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Bearcats Face Stiff Challenge In Second BIG EAST Weekend

Bearcats Face Stiff Challenge In Second BIG EAST WeekendBearcats Face Stiff Challenge In Second BIG EAST Weekend

Sept. 26, 2006

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati will take on another tough road challenge this weekend as the Bearcats travel to Connecticut and St. John's in the second week of BIG EAST volleyball play. Last weekend was bittersweet for UC, as it opened with a defeat to Marquette, before toppling Syracuse to even its BIG EAST mark at 1-1. The Bearcats sport an overall record of 10-3. UC will face Connecticut (10-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Friday (Sept. 29) at 7 p.m., before travelling to St. John's two days later for a 2 p.m. contest against the 17-1 (2-0 BIG EAST) Redstorm.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The Bearcats have won eight of their last 10 matches to sit at 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST. UC is in a seven-team logjam for fifth in the BIG EAST standings.
  • Jessica Elley leads the Cincinnati offense, averaging a career-best 3.87 kills per game to rank 10th in the BIG EAST. The sophomore has added 3.40 digs and 1.11 blocks per game.
  • 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 total blocks list at Syracuse, passing Bonita Wise with 499. Hellsten now ranks second on the total blocks and block assists charts and is tied for seventh in blocks per game.
  • UC defeated both of its weekend opponents last season, while also eliminating St. John's from the BIG EAST Tournament.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES:

  • UConn split BIG EAST matches at West Virginia (win) and Pittsburgh (loss) last weekend to sit 11-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.
  • Kate Seabaugh leads a balanced Huskie offense with 3.18 kills per game, while Gina Heiderman adds 2.92. Jessica Isaac is the defensive ace with 4.69 digs per game and Megan Silver leads at the net with 1.23 blocks per game.

ABOUT THE RED STORM:

  • St. John's has enjoyed a dynamic start to its season, as the Red Storm are 17-1, with its only loss to then-No. 10 Southern California. The Red Storm is riding an eight-match winning streak that includes BIG EAST wins at Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
  • Preseason All-BIG EAST Hui Ping Huang leads the St. John's offense with 3.80 kills, while hitting .381. Patti Hardimon is close behind at 3.45 kills per game. Defensively, Kathleen Yee averages 4.16 digs per game and Latoya Blunt adds 0.91 blocks at the net.

A STATISTICAL ODDITY: One look at the current Cincinnati statistics shows that balance is everything. Through 13 matches, UC middle blockers Myanna Hellsten and Jessie Nevitt have each tallied 122 kills (2.71 per game) on 267 attempts apiece. The only difference between the pair is two more errors for Hellsten, which gives Nevitt a .330 to .322 advantage in hitting.

OH WHAT A DAY: Sept. 24 turned out to be a very good day for four members of the UC roster as Jenny Custer, Jaime Frey, Myanna Hellsten and Noel Olson all recorded career-highs. Custer (22) and Hellsten (17) each had personal-bests in kills, due in part to a career-high 67 assists from Olson. Frey anchored the defense with 29 digs, three higher than her prior best.

KEEPING UP THE TRADITION: UC's win on Sept. 24 at Syracuse pushed the Bearcats to the 10-victory plateau for the season, marking 15 consecutive years the program has reached the feat. The next two goals are stretching the program's string of 20-win seasons to 12 straight and returning to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence.

BEARCATS' BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati has hosted a season-long block party, leading the BIG EAST and ranking near the top nationally with 3.86 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten has been at the center, as she is atop the BIG EAST leaderboard with 1.89 per game. In the BIG EAST rankings, UC is dominating the top with Hellsten and Jessie Nevitt (1.60) ranked 1-2. UC set or matched several blocks records on Sept. 2 at Bradley as Hellsten recorded 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 senior has also climbed to second on UC's career total blocks (499) and block assists (444) lists.

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 10th in the BIG EAST at 3.87 kills per game, along with 3.40 digs and 1.11 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 12.58 assists per game this season to rank second in the BIG EAST. Olson will go down as one of the top setters in program history, as she ranks third in school history in career assists (3,615) and sixth in assists per game (9.11). Her assists total is 126 back of Paige Pees (1988-91) for second 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-1.60) and hitting percentage (7th-.330). She has also added 2.71 kills per game. She has been an integral part of UC's nationally-ranked blocking, totaling over five in a match nine times. Offensively, Nevitt has reached double figures in kills six times, while hitting over .400 on six 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 3.24 kills per game and adding 2.13 digs. An improvement in blocking has also been key, as Custer is averaging a career-best 1.07 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 nine of UC's 13 matches this season. On Sept. 24 at Syracuse, Custer exploded for a career-high 22 kills, including six during the final nine points of UC's deciding game four victory.