Bearcats Hit Road For BIG EAST Action

Nov. 1, 2005

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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will look to keep pace with the leaders of the BIG EAST Conference when it returns to conference action this weekend. The Bearcats are 16-8 overall and 7-3 in league play, ranking fourth in the conference standings, but just one-half game back of Syracuse. UC will first travel to South Florida (3-18, 1-10 BIG EAST) for a 7 p.m. match on Friday, with Georgetown (6-18, 2-9 BIG EAST) serving as the adversary on Sunday at 2 p.m.

NOTES FROM DePAUL/NOTRE DAME:

• UC's win at DePaul represented the 725th triumph in program history. After 33-plus seasons of play, the Bearcats hold an all-time record of 725-450-8 (.616).
• Melissa Zenz ran her streak of double figure dig matches to 24. She also climbed to fifth place on the school's single season digs chart with 481.
• Noel Olson moved into sixth place on the UC career assists chart at DePaul. Her total of 2,696 moves her past Beth Herman.
• The Bearcats stretched their win streak over the Blue Demons to four, dating back to a setback in the 2001 Conference USA Tournament.
• Jessie Nevitt recorded a new career-high with four service aces at DePaul.
• Erin Maldo led the Bearcats in kills for the first time this season at DePaul, finishing with a total of 13. She shared match-high honors vs. Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls, former four-time regular season champions in Conference USA, have struggled in their inaugural year in the BIG EAST, holding a 3-18 overall record and a 1-10 mark in conference play. USF has dropped four in a row since back-to-back wins vs. Georgetown and Jacksonville in mid-October. Sophomore Kristina Fabris, a preseason All-BIG EAST selection, leads the team with 4.30 kills, 2.73 digs and 0.93 blocks per game. Classmate Michelle Stalbaum has also enjoyed a solid year with 3.29 kills per game. USF had won three straight vs. the Bearcats before last season's three-game sweep by UC.

ABOUT GEORGETOWN: After being selected eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches poll, the Hoyas have struggled to a 6-18 overall mark, with a 2-9 slate in conference play. Georgetown has dropped nine of its last 10 contests, with the only victory coming against DePaul on Oct. 22. Offensively, the Hoyas are led by Rachel Nelson and Jenny Weed, who average 3.21 and 3.01 kills per game, respectively. On defense, Katie Nulty leads the way with 3.23 digs per game, while at the net Katherine Niesen averages 1.05 blocks per game. Prior to facing UC, the Hoyas will play host to No. 7 Louisville on Friday.

MALDO NAMED TO BIG EAST HONOR ROLL: Following an outstanding weekend vs. DePaul and Notre Dame, sophomore Erin Maldo became the third Bearcat this season to be awarded a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll. For the week, Maldo averaged 4.83 kills, 1.17 blocks and 0.83 digs per game, while hitting a team-best .387. Maldo joins Jenny Custer (9/19) and Jessie Nevitt (10/3, 10/16) as Bearcats recognized on the honor roll this season.

BALANCE, BALANCE: Balance has become the name of the game for the Bearcat offense in 2005 as they have put five hitters into double figure kills five times. In four of the contests, Jenny Custer, Myanna Hellsten, Erin Maldo, Jessie Nevitt and Maria Pongonis all reached double digits, with Lindsey Peterson replacing Pongonis in the most recent outburst on Oct. 23 vs. Pittsburgh. Pongonis (twice), Custer and Nevitt (once each) have each taken a turn as team-high honoree, with Custer and Maldo sharing the honor vs. Pitt. In the five matches, UC is averaging 16.91 kills per game and hitting .265, while setter Noel Olson is averaging 13.32 assists per game.

REGIONAL TALK: The latest regional rankings, compiled by college volleyball guru Rich Kern have been released and the Bearcats are listed fifth in the Northeast Region. UC, which holds an RKPI ranking of 44 (similar to the RPI used in basketball), trails only BIG EAST rivals Louisville and Notre Dame, along with Ivy League frontrunner Cornell and America East-leading Albany in the region.

ACADEMICALLY SPEAKING: A pair Bearcats have been recognized for their academic success recently. On Oct. 15, senior Maria Pongonis was inducted into UC's prestigious Legion of Excellence for academic success. Pongonis, along with junior Noel Olson were also nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad. Pongonis joins teammate Myanna Hellsten as current Bearcats in the Legion of Excellence.

