TicketsNov. 25, 2009
LOCAL FOE: After falling short in the BIG EAST Championship match, Cincinnati plays local rival Miami (OH) in its final regular-season match on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 2 p.m., in Fifth Third Arena. Saturday's match will be Senior Day as the Cincinnati volleyball team will honor its lone senior, Jaime Frey.
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS: Miami (OH) enters the final week of the regular-season with a 17-13 overall record and finished third in the Mid-American Conference with an 11-5 mark. The third-seeded RedHawks advanced to the semi-finals of the MAC Tournament, before falling to the second-seeded Western Michigan Broncos, 3-0. Miami is led offensively by one of its four seniors, Maria Leahy, who is averaging 2.79 kills per set. First-team all-MAC selection Andrea Atteberry leads the team in assists and has posted two triple-doubles this season. Defensively, second-team all-conference selection Michele Metzler leads the team in blocking with 0.93 blocks per set.
THE SERIES WITH MIAMI (OH): Saturday's meeting between UC and Miami will be the 32nd meeting all-time between the local rivals with Cincinnati owning a 19-12 edge in the series. Cincinnati has won the last four meetings, including a 3-0 win in the last meeting on Sept. 7, 2004, at Fifth Third Arena.
SENIOR DAY: Senior Jaime Frey is playing the final match of her career in Fifth Third Arena on Saturday against Miami (OH). Jaime has been a fixture in the Bearcats lineup since stepping foot on campus in 2006. In her first season in a UC uniform, Jaime set the UC record for digs in a three-, four-, and five-set match, which included a school-record 37-dig performance in the BIG EAST Championships against Notre Dame. In 2006, she led the conference in digs in overall and conference-only matches, averaging 5.43 digs per set and 6.10 digs per set, respectively. The 5.43 digs per set average is a UC single-season record. In four years as the starting libero, Frey ranks second on Cincinnati's career digs chart with 1,808 and is also second on UC's career digs per set chart, averaging 3.97 digs per set for her career.
LAST TIME OUT: With wins over Connecticut and USF in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, Cincinnati advanced to its first BIG EAST Championship match against the Louisville Cardinals. The Bearcats fought hard, but could not overcome 37 combined hitting and serving errors as U of L won its second straight conference tournament title and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Junior Stephanie Niemer and freshman Emily Hayden were named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team following their efforts in the tournament. Niemer averaged 4.36 kps, 2.27 dps, and 0.73 bps, while adding eight service aces for the tournament, while Hayden averaged 3.09 kps and hit .468 for the tournament. The two all-tournament selections mark the first time UC has placed two players on a BIG EAST All-Tournament squad.
TRIO TAKES HOME ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: At the annual BIG EAST Volleyball banquet on Nov. 19, juniors Annie Fesl and Stephanie Niemer, and sophomore Missy Harpenau were selected as all-conference performers. Niemer and Fesl were first-team all-BIG EAST selections, while Harpenau was a second-team selection. Niemer was a unanimous first-team selection and is now a three-time all-conference selection after earning first-team distinction last season and second-team honors in 2007. Fesl joined Niemer on the first team, marking the second year in a row that UC has had two representatives earn first-team all-conference honors. For the first time in her career, Harpenau earned all-conference distinction after being named to the second team. Harpenau leads the Bearcats with 14 kill-dig double-doubles and leads the squad in digs, while ranking second on the team in kills.
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 has a 24-10 overall record and a 12-2 BIG EAST record. The 12 wins equal 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 has 4,174 career assists and is just the third player in program history to eclipse 4,000 assists, joining Laura Lauder (2000-2003), and Noel Olsen (2003-06).
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.75 service aces per set compared to just 0.88 sa/s in losses. In its 24 wins, Cincinnati has collected 142 of the team's 178 service aces and the Bearcats have recorded at least four service aces in 21 of its 24 wins. On the other hand, the Bearcats have tallied fewer than four service aces in six of its 10 losses. In wins, junior Stephanie Niemer and sophomore Missy Harpenau have combined for 82 of the team's 142 service aces (57.7 percent). Nationally, the duo of Niemer and Harpenau also rank 29th and 49th, respectively, in service aces per set.