TicketsOct. 4, 2010
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Cincinnati senior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) was named BIG EAST Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. It is her fourth straight Player of the Week honor and the sixth of her career.
Niemer earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors after helping the Bearcats to conference wins last week at St. John's and Connecticut. Niemer and the Bearcats have won eight straight matches, including six consecutive in straight sets. The senior led the conference last week with 5.50 kills per set, including 12 kills at St. John's on Oct. 1 and 21 kills at Connecticut on Oct. 3. Niemer also had a .475 hitting percentage against the Huskies to go with six digs. The Erlanger, Ky., native finished the week with a .392 hitting percentage to complement 1.67 digs per set and 1.00 blocks per set.
The victories moved Cincinnati from No. 22 to No. 21 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association. It is the highest ranking for a BIG EAST squad in the national poll since Nov. 5, 2007 when Louisville was ranked No. 17. The Bearcats have appeared in the poll for three consecutive weeks.
The Bearcats host a pair of BIG EAST matches at home in Fifth Third Arena this weekend as DePaul travels in on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and then Notre Dame on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. The Notre Dame match will be aired live nationally on ESPNU and has been designated the "Ring of Red" match. Fans are encouraged to wear red to Sunday's match.