TicketsOct. 11, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati will meet one of its most storied rivals when the Bearcats and Louisville renew their annual rivalry on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. The 43rd all-time meeting between the schools will take place at U of L's Cardinal Arena. The Bearcats enter the match on a high note following home sweeps of Villanova and Rutgers last weekend. The victories improved UC's record to 13-4 for the year and moved the Bearcats into a tie for fourth place in the BIG EAST standings at 4-2. Louisville has won five of its last six matches to improve to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in BIG EAST play. UC will be out to reverse a two-match losing streak to the Cards.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- The Bearcats are 13-4 this season and have climbed to a three-way tie for fourth in the BIG EAST standings at 4-2.
- Jessica Elley leads the Cincinnati offense, averaging a career-best 3.74 kills per game and adding 3.36 digs and 0.98 blocks per game. After a recent cold streak, Elley hit .432 in UC's wins over Villanova and Rutgers.
- Jenny Custer has come on strong as of late, averaging 3.48 kills per game in her last seven matches, including a career-high 22 at Syracuse on Sept. 24.
- Jaime Frey ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in digs per game with 4.43. She is averaging a league-leading 5.68 digs per game in BIG EAST play.
- The Bearcats rank fifth nationally with 3.56 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten leads four players averaging over a block per game, ranking ninth in the nation at 1.66 per game. Jessie Nevitt is 18th nationally with 1.55 blocks per game.
- Cincinnati's .336 hitting performance against Rutgers on Oct. 8 was the team's best since hitting .353 against Western Illinois on Sept. 2.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS:
- Louisville is 11-6 heading into a Wednesday night match against Xavier. Four of the Cardinals six losses have come to ranked teams, including a sweep by No. 1 Nebraska. UofL is 5-1 in BIG EAST play, alone in third in the league standings, with the only blemish at sweep at St. John's on Sept. 29.
- A balanced Cardinal offense is led by Tatyana Kolesnikova's 2.93 kills per game. BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Ana Yartseva-Stewart is averaging only 2.27 kills per game, but leads the league with a .399 hitting percentage, along with 1.35 blocks per game.
- Lecia Brown paces the Cardinals at the net with 1.47 blocks per game, while libero Kristie Wetterer is tops in digs at 3.12 per game.
NEVITT TABBED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After helping the Bearcats climb to fourth in the conference standings over the weekend, Jessie Nevitt has been named the BIG EAST Player of the Week. Nevitt turned in a pair of outstanding matches in helping the Bearcats to sweeps of Villanova and Rutgers. For the weekend, Nevitt averaged 4.33 kills per game, hit a combined .533 and recorded 10 block assists. She had one of her best performances of the season against Rutgers, finishing with 15 kills and just one error for a .519 hitting percentage and adding five blocks. Nevitt finished the Villanova match with 11 kills on .556 hitting.
HOT HITTING: After hitting a season-low .091 at St. John's on Oct. 1, the Bearcats reversed their hitting woes last weekend, hitting .323 in victories over Villanova and Rutgers. In the Rutgers match, UC hit .336, representing the team's best performance since hitting .353 vs. Western Illinois on Sept. 2. No player enjoyed a bigger reversal of fortunes than sophomore outside hitter Jessica Elley. After hitting just .046 in her previous four matches, Elley hit .432 last weekend, including a .533 performance against Villanova.
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.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: A pair of adjustments have been made to the Bearcats' upcoming schedule for matches against Louisville and Notre Dame. The time for the Louisville match has been moved up one hour to 1 p.m. This is a change from the original adjustment that had the game on Friday, Oct. 13. The shift was made to avoid conflict with the UC-UofL football game. In addition, the start time for UC's home match against Notre Dame on Oct. 28 has been set for 10 a.m.
BEARCATS' BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati has hosted a season-long block party, leading the BIG EAST and ranking near the top (fifth) nationally with 3.56 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten has been at the center, as she is atop the BIG EAST leaderboard with 1.66 per game. In the BIG EAST rankings, UC is dominating the top with Hellsten and Jessie Nevitt (1.55) 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 the Braves. 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 (512) and block assists (452) lists.
BALANCE IS GOOD: Cincinnati has enjoyed balance in its offensive attack this year, with four players averaging over two kills per game. On four occasions this season, Cincinnati has put all five of its hitters into double figure kills in the same match. The list includes: Western Michigan, Aug. 25; Marquette, Sept. 22; Syracuse, Sept. 24; and Connecticut, Sept. 29. Setter Noel Olson has been outstanding in the matches, averaging 13.94 assists per game in the four contests.
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 12.62 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 (3,781) and sixth in assists per game (9.22). Her assists total is 70 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 (6th-.343). She has also added 2.93 kills per game. She has been an integral part of UC's nationally-ranked blocking, totaling over five in a match 12 times. Offensively, Nevitt has reached double figures in kills nine times, while hitting over .400 on eight occasions.
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 leading the team with 3.74 kills per game, along with 3.36 digs and 0.98 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.
CUSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Jenny Custer has been a solid contributor to UC's success this season, ranking second on the team with 3.14 kills per game and adding 2.40 digs. An improvement in blocking has also been key, as Custer is averaging a career-best 1.02 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 averaged 3.48 kills per game in her last seven matches, including a career-high 22 at Syracuse on Sept. 24, including six during the final nine points of UC's deciding game four victory. Custer also has four double-doubles this season to push her career total to 14.
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 4.43 digs per game to rank eighth in the BIG EAST. She has been even better in Cincinnati's six BIG EAST matches, averaging a league leading 5.68 digs per game in conference play. The Cincinnati native has recorded at least 20 digs in four BIG EAST matches, including a career-high 29 in consecutive contests against Connecticut and Syracuse. Earlier this season, Frey was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after recording 26 digs against No. 10 UCLA.
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.
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 140-57 (.711) record at home and are 75-10 (.882) 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.