TicketsSept. 21, 2009
THE WEEK AHEAD: Cincinnati continues its road trip on Monday, Sept. 21, when it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., to play Western Michigan at 7 p.m. Following Monday's match with the Broncos, UC begins BIG EAST Conference play on Friday, Sept. 25, when it heads to Villanova, Pa., to take on Villanova.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS: The defending Mid-American Conference Champion Western Michigan Broncos enter the week with a 7-7 overall record. Three of the seven losses have come against ranked opponents, while other losses have come to Dayton, Ohio State, and BIG EAST Conference foe Marquette. WMU returns all eight letterwinners from its Sweet Sixteen run last season, including 2008 first-team all-MAC performer Michelle Moore, 2008 MAC Setter of the Year Jillian Mitchell, and 2008 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Strimel. Moore leads the Broncos offensive attack averaging 3.18 kps, while Strimel anchors the back row with her 3.44 dps.
THE SERIES WITH WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos own a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Bearcats. UC's lone win in series history came in the last meeting between the schools on Aug. 25, 2006, when the Bearcats downed the Broncos in four sets at the State Farm Bearcats Invitational.
WILDCAT CLASSIC: Following a 2-1 performance at the Wildcat Classic, UC junior Stephanie Niemer and freshman Becca Refenes were named to the all-tournament team. Niemer has now been named to four all-tournament teams this season, while Refenes earned the first all-tournament selection of her career. Niemer, Cincinnati's leading attacker, averaged 3.91 kills per set, 1.73 digs per set, and averaged 0.55 blocks per set, while hitting .273 over the three-match stretch. Refenes averaged 1.91 kills per set and a team-best 1.36 blocks per set for the tournament.
CLOSING IN: After becoming the 15th player in school history to accumulate 1,000 career kills on Sept. 15 vs. Western Kentucky, junior Stephanie Niemer is closing in on a pair of Cincinnati's career Top 10 lists. Niemer needs 19 kills to move past current assistant coach Myanna Hellsten (2003-06) for 10th on the all-time kills list, while also needing five service aces to surpass Tina Durbin (1984-88) for 10th on the career service aces chart.
IT TAKES THREE: Junior Stephanie Niemer and sophomore Missy Harpenau have been UC's top attackers through 14 matches this season, averaging 4.77 kps and 3.00 kps, respectively. However, Cincinnati has thrived this season when three players record double-figure kills. UC is 5-1 on the season when at least three players record 10 kills in a match, while the Bearcats are just 4-4 when less than three players reach double-figure kills.
NIEMER GETS TO 1,000: 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. In the second set against Western Kentucky on Sept. 15, Niemer put down her 1,000th career kill tying her with Becky Tenkman as the second-fastest player in school history to reach the milestone. Niemer also becomes the eighth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills as a junior.
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.
NCAA RANKINGS: In the initial release of NCAA statistics on Sept. 14, Cincinnati had 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 ranked fifth in the country in kills per set (4.97) and points per set (5.59), and fellow junior Annie Fesl ranked 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.
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.