Volleyball wins 25th straight at home

After beating Big East foes Syracuse and Marquette Halloween weekend, the University of Cincinnati’s women’s volleyball team set a school record winning its 25th straight home match.

“We’ve come to the point where we have the mental attitude that we’re not going to lose here,” said junior Stephanie Niemer. “We refuse to lose at home, it’s [our] court and we own it.”

UC head coach Reed Sunahara was also pleased with the team’s success.

“It’s always good to win and that’s what were focusing on,” Sunahara said. “Every time we step on the floor, the girls are so confident.”

First up for the Bearcats was the Marquette Golden Eagles Friday, Oct 30. The Bearcats made quick work of the Eagles sweeping them 3-0.

Juniors Niemer and Annie Fesl played well putting up impressive numbers. Fesl had a double-double and recorded 29 assists with five kills, while Niemer had a career high 14 kills.

The Bearcats had a one-day break and then were back at it hosting the Syracuse Orange Sunday, Nov. 1.

Syracuse proved to be more of a challenge then Marquette, however the Bearcats still won the match 3-1.

UC started off the first game with an early lead over the Orange, but the Bearcats went into a mid-game slump and ended up losing 25-21.

Despite the first-game loss, the Bearcats quickly rebounded and took the second game 25-13.

“I thought we started off pretty slow, but we got it together in the second game and we didn’t let up,” Niemer said.

The Bearcats played the rest of the game strong, finishing off the Orange and taking the third and fourth sets 25-13 and 25-8 respectively.

“We started off slow but then we picked up on some momentum and I thought our execution was better,” Sunahara said. “Our passing was better and our setting was better [and if] we can pass we can run a good offense.”

Freshmen Jordanne Scott and Sophomore Missy Harpenau led the team, each recording 11 kills.

The Bearcats are now 19-8 and 9-1 in the Big East putting them in second place behind Notre Dame.

UC finishes out the season playing its four remaining games against Big East teams.

Next up, the Bearcats go on the road and are scheduled to play Georgetown University Friday, Nov 6.