TicketsOct. 14, 2009
UC CONCLUDES ROAD SWING: Cincinnati concludes its four-match BIG EAST Conference road swing this weekend when it travels to the State of New Jersey to take on Rutgers and Seton Hall. UC first takes on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m., before heading to South Orange, N.J., to meet the Seton Hall Pirates on Sunday, Oct. 18, at Noon.
ABOUT THE SCARLET KNIGHTS: Rutgers enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-11 and a conference record of 1-4. The Scarlet Knights are led by Caitlin Saxton's 3.35 kps, while Jamie Godfrey paces the defense with 4.06 dps. On the season, Rutgers is averaging almost one kill per set more than its opponents, but opponents are averaging nearly one block per set more than the Scarlet Knights.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS: Saturday's meeting between UC and Rutgers marks the 10th match-up between the schools with Cincinnati leading the all-time series, 6-3. Cincinnati has won the last two meetings when playing at Rutgers and is a perfect 4-0 against the Scarlet Knights since joining the BIG EAST in 2005.
ABOUT THE PIRATES: Seton Hall comes into the weekend with an 8-13 overall record and a 2-3 BIG EAST mark. Last weekend, Seton Hall fell to Villanova in three sets in its only match of the weekend. Offensively, the team is led by Sarah Osmun's 2.91 kps as she is one of four Pirates players averaging over 2.00 kps. Defensively, Allie Matters anchors the back-row defense averaging 5.01 dps. On the season, SHU is 3-3 at home and 1-1 at home in conference action.
THE SERIES WITH SETON HALL: Cincinnati leads the all-time series 3-1 over Seton Hall. The lone loss in the series for the Bearcats occurred on their last trip to South Orange, N.J., in 2007, losing 3-2. UC is 1-1 all-time when playing at Seton Hall.
BENCH PRODUCTION: In her first action in three matches, freshman Emily Hayden provided a huge spark off the bench against Notre Dame on Saturday, Oct. 10. Since Sept. 18, Hayden had only played in five of UC's eight matches and during that span she tallied 15 kills and hit a combined .186. Against the Irish, Hayden exploded for a season-high 18 kills and committed just three errors in 26 attempts for a .577 hitting percentage in addition to a season-best five blocks. Hayden followed that performance with six kills, and three blocks at DePaul on Sunday, Oct. 12. Last weekend, Hayden led the Bearcats in hitting percentage (.514) and blocks (8), while tying for the team lead in kills (30).
GREAT SCOTT: Cincinnati is 3-1 over the last four matches and one of the reasons for their strong play recently has been the emergence of freshman Jordanne Scott. Scott has recorded double-figure kills in each of the last four contests, including a season-high tying 13 kills at DePaul (Oct. 13). During the last four contests, Scott ranks second on the team with 3.07 kps, while hitting at a .280 clip. UC is 7-3 on the season when Scott has at least 10 kills and two of the three losses occurred against newly-ranked No. 8 Kentucky and No. 10 Illinois.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: In the most recent release of NCAA statistics, two UC players rank in the Top 55 nationally in four statistical categories. Junior Annie Fesl leads the way ranking ninth in the country in assists per set (11.73), which also ranks first in the BIG EAST. Additionally, fellow junior Stephanie Niemer ranks in the Top 55 nationally in three statistical categories. Niemer ranks 11th in the nation in points per set (5.18), 13th in kills per set (4.52 kps), and 53rd in service aces per set (0.42 sa/s).
CLEAN SWEEP: UC made a clean sweep of the BIG EAST Conference weekly awards as junior Stephanie Niemer and freshman Megan Turner were named BIG EAST Volleyball Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Monday, Oct. 5. The duo helped the Bearcats extend their home winning streak to 22 matches and improve to 3-0 in conference action after a four-set win over Pittsburgh and a sweep of West Virginia. In matches against Dayton, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia, Niemer averaged 4.36 kps, 3.04 dps, and 0.45 bps. Niemer posted back-to-back kill-dig double-doubles with 22 kills and 13 digs at Dayton on Tuesday, Sept. 29, before coming back with 19 kills and 14 digs versus Pittsburgh. In addition to her double-double against the Panthers, Niemer collected a season-high five service aces which moved her into 10th place on Cincinnati's career service aces chart. Turner continued her stellar play with three consecutive double-figure kill performances during the week. She started the week with 10 kills and eight digs at Dayton, before recording 12 kills against Pittsburgh and 10 versus West Virginia. In conference play this past weekend, Turner hit .381 (22-6-42) to lead all UC players.
UC STREAKS: With a four-set win over Pittsburgh and a three-set sweep over West Virginia Oct. 3-4, Cincinnati continued its strong play at home. UC is 6-0 at home this season and it has won 22 consecutive matches in Fifth Third Arena. Its last home loss was on Oct. 7, 2007 to No. 18 St. John's.
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.60 service aces per set compared to just 0.79 sa/s in losses. In its 13 wins, Cincinnati has collected 72 of the team's 99 service aces and the Bearcats have recorded at least four service aces in 11 of its 13 wins. On the other hand, the Bearcats have tallied fewer than four service aces in five of its eight losses. In wins, junior Stephanie Niemer and sophomore Missy Harpenau have combined for 43 of the team's 72 service aces.
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.