Week Ahead: Volleyball Chasing BIG EAST Tournament Title

Nov. 14, 2010

By Megan Roehm
GoBEARCATS.com

This is a look at what's coming up this week in UC sports:

• The men's basketball team will kick off the 2010-11 regular season with a home game against Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats then take on IPFW in another home game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio and broadcast on 700 WLW.
• The women's basketball team will host Robert Morris at 2 p.m. Sunday at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats are 2-0 this season.
• The football team will take on Rutgers in the Black Out game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium. The game will be televised on the BIG EAST Network (locally on WKRC-TV) and on the radio on 700 WLW. Fans are encouraged to wear black. The Bearcats are 3-6 (1-3 BIG EAST).
• The swimming and diving team will participate in the Purdue Invitational Friday through Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind.
• The No. 19 women's volleyball team will compete in the BIG EAST Tournament this weekend in Pittsburgh, Pa. The top-seeded Bearcats will face USF in quarterfinal play at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. UC will take a 26-4 record into the tournament after finishing 13-1 in the BIG EAST.
• The baseball team will play in their annual Red/Black World Series this weekend at Marge Schott Stadium. Game one will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, followed by game two at 6:30 p.m. Friday and game three at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Calendar:
MEN'S BASKETBALL

• 7 p.m. Monday: UC vs. Mount St. Mary's, Fifth Third Arena Gametracker | Fox Sports Ohio | 700 WLW
• 1 p.m. Saturday: UC vs. IPFW, Fifth Third Arena Gametracker | Fox Sports Ohio | 700 WLW

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

• 2 p.m. Sunday: UC vs. Robert Morris, Fifth Third Arena Gametracker | Live Audio/Video

FOOTBALL

• 7:30 p.m. Saturday: UC vs. Rutgers, Nippert Stadium Gametracker | BIG EAST Network (WKRC-TV in Cincinnati) | 700 WLW

SWIMMING AND DIVING

• Friday-Sunday: Purdue Invitational, West Lafayette, Ind.

VOLLEYBALL

• 12:30 p.m. Friday: BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals vs. USF, Pittsburgh, Pa. BIG EAST Volleyball Championship Central
• 1:00 p.m./3:30 p.m. Saturday: BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• 3:30 p.m. Sunday: BIG EAST Tournament Finals, Pittsburgh, Pa. ESPNU

BASEBALL

• 6:30 p.m. Thursday: Game 1 Red/Black World Series, Marge Schott Stadium
• 6:30 p.m. Friday: Game 2 Red/Black World Series, Marge Schott Stadium
• 1 p.m. Sunday: Game 3 Red/Black World Series, Marge Schott Stadium

Bearcats and the Community:

• Don't forget to vote for the Bearcat in the Mascot National Championship. Visit www.capitalonebowl.com daily to vote.
• Junior cheerleader April Leonard is representing UC in Athlon Sports' Sideline Spirit Contest. To vote for April, visit spirit.athlonsports.com daily through Nov. 15.

In case you missed it:

• The baseball team released its 2011 season schedule last week. The schedule includes a trip to Florida for the BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge and 28 home games. UC begins the season with the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area Feb. 18-20. UC kicks off its home schedule with three straight three-game series' versus Youngstown State March 4-6. Click here for the full 2011 schedule.
• The men's basketball team defeated Indiana University Southeast, 91-63, in their second and final exhibition game last Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena.
• The men's basketball team signed four players to national letters of intent for the 2011-12 season. Joining the Bearcats will be Shaquille Thomas (Paterson, N.J./NIA Prep School), Jermaine Sanders (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Rice), Octavius Ellis (Memphis, Tenn./Whitehaven), and Ge'Lawn Guyn (Georgetown, Ky./Scott County).
• The cross country team's junior Eric Finan finished in first place overall last Saturday, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Championships at the Katke-Cousins Golf Course on the campus of Oakland University. Finan finished the men's 10k run in 30:25.4 minutes, propelling the UC men's team to a ninth-place finish with 277 points after being projected to finish 12th. The Cincinnati women's team ended the day in 20th place, with a 550-point tally.
• The football team couldn't overcome a 30-3 halftime deficit, and fell to West Virginia, 37-10, last Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va. It marked the first game this season that junior quarterback, Zach Collaros, who has 20 TD passes, failed to find the end zone, as Isaiah Pead scored the only Cincinnati touchdown on a 53-yard run.
• The women's basketball team beat Southwest Baptist last Friday, 55-40, at Fifth Third Arena in their 2010-11 regular season opener. The Bearcats then went on to defeat North Florida last Sunday, 61-42, at Fifth Third Arena.
• The men's soccer team advanced to the BIG EAST Championship semifinal match, with a 4-1 win on penalty kicks, against No. 9/9 Connecticut last Monday at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats went on to drop a 2-1 decision against Providence in a BIG EAST Championship semifinal match last Friday at Red Bull Arena. Cincinnati will now await its NCAA fate. The NCAA Tournament selection show will be held on Monday at 4:30 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPNU.
• The men's soccer team's junior midfielder Matt Bahner was named to the all-BIG EAST second team and senior goalkeeper Matt Williams earned third-team honors last Thursday at the annual awards banquet on the eve of the BIG EAST Championship semifinal matches.
• The women's soccer team's midfielder Sydney Barker was named to the 2010 College Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District third team.
• The volleyball team defeated Syracuse in five sets last Friday in Syracuse, N.Y. UC went on to win the BIG EAST regular season championship outright and earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament after defeating Marquette in three sets.