TicketsSept. 18, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati faces an important non-conference test when the Bearcats take to the road to face Western Kentucky on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. CT. The match-up will take place in WKU's E.A. Diddle Arena. UC has been hot as of late, winning three straight and six of seven to improve to 8-2 on the year. The Lady Toppers are winners of three in a row and four of six to stand at 11-5 on the year. The battle marks the Bearcats' final tune-up for BIG EAST play which begins on Friday, Sept. 22 at Marquette.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- UC toppled regional foe Morehead State in four games in its most recent action on Sept. 12. The victory stretched the Bearcats' win streak to three, while the team has also posted wins in six of its last seven outings.
- Jessica Elley leads the Cincinnati offense in kills, averaging a career-best 4.03 kills per game. Elley is also second on the squad with 3.48 digs per game.
- Jessie Nevitt is ranked sixth in the BIG EAST with a .362 hitting percentage after ranking third at .337 last season.
- The Bearcats lead the nation with 4.17 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten leads four players averaging over a block per game, ranking second in the nation at 2.18 per game.
- UC will be out to build a four-match win streak over Western Kentucky.
- Hellsten climbed on a pair of UC career charts during the Morehead State match. The senior rose to third on the block assists list with 432, passing Bonita Wise. She also made a leap from seventh to fifth on the total blocks chart with 486.
ABOUT THE LADY TOPPERS:
- Western Kentucky is 11-5 this year after winning its own Lady Topper Invitational over the weekend. WKU earned wins over Appalachian State, Tennessee Tech and Ball State during the event.
- The Lady Toppers are led by preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections Megan Argabright and Jenna Gideon. Argabright, a sophomore middle hitter, was the league's preseason player of the year and leads the team with 4.56 kills and 0.89 blocks per game. Gideon, a sophomore middle hitter, adds 3.44 kills and 0.76 blocks per game, while hitting a team-best .360.
- Western Kentucky has posted six consecutive 20-win seasons, including two with 30-plus victories. In 2005, the Lady Toppers won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and the East division of the league.
ALWAYS A BATTLE: The last five meetings between Cincinnati and Western Kentucky have been battles between strong teams, with the Bearcats playing the role of underdog nearly everytime. A look at each team's record prior to the meeting and the result:
Year UC WKU Result
2005 9-6 18-1 UC, 3-0
2004 9-6 16-1 UC, 3-1
2003 9-1 9-2 UC, 3-0
2002 2-3 8-1 WKU, 3-0
2001 3-5 7-3 UC, 3-1
BEARCATS' BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati has hosted a season-long block party, leading the BIG EAST and ranking first nationally at 4.17 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten has been at the center, as she is second on the national leaderboard with 2.18 per game. In the BIG EAST rankings, UC places four in the top-10, including Hellsten, Jessie Nevitt (2nd-1.64), Jenny Custer (8th-1.27) and Jessica Elley (9th-1.24) . UC was at its best during the Radisson Hotel Invitational (Sept. 1-2), averaging 5.33 blocks per game and setting or matching several school records. The weekend started with Custer and Hellsten each matching the school record for block assists in a three-game match with 10 against Austin Peay. A day later, Hellsten put her own stamp on the mark with a record 12 in a three-game sweep of Bradley. In the match, UC broke three-game marks for most total blocks (22.0) and block assists (36). Hellsten's 13 total blocks also matched a record for most in any match.
THE NEW KID IN TOWN: Sophomore Jessica Elley is on the fast track to stardom with her play in 2006. Following in the footsteps of her predecessors at outside hitter, Julie DuPont and Maria Pongonis, Elley is averaging a team-best 4.03 kills per game, along with 3.48 digs and 1.24 blocks per game. She had a career-best 21 kills against UCLA on Aug. 27 and nearly had a triple-double against Bradley on Sept. 2 with 13 kills, 11 digs and seven blocks. In UC's most recent outing on Sept. 12 vs. Morehead State, Elley had 19 kills to go along with 16 digs. Elley was named to the all-tournament team at the State Farm Bearcats Invitational and was tabbed the MVP of the Radisson Hotel Invite, along with a BIG EAST Player of the Week award on Sept. 2.
IN GOOD HANDS: The setter position is once again in good hands with senior Noel Olson in her third-year as a starter. The preseason All-BIG EAST selection has shown steady improvement each year and is averaging 12.21 assists per game this season, to rank fifth in the BIG EAST. Olson will go down as one of the top setters in program history, as she ranks fourth in school history in career assists (3,452) and sixth in assists per game (8.97). Her assists total is 52 back of Mindy Backus (1986-88) for third place.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP: As a redshirt freshman last season, Jessie Nevitt was outstanding, earning first team All-BIG EAST honors and winning the league's rookie of the year. This fall, she has shown no signs of a sophomore slump, as she ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in blocks (2nd-1.64) and hitting percentage (6th-.362). She has also added 2.73 kills per game. She has been an integral part of UC's nationally-ranked blocking, totaling over five in a match seven times. Offensively, Nevitt has reached double figures in kills four times, while hitting over .400 on five occasions. For her play this year, Nevitt has been named to the all-tournament teams at the State Farm Bearcats Invitational and the Radisson Hotel Invitational.
IN THE RANKINGS: Sophomore Jessie Nevitt played in her 150th career game against Morehead State on Sept. 12, qualifying her for inclusion on UC's career rankings. Nevitt has already made an impact on the lists, ranking fourth in both hitting percentage (.342) and blocks per game (1.43).
THE YOUNG GET YOUNGER: With Natalie Dossman lost for the season, an already young Bearcats' squad gets younger with freshman Jaime Frey now assuming the starting libero position. The Cincinnati native has proven she can hold her own since taking the starting nod, averaging 3.73 digs per game. Frey was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Aug. 28 after a career-best 26 digs against No. 10 UCLA and has reached double figure digs in four of eight matches since taking over the role.
CUSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Jenny Custer has been a solid contributor to UC's success this season, ranking second on the team with 2.88 kills per game and adding 1.94 digs. An improvement in blocking has also been key, as Custer ranks eighth in the BIG EAST at 1.27 per game. She turned in the biggest blocking outing of her career on Sept. 1 against Austin Peay, tying a then-school record with 10 block assists in a three-game match. Offensively, Custer has contributed double-figure kills in six of UC's 10 matches this season, including a season-high 13 against Western Michigan on Aug. 25, while topping five blocks in a match three times..
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 138-57 (.708) record at home and are 73-10 (.880) over the past seven-plus 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 win streaks, including a school-record 23 match string that ended in 2004. At the time the streak was snapped, it represented the third-longest active streak in the nation.
UP NEXT: Cincinnati continues a stretch of 10 of 11 matches on the road, while also opening BIG EAST play this weekend. The Bearcats will travel to Marquette on Friday, Sept. 22, followed by a trip to Syracuse two days later.