TicketsSept. 14, 2009
THE WEEK AHEAD: While Cincinnati faced a brutal schedule last week, which featured three matches against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, this week will prove to be just as much of a challenge as the Bearcats play five matches in six days beginning with a Tuesday, Sept. 15 matchup against Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. in Fifth Third Arena. Following Tuesday's match, UC travels to Evanston, Ill., to compete in the Northwestern Tournament against Long Island, Akron, and Northwestern. Instead of traveling home at the conclusion of the tournament, the Bearcats will then head over to Kalamazoo, Mich., to play Western Michigan on Monday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE LADY TOPPERS: Western Kentucky comes to Fifth Third Arena as winners of their last five matches, including three, three-set sweeps over Tennesse State, Northern Illinois, and Memphis at its home tournament last weekend. Jordyn Skinner leads a balanced Lady Toppers offensive attack, averaging 2.58 kills per set. As a team, WKU's .272 hitting percentage ranks 26th nationally. Defensively, WKU is outdigging its opponents, 12.26-11.13, while also outblocking its opponents, 2.09-1.45. Most impressively, the Lady Toppers have 65 service aces on the season.
THE SERIES WITH WESTERN KENTUCKY: Tuesday will be 17th meeting between the schools with the Bearcats owning a 13-3 lead in the all-time series. The schools squared off twice last season with UC registering victories on both occasions. In the first meeting, Cincinnati defeated Western Kentucky, 3-1, in Bowling Green, Ky., which was a pre-cursor to the NCAA First-Round match-up between the programs. At the NCAA Tournament, Cincinnati took the first two sets, before WKU rallied to win sets three and four, sending the match to a fifth-set. In the fifth-set Cincinnati pulled out the victory to advance to the second round.
UPSET SPECIAL: Trying to avoid its third consecutive loss to a ranked opponent in as many matches, Cincinnati came out and defeated the No. 16 Saint Louis Billikens, 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-17), in its second match of the Illinois State Farm Classic on Sept. 12. The Billiken loss marked the first time this season that they have lost to a team not ranked in the Top 25 (Four other losses include: No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Texas, No. 4 Hawai'i, No. 14 Illinois). The UC triumph marks the highest-ranked opponent that the Bearcats have defeated in program history, and it was the first ranked opponent that Cincinnati had defeated since Oct. 10, 2003, when it beat No. 17 Louisville.
NATIONAL ATTENTION: After winning matches against No. 16 Saint Louis and Illinois State to close out last week, Cincinnati received votes in the Sept. 14 American Volleyball Coaches Assosciation (AVCA) Coaches' Poll (see right column). UC owns a 6-4 record and three of its four losses have come to ranked opponents — No. 17 Utah, No. 17 Kentucky, and No. 14 Illinois.
CLOSING IN: Coming in to the 2009 season, Stephanie Niemer needed 200 kills to become the 15th player in UC history to reach 1,000 career kills. 10 matches into the season, Niemer has accumulated 189 kills and needs 11 to reach 1,000 career kills. Niemer looks to become just the eighth player in UC history to reach 1,000 career kills as a junior and if she would reach the milestone against Western Kentucky, she would tie Becky Tenkman as the second fastest player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career kills.
Name (Yrs. Played) No. of Matches to Reach 1,000 Kills Career Kills
Julie DuPont (2001-04)... 66 matches.......................... 2,137
Becky Tenkman (1995-98) 76 matches........................ 1,843
Chrissy Smith (1994-97). 78 matches.......................... 1,546
Jessie Nevitt (2005-08).. 78 matches......................... 1,498
Bonita Wise (1999-02)... 88 matches.......................... 1,534
Trish Ladusaw (1999-02) 92 matches......................... 1,465
Cathy Guye (1987-90)... 97 matches.......................... 1,636
Stephanie Niemer (2007-pr.)....................... 75 matches 989
NCAA RANKINGS: In the initial release of NCAA statistics on Sept. 14, Cincinnati has two players ranked in the Top 25 in three individual statistical categories, while ranking in the Top 30 in two team statistical categories. Junior Stephanie Niemer ranks fifth in the country in kills per set (4.97) and points per set (5.59), and fellow junior Annie Fesl ranks 12th nationally in assists per set, dishing out 11.66 assists on average. It is no coincidence that Cincinnati therefore ranks 18th nationally in assists per set (13.00) and 27th in kills per set(13.87) as a squad.
UC CAPTURES TOURNAMENT TITLE: With three-set wins over Youngstown State and Evansville, and a four-set win over the College of Charleston, Cincinnati captured the 2009 Bearcats Invitational tournament crown. For their stellar play at the tournament, junior Stephanie Niemer, sophomore Missy Harpenau, and freshman Jordanne Scott were all named to the all-tournament team with Niemer taking home MVP honors.
OH SO CLOSE: Junior Stephanie Niemer could not be stopped during UC's match against No. 17 Utah at the Utah Classic. The Erlanger, Ky., native posted a career-high 34 kills, which tied her for second place on Cincinnati's single-match kills list with UC Hall of Famer Sonja Jackson, who put down 34 kills against Dayton on Nov. 5, 1986. Niemer's 34 kills are the most since 2003, when Julie DuPont had 33 kills at Butler on Sept. 25, 2004. Heather Augustine owns the UC single-match kills record with 36 kills against Marquette on Nov. 22, 1991.
FOLLOW UC VOLLEYBALL AND HEAD COACH Reed Sunahara ON TWITTER: Fans can follow the Cincinnati volleyball team and head coach Reed Sunahara on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Cincinnativball and www.twitter.com/ReedSunahara.