Louisville, Ky. - The No. 2 Cincinnati Bearcats advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship for just the second time in school history with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-17) victory over the No. 7 seeded Connecticut Huskies. All-BIG EAST First Team selection Stephanie Niemer led the Bearcats with 15 kills and chipped in 10 digs, while fellow first team selection Annie Fesl had 48 assists to pace all players.

Cincinnati came out with a balanced attack in the first set as six Bearcats recorded a kill and four had three or more. UC freshmen Emily Hayden and Jordanne Scott each had four kills. Cincinnati took the lead on the first point and did not look back. Connecticut stayed close until 18-15 when Cincinnati went on an 8-3 run to close out the first set.

The Bearcats continued to roll in the first half of the second set, jumping out to a 12-7 lead. The Huskies did not back down however and battled back to take their first lead of the day at 21-20. The Huskies held their lead to 23-22 but Cincinnati remained poised and tied the set at 23 on a kill by Niemer. The Bearcats closed out the set with a block from Fesl, and a UConn attack error to take a 2-0 advantage.

Cincinnati jumped out to another early lead in the third set with a 12-6 advantage, but Connecticut fought back again, using a 13-4 run to take a 19-16 lead. UConn kept its lead until 22-21 when Cincinnati sophomore Missy Harpenau tied the game at 22 with her seventh kill of the day. Connecticut stayed strong with a kill from senior Chauntay Mickens to regain the lead and carried the momentum to two more points on a block and kill to take the third set.

Connecticut took an early lead in the fourth set, 3-1 but could not hold the advantage as the Bearcats tied the score at eight. Cincinnati used a 12-5 run to pull away from the Huskies which put them in position for victory. Back-to-back kills by Harpenau gave UC match point, but Connecticut kept fighting getting two more points before Hayden put the match away with her 13th kill.

Cincinnati advances to face the USF Bulls in the first match of the semifinals tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. ET.