BLOCKING IT OUT: Lost in the disappointment of the Bearcats' setback to Notre Dame on Oct. 30 was the dominance showed at the net by UC. For the match, the Bearcats totaled 14 blocks, easily the squad's highest total in a three-game contest this year and the most since totaling 18.5 against Saint Louis in last year's Conference USA Tournament.

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. UC put another stamp on its winning tradition, capturing the 725th win in program history at DePaul on Oct. 28.

PICKING UP THE PACE: The hottest Bearcat of the last two weeks has been sophomore Erin Maldo. With Maria Pongonis being slowed by injury and missing most of two matches before returning on Oct. 28, Maldo hit a stretch of the best volleyball of her short career. In the last four matches, Maldo is averaging a team-leading 4.83 kills per game and is hitting .338. Included in the stretch has been a career-high 17 kills vs. West Virginia, her first career double-double (16 kills, 10 digs) vs. Pittsburgh and a match-best 16 kills against then No. 7 Notre Dame.

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 135-53 (.718) record at home and are 70-7 (.909) 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.

NEVITT A BIG EAST ALL-STAR: Redshirt freshman Jessie Nevitt has been the most decorated Bearcat this season, earning multiple awards from the BIG EAST Conference in her first season of collegiate competition. On four occasions this season, Nevitt has been tabbed the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, with the most recent award coming on Oct. 24. Nevitt was also named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Oct. 3 and again on Oct. 16. Additionally, Nevitt was named to the All-Tournament Team at the State Farm Bearcat Invitational, presented by the Vernon Manor Hotel.

THE NEXT QUEEN?: While she is still nearly 1,500 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 5.23 digs per game to rank second in the BIG EAST, and has 20-plus digs in 12 of this year's 24 matches, including a career-high 34 on Oct. 21 vs. West Virginia. The mark in the WVU match missed tying Ladusaw's single match record by just a single dig. 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. On the UC single season charts, Zenz is first in digs per game and fifth in total digs (481). She needs just 13 more to pass Barb Mannix for fourth on the list.

AT THE CONTROLS: Junior Noel Olson has been solid in her second year as the Bearcats' setter, ranking second in the BIG EAST with 12.64 assists per game. She had one of the finest performances of her career on Oct. 23 vs. Pittsburgh nearly missing a triple-double as she set career-highs with eight kills and 14 digs and added 53 assists. This year, Olson has climbed to sixth on UC's career assists per game and total assists charts. Olson is averaging 8.32 assists per game in two-plus seasons of action and has registered 2,696 assists to become just the seventh player in school history with 2,000 assists. Olson will next challenge for fifth on the assists chart as she is just 142 behind Anne Kordes' (1994-95) 2,838.

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 3.40 kills, 2.18 digs and 0.90 blocks per game, while hitting .271 and tallying the first 10 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 40 service aces and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with 0.42 per game.

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). The Bearcats backed up the Morehead effort by holding Wright State to .017 hitting on Oct. 18.

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 3.57 kills per game. After missing most of the West Virginia and Pittsburgh matches, Pongonis returned to the line-up to spark UC's win over DePaul on Oct. 28. Pongonis has reached double figure kills in all but four matches in which she has played this season, including a season-high 19 against Texas-Pan American, Tulsa and Rutgers and has also added 16 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 3.48 digs 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 1.40 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in 14 of 24 contests.

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 16.11 14.98
A/G 14.68 13.24
Hit % .227 .233
UC also has several players among the BIG EAST leaders in the conference-only stats.

• Noel Olson is second in assists per game with 13.29.
• Jessie Nevitt is sixth in hitting percentage (.332).
• Melissa Zenz is third in digs per game with 4.97.
• Jenny Custer is eighth with 0.39 service aces per game.

YOUTH IS SERVED: With Maria Pongonis nursing an injury, sophomore Erin Maldo and freshman Lindsey Peterson stepped into the forefront with outstanding performances in UC's wins over West Virginia (Oct. 21) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 23). In the two matches, the duo averaged 3.67 and 2.33 kills per game, respectively with each adding the first double-double of their careers. Against WVU, Maldo turned in one of the best performances of her short career, setting a career-high with 17 kills on .324 hitting, then following it up with 16 kills and 10 digs vs. Pitt. Peterson had four aces and four blocks in the WVU match, then came back with career-highs of 13 kills and 12 digs vs. Pitt.

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.

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 16-5 (.762). 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 (4-0), Xavier (3-0).