TicketsSept. 28, 2009
UC CONCLUDES ROAD SWING: Cincinnati concludes its longest road trip of the season when it travels to Dayton on Tuesday, Sept. 29, for a 7 p.m. match against the Flyers at the Frericks Center. UC began its road swing on Sept. 18 with three matches at the Northwestern Tournament, before playing at Western Michigan on Sept. 21, and at Villanova on Sept. 25.
ABOUT THE FLYERS: Dayton completed a five-set win in front of a Frericks Center record crowd of 2,072 against Xavier on Friday, Sept. 25, to improve to 11-2 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Dayton is led offensively by Rachel Krabacher and Lindsay Fletemier, who average 3.83 kps and 3.67 kps, respectively. Amanda Cowdrey is leading the squad in digs, averaging 3.31 dps, in addition to her 2.46 kps. Fletemier has been a force at the net for UD with 1.21 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH DAYTON: Tuesday is the 42nd meeting between Dayton and Cincinnati with the Bearcats owning a 22-18-1 lead in the all-time series. Cincinnati won last year's match in five sets at Fifth Third Arena and the home team has prevailed in the last five meetings. The last time the visitor won on the opponent's home floor was on Sept. 23, 2003, when UC went to Dayton and won 3-0.
CONFERENCE DEBUTS: Four UC freshmen made their BIG EAST Conference debuts on Friday, Sept. 25, at Villanova. Freshman Jordanne Scott shined in her first conference match with 10 kills and a .474 hitting percentage, while fellow freshman Becca Refenes had six kills, hit .500, and had a season-high three service aces. In addition to Refenes and Scott, freshman Megan Turner had four kills, four digs, and a service ace coupled with freshman Karen Onuki's four digs.
ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO: After becoming the 15th player in school history to accumulate 1,000 career kills on Sept. 15, vs. Western Kentucky, junior Stephanie Niemer's 19 kills against Western Michigan on Sept. 21, moved her past current assistant coach Myanna Hellsten for 10th place on the program's career kills chart. Niemer now needs four service aces to surpass Tina Durbin (1984-88) for 10th on the career service aces chart.
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.63 service aces per set compared to just 0.84 sa/s in losses. In six of its 10 wins, Cincinnati has collected at least five service aces, while the Bearcats have tallied fewer than five service aces in four of its six losses. In wins, junior Stephanie Niemer and sophomore Missy Harpenau have combined for 34 of the team's 57 service aces.
BIG EAST RANKINGS: Cincinnati has three players that rank in the Top 10 in the BIG EAST in five statistical categories entering the week. Junior Stephanie Niemer ranks second in the conference in kills per set (4.75) and points per set (5.38), which also ranks her in the Top 10 nationally in those categories. Fellow junior Annie Fesl lead the conference in assists per set (11.58), and is the only player in the conference to average over 11.00 aps. Finally, sophomore Missy Harpenau ranks fourth in the league in service aces, averaging 0.40 per set. Niemer is tied for sixth in the same category averaging 0.38 sa/s.
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.
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.
OH SO CLOSE: Junior Stephanie Niemer could not be stopped during UC's match against No. 17 Utah on Aug. 29. 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.