TicketsNov. 7, 2005
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will be seeking a key, late season victory when it battles in-state rival Dayton on Tuesday night. The Bearcats, 18-8 overall and 9-3 in BIG EAST play, have clinched a spot in next week's BIG EAST Tournament and are looking to make one final push in an attempt for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Flyers, 19-9, will be the number one seed in next weekend's Atlantic 10 Tournament and are in the midst of a 14-match winning streak. Action from the Frericks Center on UD's campus is set to begin at 7 p.m.
NOTES FROM SOUTH FLORIDA/GEORGETOWN:
- Freshman libero Melissa Zenz moved into a tie for third place on the UC single season digs list with 510. Zenz is tied with Trish Ladusaw for the spot.
- Jessica Elley was outstanding filling in for Jenny Custer as she totaled career-highs of 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks, while hitting .381 vs. Georgetown.
- UC's .421 hitting vs. South Florida marked the squad's second-best performance of the year.
ABOUT DAYTON: The Flyers have been the hottest team in the Atlantic 10 Conference, having reeled off 14 consecutive wins to improve to 19-9 on the year. With victories over Saint Louis and Duquense, Dayton has wrapped up the number one seed for next weekend's Atlantic 10 Tournament in Kingston, R.I. Faye Barhorst has been outstanding both offensively and defensively for the Flyers, leading the team in both kills (3.94) and blocks (1.30) per game. Her .385 hitting percentage not only leads the Atlantic 10 Conference, but ranks in the top-30 nationally. Robynne Green is also a solid offensive contributor, averaging 3.18 kills per game. On defense, the Flyers count on Barhorst and Green (0.85 blocks per game) at the net, along with Robynne's twin sister, Adrienne who averages a team-leading 3.96 digs per game. Dayton will be out to snap a six-match losing streak to the Bearcats dating back to a win on Sept. 5, 1998.
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 five occasions this season, Nevitt has been tabbed the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, with the most recent award coming this week. 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.
REGIONAL TALK: The latest regional rankings, compiled by college volleyball guru Rich Kern have been released and the Bearcats are listed seventh in the Northeast Region. UC, which holds an RKPI ranking of 56 (similar to the RPI used in basketball), trails BIG EAST rivals Louisville and Notre Dame, Ivy League frontrunner Cornell, America East-leading Albany in the region and conference foes Syracuse and Pitt.
CLOSING IN: With her career at Cincinnati winding down, senior Maria Pongonis is inching close to some career milestones that will put her in elite company in school annals. Pongonis enters this week with 987 kills and 884 digs during her nearly three-year UC career. By reaching 1,000 in either category, she will be one of just a handful of Bearcats ever to hit the total. Currently, just 10 players have ever recorded 1,000 kills in a UC uniform, while 11 have totaled 1,000 digs. Reaching the 1,000-1,000 club would make Pongonis just the sixth player ever to do so, joining Julie DuPont, Sonja Jackson, Trish Ladusaw, Dani Peterson and Becky Tenkman.
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.
HOT HITTING: Twice this season, Jessie Nevitt has put her mark on the UC single-match hitting records with a pair of top-five performances. On Oct. 1 vs. Rutgers, Nevitt hit .654, recording 18 kills with just one error on 26 swings, for the fourth-highest single match performance in program history. She nearly repeated the feat on Nov. 4 vs. South Florida, as she tallied 16 kills with just one error on 23 attempts for a .652 mark. Annisa Blosser holds the record after hitting .793 in 1994.
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 recording 18.5 against Saint Louis in last year's Conference USA Tournament.
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).
THE NEXT QUEEN?: While she is still over 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 5.20 digs per game to rank second in the BIG EAST, has 20-plus digs in 12 matches and at least 10 in all 26. Zenz's career-high mark of 34 on Oct. 21 vs. West Virginia 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 tied for third in total digs (510). She needs just 11 more to pass Ladusaw for second.
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 16.32 14.98
A/G 14.98 13.24
Hit % .241 .233
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 13.61.
- Jessie Nevitt is fifth in hitting percentage (.382).
- Melissa Zenz is tied for second in digs per game with 4.95.
- Maria Pongonis is ninth in kills with 3.86 and 10th with 4.39 points per game.
- Jenny Custer is eighth with 0.40 service aces per game.
ACADEMICALLY SPEAKING: A pair of 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.
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.
DIGGING FOR A CURE: On Friday, Nov. 11 vs. Syracuse, the Bearcats will participate in the Dig for a Cure to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Fans attending the match will be asked to pledge an amount for each of the digs that the Bearcats record vs. the Orange. Flat donations will also be gladly accepted. This marks the second consecutive year that UC has participated in the program which was founded by Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston.
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.
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 1.38 blocks per game and has recorded at least five blocks in 14 of 26 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 3.69 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 18 double-doubles. She had one of her best performances on Nov. 4 at South Florida, finishing with 16 kills and 10 digs and hitting a season-high .405. Pongonis has also 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 3.51 digs 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.
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 3.34 kills, 2.14 digs and 0.88 blocks per game, while hitting .269 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 41 service aces and is tied for fifth in the BIG EAST with 0.40 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 12.83 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 8.45 assists per game in two-plus seasons of action and has registered 2,790 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 48 behind Anne Kordes' (1994-95) 2,838.
PICKING UP THE PACE: The hottest Bearcat of late 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 six matches, Maldo is averaging 3.81 kills per game and is hitting .319. 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.
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.
BIG EAST HONOREES: A total of four Bearcats have been named to the BIG EAST's Weekly Honor Roll in UC's first season in the league. A look at the honorees and their performances:
- Jenny Custer (Sept. 19)-4.00 kills, 1.91 digs, 0.64 blocks per game, .441 hitting; 17 kills vs. Jacksonville State; two .500 hitting performances.
- Jessie Nevitt (Oct. 3)-3.58 kills, 1.25 blocks, 0.92 digs per game, .420 hitting; 16 kills, eight blocks vs. IUPUI; 18 kills on .654 hitting vs. Rutgers.
- Nevitt (Oct. 17)-3.86 kills, 1.00 blocks, 0.71 digs per game, .511 hitting; 19 kills on .455 hitting vs. Louisville.
- Erin Maldo (Oct. 31)-4.83 kills, 1.17 blocks, 0.83 digs per game, .387 hitting; 16 kills vs. Notre Dame; 13 kills on .435 hitting vs. DePaul.
- Maria Pongonis (Nov. 7)-5.33 kills, 4.00 digs, per game, .287 hitting; 16 kills, 10 digs on .405 hitting vs. South Florida; 16 kills, 14 digs vs. Georgetown.