TicketsOct. 22, 2009
UC RETURNS HOME: Cincinnati kicks off the second half of its BIG EAST Conference season on Friday, Oct. 23, with a 7:30 p.m. match against Louisville at Fifth Third Arena. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Friday's match will be UC's Breast Cancer Awareness match and fans are encouraged to wear pink in honor of the event. Donations will be accepted at the ticket box office on the East Concourse of Fifth Third Arena for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Louisville comes into the week with a 12-8 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark. The Cardinals played a tough non-conference schedule and U of L is the only team to have defeated No. 7 Kentucky this season. Lola Arslanbekova leads the team in kills averaging 3.90 kps, ranking her fifth in the BIG EAST. As a team, the Cardinals rank second in the conference and 35th nationally in hitting percentage with a .256 clip. Louisville is also the top blocking team in the BIG EAST and are led in that category by Lecia Brown's 1.33 bps. Brown also leads the BIG EAST and ranks seventh nationally with a .422 hitting percentage.
THE SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE: Friday's meeting between UC and Louisville marks the 46th match-up between the schools with Louisville leading the all-time series, 29-16. Cincinnati won last year's match-up, 3-1, in Fifth Third Arena.
STUDENT RAFFLE: With tickets sold out for the homecoming football game between the No. 5/6 University of Cincinnati football team and the University of Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, Oct. 24, students will have their final opportunity to win tickets to the game by coming to Friday night's volleyball match between UC and U of L. Students who have not received tickets for Saturday's homecoming football game will have the opportunity to win tickets to the football game by writing down their Student ID as they enter the match and it will go into a raffle. Winners will be announced at the completion of the match. In order to win tickets, students must be present following the conclusion of the match.
NOTHING LIKE FIFTH THIRD ARENA: Cincinnati will be attempting to tie the school record for most consecutive home wins on Friday, Oct. 23, against Louisville. The Bearcats have won 22 consecutive home matches dating back to Nov. 3, 2007. UC won its final two home matches of the 2007 season against Pittsburgh and West Virginia, before going 14-0 at home last season and starting this season 6-0 at home. The longest home winning streak in school history is 23 matches spanning from Nov. 17, 2002 to Oct. 24, 2004.
FESL APPROACHING TOP THREE: All season, junior Annie Fesl has been creeping up Cincinnati's all-time assists chart and currently sits in fourth with 3,819 career assists. Fesl is just 33 assists away from surpassing Paige Pees (1988-1991) for third on the all-time chart. Fesl is on pace to crack 4,000 career assists this season, which would make her just the third player in UC history to reach that mark joining Noel Olsen (2003-06) and Laura Lauder (2000-03).
SCOTT LEADS UC IN NEW JERSEY: In wins at both Rutgers and Seton Hall last weekend, freshman Jordanne Scott was the hot hand for UC. The freshman from Indianapolis had 10 kills against the Scarlet Knights, before tallying a career-high 17 kills against the Pirates, extending her streak of double-figure kills matches to six. For the weekend, Scott averaged 3.86 kills per set while hitting at a .512 clip. Scott also added 1.14 blocks per set for the weekend.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS: Prior to Cincinnati's match at DePaul on Sunday, Oct. 11, Cincinnati had posted a team hitting percentage over .250 in just five of 20 matches. However, over the last three matches, Cincinnati has hit above .250 in each match, including hitting over .320 in two of the three matches. Over the last three matches, junior Annie Fesl is averaging 12.00 aps and five players are hitting over .200 led by freshman Jordanne Scott's .540 hitting percentage. One of the reasons for UC's recent success is that the Bearcats are averaging just 4.3 errors per set over the last three matches compared to 6.4 errors per contest during the first 20 matches.
500, 500: While there are 15 players in school history that have eclipsed 1,000 career kills, only five have accumulated 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Mid-way through her sophomore campaign, Missy Harpenau recently reached 500 kills and 500 digs for her career. Through this point in her career, Harpenau has 512 kills and 571 digs.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: In the most recent release of NCAA statistics, two UC players rank in the Top 45 nationally in four statistical categories. Junior Annie Fesl leads the way ranking 10th in the country in assists per set (11.77), which also ranks first in the BIG EAST. Additionally, fellow junior Stephanie Niemer ranks in the Top 45 nationally in three statistical categories. Niemer ranks 17th in the nation in points per set (5.05), 20th in kills per set (4.38 kps), and 41st in service aces per set (0.42 sa/s).
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.56 service aces per set compared to just 0.79 sa/s in losses. In its 15 wins, Cincinnati has collected 81 of the team's 108 service aces and the Bearcats have recorded at least four service aces in 13 of its 15 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 51 of the team's 81 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.