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Bearcats Open BIG EAST Play On The Road

Bearcats Open BIG EAST Play On The RoadBearcats Open BIG EAST Play On The Road

Sept. 21, 2006

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati will embark on its second tour of BIG EAST Volleyball when the Bearcats take to the road for their conference opener, this weekend. The Bearcats, 9-2 and winners of four straight, will first travel to Marquette (4-7) for a 7 p.m. CT meeting on Friday, Sept. 22. UC continues the swing on Sunday, with a noon match-up at Syracuse. The Bearcats will look for retribution for a pair of stinging defeats to the respective teams last season.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The Bearcats have won four straight after a sweep of Western Kentucky on Tuesday night. UC has won seven of its last eight.
  • Jessica Elley leads the Cincinnati offense in kills, averaging a career-best 4.08 kills per game to tie for seventh in the BIG EAST. Elley has added 3.39 digs and 1.25 blocks per game.
  • Jessie Nevitt is ranked fourth in the BIG EAST with a .358 hitting percentage.
  • 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. Nevitt is ninth nationally with 1.64 blocks per game, through Sept. 17.
  • Hellsten moved into second place on UC's career block assists list at WKU, passing former teammate Rachel Torblaa with 440. The senior also climbed into fourth on the total blocks chart with 495, passing Michele Westbeld.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES:

  • Marquette holds a record of 4-7, with its most recent victory coming on Sept. 16 against Stony Brook. The Golden Eagles have dropped three of their last five matches.
  • The Golden Eagles feature a pair of preseason All-BIG EAST picks in Kimberley Todd and Jamie Mueller. Todd averages a team-best 4.43 kills and 1.25 blocks per game, while Mueller adds 4.03 kills and a team-high 5.57 digs per game.
  • After losing seven in a row to Cincinnati, Marquette has now won two straight over the Bearcats.

ABOUT THE ORANGE:

  • After going 25-10 and finishing third in the BIG EAST last season, Syracuse is just 3-13 in 2006. The Orange have dropped eight in a row and will face Louisville on Friday prior to the meeting with UC.
  • Cheryl Cobbina leads the offensive attack for Syracuse, averaging 4.09 kills per game, but hitting just .140. As a team, Syracuse ranks 13th in the BIG EAST in hitting at .147.
  • The defense is led by Ohio-native Joscie Kaup and her 5.19 digs per game. Sarah Morton leads the charge at the net with 0.98 blocks per game.

ONE BAD WEEKEND: The Marquette-Syracuse weekend was a horror fest for Cincinnati last year as each team stung the Bearcats with losses in Fifth Third Arena. Entering the last weekend of conference play, UC lost to both opponents to slip to 9-5 in the league. During the weekend, UC averaged just 13.43 kills and 1.50 blocks per game, while hitting a dismal .118, all well below the team's averages for the season.

BEARCATS' BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati has hosted a season-long block party, leading the nation with 4.21 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten has been at the center, as she is second on the national leaderboard with 2.25 per game. In the BIG EAST rankings, UC places four in the top-10, including Hellsten (1st), Jessie Nevitt (2nd-1.61), Jessica Elley (7th-1.25) and Jenny Custer (9th-1.22). 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 sixth in the BIG EAST at 4.08 kills per game, along with 3.39 digs and 1.25 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. 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 12.22 assists per game this season to rank third 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 (3,489) and sixth in assists per game (8.99). Her assists total is 15 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-1.61) and hitting percentage (4th-.358). She has also added 2.64 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.

CUSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Jenny Custer has been a solid contributor to UC's success this season, ranking second on the team with 2.94 kills per game and adding 1.97 digs. An improvement in blocking has also been key, as Custer ranks ninth in the BIG EAST at 1.22 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 seven of UC's 11 matches this season, including a season-high 13 against Western Michigan on Aug. 25 and 11 on Tuesday at Western Kentucky.

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 3.67 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 nine matches since taking over the role.

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 (.341) and blocks per game (1.43).