TicketsOct. 16, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati volleyball team opens a season-long five-match homestand on Tuesday (Oct. 17), hosting IUPUI in Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats (13-5, 4-3 BIG EAST) will try to erase the sting of a loss at rival Louisville on Saturday. The contest will be a brief pause from BIG EAST action for the Bearcats, who host league foe Seton Hall on Friday. UC has won all three of the previous meetings with the Jaguars (7-15, 3-3 Mid-Con), including a marathon, five-game affair in Indianapolis last season.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- The Bearcats are 13-5 this season, but have slipped into a tie for seventh in the BIG EAST at 4-3.
- Jessica Elley leads the Cincinnati offense, averaging a career-best 3.70 kills per game and adding 3.30 digs and 0.95 blocks per game. After a strong performance in wins over Villanova and Rutgers on Oct. 7-8, Elley was limited to nine kills and 0.00 hitting at Louisville.
- Jaime Frey ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in digs per game with 4.48. She is averaging 5.64 digs per game in BIG EAST play to rank second.
- The Bearcats rank fifth nationally with 3.56 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten leads three 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, through matches of Oct. 8.
- Noel Olson is poised to climb into second place on the Bearcats' career assists chart. With a total of 3,816 to her credit, Olson is just 35 behind Paige Pees' second place total.
- Jessie Nevitt has been Cincinnati's most steady player over the last two weekends, averaging a team-high 4.11 kills and 1.44 blocks per game, while hitting .500 in her last three matches.
ABOUT THE JAGUARS:
- The Jaguars split a pair of Mid-Continent Conference road matches over the weekend, losing at Valparaiso, before picking up a win at Oakland. The split puts IUPUI's record at 7-15 overall and 3-3 in league play.
- IUPUI's roster features Carol Newell, the youngest sister of former Bearcat starter Leslie. The junior is leading her team with 3.35 kills per game.
- The Jaguars defense is led by libero Christy McConnell who averages 3.97 digs per game. IUPUI ranks last in the Mid-Con with 1.49 blocks per game, with Ashley Johnson the leader at 0.73 per game.
HOT HITTING GONE AGAIN: The Bearcats' hitting struggles returned over the weekend at Louisville, as UC was limited to .167 hitting in the loss. Cincinnati had appeared to shake a recent cold streak last weekend, when it hit a combined .323 in victories over Villanova and Rutgers. After a huge reversal of fortunes a week prior, Jessica Elley was held to .000 hitting vs. the Cards, following a combined .432 performance against Villanova and Rutgers.
WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?: UC will enter the IUPUI match hoping not to have a repeat of last season's scare against the Jaguars. On Sept. 27, the Bearcats, 7-5 at the time, travelled to Indianapolis to meet the 8-5 Jaguars. What resulted was a five-game marathon that UC ultimately pulled out. After losing games one and three, the Bearcats had game point in game four at 29-26, only to see the Jaguars score two in a row. Clinging to a one-point lead out of a time-out, a Jessie Nevitt kill evened the match for the Bearcats who went on to win game five in dominating fashion, 15-8.
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 (fifth) nationally with 3.48 blocks per game. Senior Myanna Hellsten has been at the center, as she is atop the BIG EAST leaderboard with 1.59 per game. In the BIG EAST rankings, UC has two in the top-five with Hellsten and Jessie Nevitt (4th-1.52) ranked. 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 (513) and block assists (453) lists, but has struggled lately, totaling just one block in the last two matches.
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 12.57 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 (3,816) and sixth in assists per game (9.24). Her assists total is 35 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 (4th-1.52) and hitting percentage (6th-.348). She has also added 2.97 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 10 times, while hitting over .400 on nine occasions. Nevitt has been the steadiest Bearcat as of late, averaging a team-high 4.11 kills and 1.44 blocks per game, while hitting .500 in her last three matches.
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.
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 3.70 kills per game, along with 3.30 digs and 0.95 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.
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.
CUSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Jenny Custer has been a solid contributor to UC's success this season, ranking second on the team with 3.05 kills per game and adding 2.33 digs. An improvement in blocking has also been key, as Custer is averaging a career-best 1.03 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. Custer was at her best with a career-high 22 kills 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.
NOTRE DAME MATCH EARLY: The Bearcats' match against Notre Dame, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28 will begin at 10 a.m. as part of UC's Homecoming festivities.
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 4.48 digs per game to rank seventh in the BIG EAST. She has been even better in BIG EAST matches, averaging 5.64 digs per game in conference play to rank second. 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. On Aug. 28, 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.