TicketsOct. 1, 2009
UC RETURNS HOME: For the first time in nearly a month, the University of Cincinnati volleyball team will play consecutive matches in Fifth Third Arena when it welcomes Pittsburgh and West Virginia to Clifton for a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches. The Bearcats meet the Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m., before concluding the weekend on Sunday, Oct. 4, with a 2 p.m. match against West Virginia. Admission for both weekend matches will be $1 and Saturday's match will be Camper Reunion day for those campers who participated in UC's volleyball camps this past summer. Sunday is Girl Scout Day as all Girl Scouts in uniform enter for free and will be recognized on the floor between the second and third sets. Sunday also is Bearcats Kids Club Membership Day and $1 hot dogs will be available. Sunday's match against West Virginia will be a White Out as all fans are encouraged to wear White.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS: Pittsburgh begins the second weekend of conference action as one of the five remaining unbeatens in league-play. Offensively, the Panthers are led by Amy Town and Meagan Dooley as the duo averages 4.14 and 3.97 kps, respectively. Senior Michelle Rossi anchors the back row with 4.86 digs per set. The match-up pits the two most explosive offenses in the conference as Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are the top two teams in the BIG EAST in both kills and assists. However, the Panthers rank third in the conference in blocks (2.74 bps), led by Dooley's 1.38 bps.
THE SERIES WITH PITTSBURGH: Saturday is the 14th meeting between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh with the Panthers owning an 8-5 lead in the all-time series. UC and PITT met twice last season, with Cincinnati winning the first match-up in three sets. Pittsburgh responded two weeks later with a five-set come-from-behind triumph in the Quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament at Fitzgerald Field House.
ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS: West Virginia owns an 11-6 overall record and a 1-1 conference mark. WVU has three players averaging over 2.00 kps, led by Lauren Evans' 2.58 kps. Evans is also the team's leader in blocking, averaging 0.94 bps, while Bonnie West leads the team with 4.23 dps. West Virginia's win over Marquette on Sunday, Sept. 27, snapped a 15-match conference losing streak for the Mountaineers.
THE SERIES WITH WEST VIRGINIA: Sunday marks the 12th meeting between UC and WVU with the Bearcats owning a 9-2 lead in the all-time series and the Bearcats have won six consecutive match-ups dating back to 1991.
CAREER NUMBERS: All six of UC's returners from last year have seen action against Pittsburgh and West Virginia at some point in their careers. Junior Lindsay Upton owns the top hitting percentages against both teams among all of UC's returners with a career .326 hitting percentage (21-6-46) against PITT and a .391 (13-4-23) clip against WVU. Defensively, sophomore Missy Harpenau averages more than 1.00 bps against both squads, while senior Jaime Frey averages 3.81 career digs against Pittsburgh and an impressive 5.78 dps against West Virginia.
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 0.76 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 five of its seven 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.
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.