TicketsNov. 17, 2009
Game Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: Cincinnati begins postseason play when it heads to Louisville, Ky., Nov. 20-22, for the 2009 BIG EAST Volleyball Championships. The Bearcats enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and UC will take on the seventh-seeded Connecticut Huskies. Cincinnati and Connecticut play at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, in the quarterfinals, with the winner of the match advancing to play the winner of the No. 3 Pittsburgh/No. 6 USF match on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m. Notre Dame enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed and the Irish will play No. 8 seed Seton Hall on Friday, Nov. 20, at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that match-up will meet the winner of the No. 4 Louisville/No. 5 Syracuse contest on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 3 p.m. Tickets for Friday's matches are $10 for adults, and $5 for Youth (18 & under), Seniors (65 & over) and BIG EAST students with ID. Saturday's prices are $7 for adults, and $5 for Youth, Seniors, and BIG EAST students with ID. All-session passes can be purchased by adults for $20 and by Youth, Seniors, and BIG EAST students with ID's for $12.
UC IN THE BIG EAST TOURNEY: Since joining the BIG EAST in 2005, Cincinnati has made five consecutive BIG EAST Tournaments. UC is 1-4 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, with its lone win coming in the 2005 quarterfinals against St. John's.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Connecticut enters the conference tournament with a 14-16 overall record and a 7-7 BIG EAST Conference mark after dropping matches to UC and Louisville last weekend. Rebecca Murray leads the team offensively averaging 2.65 kps, while Jessica Isaac leads the team defensively averaging 4.19 digs per set. In conference-only action, Isaac averaged 5.31 dps to rank second in conference-only matches.
THE SERIES WITH CONNECTICUT: Friday's meeting between UC and UConn will be the sixth meeting all-time between the schools with Cincinnati owning a 4-1 edge in the series. There will be six days between meetings as Cincinnati recently defeated UConn 3-0 on Saturday, Nov. 14.
DEFENDING HOME: With three-set wins over Connecticut and St. John's on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, respectively, Cincinnati extended its home winning streak to 27 matches. The previous school record for consecutive home wins was 23 matches, which spanned from Nov. 17, 2002 to Oct. 24, 2004. The Bearcats' home winning streak dates back to 2007, where Cincinnati won its final two home matches of the season, before going 14-0 at home last season and 11-0 this season. The Bearcats own the second longest home winning streak in the country, trailing only the No. 1 team in the country and back-to-back National Champions Penn State Nittany Lions. Below are the three longest home winning streaks in the country.
Team.................. Home Court Consecutive Home Wins
Penn State ........... Rec Hall............................. 70
Cincinnati ............. Fifth Third Arena................. 27
North Dakota St. .. Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse... 19
20-10: With a three-set win over USF on Sunday, Nov. 8, Cincinnati won its 20th game of the season, marking the ninth time that UC has reached the 20-win plateau under the direction of 10th-year head coach Reed Sunahara. UC enters the BIG EAST Tournament with a 22-9 overall record and a 12-2 BIG EAST record. The 12 wins equals last year's mark for the most conference wins since joining the BIG EAST in 2005.
FESL MOVES INTO ELITE COMPANY: In the second set of Cincinnati's three-set win over UConn on Nov. 14, junior Annie Fesl surpassed 4,000 assists for her career. Fesl is just the third player in program history to eclipse 4,000 assists, joining Laura Lauder (2000-2003), and Noel Olsen (2003-06).
NATIONAL RANKINGS: In the most recent release of NCAA statistics, two UC players rank in the Top 35 nationally in four statistical categories. Junior Annie Fesl leads the way ranking 15th in the country in assists per set (11.36), which also ranks first in the BIG EAST. Additionally, fellow junior Stephanie Niemer ranks in the Top 35 nationally in three statistical categories. Niemer ranks 22nd in the nation in points per set (4.89), 29th in the nation in service aces per set (0.43 sa/s), and 32nd in kills per set (4.20 kps).
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.70 service aces per set compared to just 0.92 sa/s in losses. In its 22 wins, Cincinnati has collected 126 of the team's 160 service aces and the Bearcats have recorded at least four service aces in 19 of its 22 wins. On the other hand, the Bearcats have tallied fewer than four service aces in five of its nine losses. In wins, junior Stephanie Niemer and sophomore Missy Harpenau have combined for 74 of the team's 126 service aces (58.7 percent). Nationally, the duo of Niemer and Harpenau also rank 29th and 49th, respectively, in service aces per set.
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.