TicketsDec. 2, 2009
BACK IN THE DANCE: Cincinnati will make its second straight appearance in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament when the Bearcats travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament on Dec. 4, at 8 p.m., in St. John Arena. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. First and second round matchups will be played at campus sites and teams winning both matches will move onto regional play on Dec. 11th and 12th at predetermined sites. The winner of the meeting between the Bearcats and Buckeyes will meet the winner of the No. 9 California/Lipscomb match on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE FIELD: California enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 9 seed and is the top seed at the Columbus site. Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament champion Lipscomb, Ohio State, and Cincinnati round out the teams that will be competing for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. Cal finished the regular-season with an 18-10 overall record and an 11-7 PAC-10 mark. Nine of Cal's 10 losses have come against ranked opponents. The Golden Bears are led offensively by Hana Cutura's 5.09 kills per set and the Bears are the top blocking team at the Columbus site averaging 2.68 blocks per set. Following a two-year absence from the tournament, Ohio State returns to the Big Dance and will serve as the host site. The Buckeyes have a well-balanced attack and are one of the toughest serving teams at the site as five players have 20-plus aces on the season. Finally, Lipscomb comes to Columbus with the best record of all four teams with a 28-3 record. The Lady Bisons went a perfect 20-0 in conference. Alex Kelly paces the squad averaging 4.40 kps.
THE SERIES WITH THE FIELD: The Bearcats have never played against California or Lipscomb, while Cincinnati is 2-16 all-time Ohio State. The Bearcats and Buckeyes have met once in the NCAA Tournament with UC falling in four sets to OSU in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
UC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Bearcats own a 2-7 record in seven previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. Cincinnati played in its first NCAA Tournament match in 1981 after registering a 33-11 regular-season record. The Bearcats dropped their first tournament match to Penn State, 3-0. Seventeen years later, Cincinnati returned to the Big Dance in 1999 after winning the Conference USA Tournament. UC fell to Santa Barbara in four sets, but that tournament appearance began a string of five consecutive NCAA Tournament showings for Cincinnati. In 2001, UC recorded its first NCAA Tournament win with a four-set triumph over cross-town rival Xavier and last season, the Bearcats registered their second NCAA Tournament triumph with a 3-2 win over Western Kentucky.
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 15 kill-dig double-doubles and leads the squad in digs, while ranking second on the team in kills.
DEFENDING HOME: With a three-set wins over Miami (OH) on Nov. 28, Cincinnati extended its home winning streak to 28 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 12-0 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. Below are the three longest home winning streaks in the country.
Team.................. Home Court Consecutive Home Wins
Penn State ........... Rec Hall............................. 72
Cincinnati ............. Fifth Third Arena................. 28
North Dakota St. .. Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse... 19
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS: Since Cincinnati suffered a three-set loss to Georgetown on Nov. 6, the Bearcats have won six of their last seven matches and one of the reasons for the team's success has been the play of freshman Emily Hayden. During that stretch, Hayden is leading the team in hitting percentage, hitting at a .555 clip, and is third on the team in kills, averaging 2.91 kps. Hayden has registered double-digit kills in four of the seven matches and has hit over .600 in five of the seven contests.
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 25-10 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.
X-FACTOR: One of the keys to success for Cincinnati this season has been its serving. In wins, UC is averaging 1.74 service aces per set compared to just 0.88 sa/s in losses. In its 25 wins, Cincinnati has collected 146 of the team's 182 service aces and the Bearcats have recorded at least four service aces in 22 of its 25 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 84 of the team's 146 service aces (57.5 percent). Nationally, the duo of Niemer and Harpenau also rank 27th and 51st, respectively, in service aces per set.