TicketsSept. 20, 2012
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati volleyball team will host conference rivals Notre Dame and DePaul for two matches this weekend to open BIG EAST action. The Bearcats will face the Fighting Irish at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 while matching up against the Blue Demons at 2 p.m. on Sept. 23.
UC enters the weekend with a 2-10 record, having played eight matches against teams currently ranked among the top-25 in the AVCA Coaches' Poll (No. 9 Texas, No. 15 Florida State, No. 17 Purdue, No. 19 Iowa State, No. 20 Illinois (twice), No. 21 Tennessee and No. 24 Western Kentucky).
The Bearcats are coming off of a 1-2 weekend at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational. In the final match against No. 23 Illinois, junior Emily MacIntyre recorded 38 digs, breaking the program record for digs in a match. The previous record of 37 was set by Jamie Frey in 2007 during a five-set match (MacIntyre accomplished the feat in four sets).
NOTRE DAME SERIES
The Bearcats are 6-9 against the Irish all time. The teams last met in the final match of the 2011 BIG EAST Championship, which the Bearcats won 3-0. The victory gave Cincinnati its first BIG EAST tournament title in school history.
ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame is 7-5 in 2012 and is coming off of a 2-1 performance at the Golden Dome Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind. Toni Alugbue leads ND with 3.93 kills/set and Maddie Brindock paces the team with 8.40 assists/set. Nicole Smith has recorded 4.22 digs/set while Marie Roof is averaging 1.00 blocks/set.
DEPAUL SERIES
Cincinnati leads DePaul 28-15 in the all-time series. The last meeting was a 3-0 Bearcat victory on Oct. 2, 2011 in Chicago, Ill.
ABOUT THE BLUE DEMONS
The Blue Demons are 5-7 on the year with wins over Indiana State, Wright State, UT Martin, USC Upstate and Chicago State. They are led by Vasela Zapryanova with 3.32 kills/set. Laura Witt and Aubree Hord have split the setter duties, registering 5.92 and 5.97 assists/set, respectively. Defensively, DePaul is paced by Allyson Rooks with 3.07 digs/set and Rachel Aumann with 0.91 blocks/set.
Story Lines:
- Junior Emily MacIntyre was named the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational Most Valuable Libero after averaging 6.80 digs/set in the three matches. Her 38 digs against No. 23 Illinois were a career high and a school record for digs in a match.
- Senior Jordanne Scott was named to the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational All-Tournament team after hitting 49 kills for a 4.90 kill/set ratio and a .258 attacking percentage.
- Scott has recorded double-digit kills in all but one match this season. Overall, Scott has hit in double digits in 27of the last 28 matches, dating back to Oct. 18, 2011 vs. Western Kentucky.
- Scott leads Cincinnati with 4.39 kills/set, senior Rachel Rohlfs leads with 11.38 assists/set, senior Becca Refenes leads with 1.09 blocks/set and Macintyre leads with 4.33 digs per set.
- Four current players are ranked among the program's elite in three different career statistical categories. Senior Emily Hayden is sixth in career hitting percentage with a .302 mark. Junior Emily MacIntyre sits at third in the record book with a 3.90 career digs per set clip. She also ranks seventh with 1,179 career digs. Senior Becca Refenes is currently in seventh with 385 block assists. Refenes also has 435 career blocks to put her at tenth. Senior Jordanne Scott is seventh in career hitting percentage with a .299 mark. She also 1,322 career kills to rank at No. 10 in the record book. The senior broke into the top-10 when she hit 15 kills in a 3-0 win over UCF on Sept. 14.
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