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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, 2007

FIRST SERVE: Cincinnati's third season of BIG EAST Conference play opens this weekend, as the Bearcats hit the road for clashes at Georgetown (Friday, Sept. 21) and USF (Sunday, Sept. 23). UC opens the league portion of the schedule with an 8-4 record after a Tuesday night victory at IUPUI. Georgetown opens BIG EAST play 4-10 overall, while USF has won eight straight to improve to 8-1 on the year.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The Bearcats are led by two-time honorable mention all-American Jessie Nevitt, who ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in hitting, kills and blocks. The junior is third in blocks (1.44 per game), third in hitting (.372) and fifth in kills per game (4.20).
  • Libero Jaime Frey has come on strong of late, moving into fourth in the BIG EAST with 4.68 digs per game. Frey set a Panther Invitational record with 35 digs vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Sept. 7).
  • Three freshmen-setter Annie Fesl, outside hitter Stephanie Niemer and middle blocker Lindsay Upton-have become staples in the Bearcats' starting line-up. The trio is combining for 5.39 kills, 3.56 digs, 0.85 aces and 1.39 blocks per game this season, while Fesl is averaging 13.85 assists per game.
  • Jenny Custer has continued her climb up the UC career services aces list, moving into sole possession of fifth in the Bearcats' match with IUPUI on Sept. 18. With 145 aces, Custer is just three aces out of fourth place and 46 short of the top spot.
  • Nevitt had a streak of 18 consecutive matches with at least one block snapped on Sept. 12 against Stanford. The shutout was just the second time in 72 career matches Nevitt has gone without a block.
  • Cincinnati's .322 hitting performance at IUPUI (Sept. 18) was the team's highest mark since hitting .374 at Maine (Aug. 31), a stretch of eight matches.

NOTING THE HOYAS:

  • Georgetown started the season with six straight defeats, but has won four of its last eight to open BIG EAST play at 4-10. The Hoyas were picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll of league coaches.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Dana Dumas is Georgetown's top offensive player, averaging 3.33 kills per game. Fellow sophomore Jessica Hardy leads the defense with 2.22 digs per game.

NOTING THE BULLS:

  • USF is riding an eight-match winning streak that has raised its record to 8-1 for the year. The Bulls only defeat came in their season opener at Buffalo. USF was chosen eighth in the BIG EAST preseason coaches poll.
  • The Bulls are led by preseason all-BIG EAST choice Marcela Gurgel. The sophomore ranks third in the league with 4.39 kills per game. Senior Kristina Fabris adds 3.82 kills per game.
  • Sophomore Alli Arbogast leads the defense, ranking second in the BIG EAST with 1.73 blocks per game.

MAKING A FIRST IMPRESSION: The Bearcats' freshmen trio of Annie Fesl, Stephanie Niemer and Lindsay Upton have made quite the first impression during their first season of collegiate competition. A look at each's first taste of college:

  • Fesl has won a BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award (Sept. 3) and is leading the league with 13.75 assists per game. Against TCU on Sept. 1, Fesl finished with career highs of 69 assists and five blocks. Her first career match against Southern Miss on Aug. 24 was a good one, as she finished just three assists shy of a UC three-game record with 55 assists. Through matches of Sept. 16, Fesl was listed fifth nationally in assists per game.
  • Niemer has shown signs of greatness and ranks second on the team with 3.27 kills per game. The Erlanger, Ky. native has been stout of late, averaging 4.14 kill per game in her last four matches. Niemer exploded for career-highs of 19 kills and seven digs at Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 7 and hit a career-high .423 with 13 kills at IUPUI on Sept. 18.
  • Upton cracked the starting six against Maryland on Aug. 25 and has been a solid player in the middle opposite of Jessie Nevitt. She has reached double figures in kills three times and is averaging 1.83 kills, 0.66 digs and 0.49 blocks per game. In addition, Upton is second on the squad with a .286 hitting percentage.

CUSTER'S LAST STAND: Senior Jenny Custer has been a regular contributor during her Bearcat career and will try to save her best season for last in 2007. This year, Custer is listed fourth on the Bearcats with 2.72 kills per game, while adding 2.08 digs and 0.62 blocks per game. She is also listed second in the BIG EAST with 0.60 service aces per game. In UC career annals, Custer has moved into fifth place on the service aces list with 142. Custer had her best match of the year at IUPUI on Sept. 18, matching a season-best with 16 kills, hitting .500 and adding 10 digs for her 21st career double-double.

HOME COURT HEROES: Cincinnati has enjoyed a strong home court advantage since the opening of Fifth Third Arena in 1989. In the 17-plus years the building has been in existence, the Bearcats have posted a 151-59 (.719) record at home and are 86-12 (.878) since Reed Sunahara took over as head coach in 2000. The Bearcats ended last year with a 13-2 home mark and are 3-1 at home this season, with their only loss coming to No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 12.

ON THE HORIZON: If all goes according to plan, head coach Reed Sunahara will add another milestone to his coaching resume this season. Now in his eighth-year as the Bearcat boss, Sunahara needs just 12 more victories to reach 200 for his career. Already the winningest coach in program history, Sunahara has guided UC to four NCAA Tournament appearances and three conference regular season titles.

TRYING FOR THREE STRAIGHT: Junior Jessie Nevitt is making a push for her third straight All-American honor with her play in 2007. A look at some of Nevitt's accomplishments this season:

  • Ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in hitting percentage (3rd-.372), blocks per game (3rd-1.44) and kills per game (5th-4.20).
  • Named MVP of the State Farm Bearcats Invitational and to the all-tournament team at the Panther Invitational.
  • Tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week on Aug. 27 and to the weekly honor roll on Sept. 3 and Sept. 10.
  • Recorded a career-high 21 kills in just three games in UC's win over Bradley (Sept. 7). Has double figure kills in 10 of the Bearcats' 12 matches this season.
  • Has six performances of at least five blocks in a match, including a season-best nine at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Sept. 7).
  • Became the 22nd player in program history with 850 career kills during UC's win over Virginia Tech (Sept. 8).
  • Cracked the top-10 on the UC career block assists (7th-347) and total blocks (10th-395) charts.