TicketsNov. 8, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati closes its second season of BIG EAST volleyball play this weekend with a pair of home contests. The Bearcats, winners of eight of their last 10 matches, are 19-6 overall and 8-4 in league play. One victory will assure the Bearcats a spot in next week's BIG EAST Tournament and give UC its 12th consecutive 20-win season. The Bearcats will first host Georgetown (8-17, 2-10 BIG EAST) on Friday, with a 3 p.m. start. USF (12-13, 7-5 BIG EAST) is Cincinnati's second foe of the weekend on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- The Bearcats are 19-6 this season and are tied for fifth in the BIG EAST at 8-4. UC shares fifth with Pittsburgh, but does not have the tiebreaker by virtue of the Panthers win last Friday.
- Jessica Elley leads a balanced Bearcats offense, averaging a career-best 3.65 kills per game and adding 3.28 digs and 0.93 blocks per game. The sophomore is one of four UC players averaging over three kills per game.
- Jaime Frey ranks second in the BIG EAST in digs per game with 5.29. She is averaging 6.26 digs per game in BIG EAST play to rank first. Twice this season, Frey has made her mark in the UC record books, setting the mark for digs in a three-game match (33) and matching the four-game record (35).
- The Bearcats rank ninth nationally with 3.38 blocks per game. Sophomore Jessie Nevitt leads three players averaging over a block per game, ranking 13th in the nation at 1.59 per game through matches of Nov 5.
- Jessie Nevitt has been hot of late, averaging 3.59 kills and 1.68 blocks per game, while hitting .412 in her last 10 matches.
- Elley and Myanna Hellsten both finished with career-highs in kills during the Nov. 3 Pittsburgh match, finishing with 24 and 19, respectively.
- Hellsten became UC's 12th member of the 1,000 kill club on Oct. 31 against Dayton. The senior has a career total of 1,034 and is just outside the career top-10 list.
ABOUT THE HOYAS:
- Georgetown is tied for 12th in the BIG EAST standings with a 2-10 league mark and has an overall record of 8-17. The Hoyas were victorious in their most recent outing, a sweep of DePaul on Nov. 5.
- Jessica Buffum is the leader of the Hoya offensive attack, averaging 3.57 kills per game. The Hoya defense, which ranks in the bottom half of the BIG EAST in both blocks and digs, gets 1.02 blocks per game from Annie Connor and 3.61 digs from Jessica Hardy.
ABOUT THE BULLS:
- USF has enjoyed a tremendous resurgence this year, holding a 12-13 record, after finishing 4-22 last year. The Bulls were picked to finish 13th in the preseason BIG EAST coaches poll, but enter the weekend tied for seventh.
- Newcomer Marcela Gurgel is integral to the Bulls' offense, ranking second in the BIG EAST with 4.52 kills per game. Nakia Williams is USF's high-flyer at the net with 1.01 blocks per game, while libero Stephanie Augustavo is tops with 4.41 digs per game.
IN GOOD COMPANY: Myanna Hellsten joined an elite club on Oct. 31 against Dayton, registering the 1,000 kill of her career. By reaching the milestone, Hellsten is just the 12th Bearcat ever to do so. With a total of 1,034 to her credit, Hellsten needs just six more kills to crack the UC top-10.
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 award. This fall, Nevitt has been even better, ranking first in the BIG EAST in blocks per game (1.59) and third in hitting percentage (.358), with both marks representing career-bests. Nevitt has been strong both offensively (double figure kills 14 times) and defensively (at least five blocks 17 times) this fall. The Kennesaw, Ga. native has been on a tear lately, averaging 3.59 kills and 1.68 blocks per game, while hitting .412 in her last 10 matches. She had a huge match vs. Seton Hall on Oct. 20, setting a career-high with 21 kills and breaking three school records with 14 blocks.
KEEPING UP THE TRADITION: Cincinnati is closing in on extending another lengthy tradition, as the Bearcats enter the weekend one win shy of 20 for the 12th consecutive season. UC's win on Oct. 20 against Seton Hall pushed the Bearcats to the 15-victory plateau for the season, marking 13 consecutive years the program has reached the feat. The Bearcats also have their sites set on returning to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence.
THE YOUNG GET YOUNGER: With Natalie Dossman lost for the season, an already young Bearcats' squad got younger with freshman Jaime Frey assuming the starting libero position. The Cincinnati native has held her own, averaging 5.29 digs per game to rank second in the BIG EAST. She has been even better in BIG EAST matches, averaging a league-leading 6.26 digs per game in conference play. The Cincinnati native has recorded at least 20 digs in eight of 12 BIG EAST matches to set a league record for most 20+ dig performances in league play. Frey's mark of 33 digs against Notre Dame on Oct. 28 set a school record for digs in a three-game match, as she shattered Trish Ladusaw's six-year old record of 24. For her efforts, she was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Oct. 30. After the Notre Dame outburst, Frey did it again three days later, matching Ladusaw's four-game record with 35 digs against Dayton.
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 3.65 kills per game, along with 3.28 digs and 0.93 blocks per game. She had a career-best 24 kills at Pittsburgh on Nov. 3 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 145-57 (.718) record at home and are 80-10 (.889) 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. Currently, UC is enjoying an eight-match win streak.
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 a BIG EAST-best 12.72 assists per game. Olson will go down as one of the top setters in program history, as she ranks second in school history in career assists (4,143) and is fifth in assists per game (9.46).
BEARCATS' BLOCK PARTY: Cincinnati has hosted a season-long block party, ranking near the top of the BIG EAST (third) and national leaderboards with 3.38 blocks per game. The duo of Jessie Nevitt and Myanna Hellsten have led the charge, averaging 1.59 and 1.42 blocks per game, respectively. Nevitt is in the top spot in the BIG EAST, taking over a slot Hellsten has held all season. The latter is now tied for fourth. Twice this season, UC has set or matched several blocks records. On Sept. 2 at Bradley, Hellsten recorded a record 12 and the Bearcats set marks for most total blocks (22.0) and block assists (36) in a three-game match. On Oct. 20 vs. Seton Hall, Nevitt set four-game records for block assists (12) and total blocks (14), with the second mark equalling the highest in any match by a UC player.
CUSTER'S CONTRIBUTIONS: Junior Jenny Custer has been a solid contributor to UC's success this season, ranking fourth on the team with 3.03 kills per game and adding 2.45 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 six double-doubles this season to push her career total to 16.