark.
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 3.61 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 14 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 3.46 digs per game.
AT THE CONTROLS: Junior Noel Olson has been solid in her second year as the Bearcats' setter, ranking second in the BIG EAST with 12.53 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.
FOLLOW ME: The captains for the 2005 season for the Bearcats are senior outside hitter Maria Pongonis and junior middle blocker Myanna Hellsten.