University of Houston
SOUTHERN MISS*
Volleyball Shines In C-USA Opener
10/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2004
HOUSTON - Friday night's Conference USA opener against Southern Miss turned into a night of firsts on the season for the Cougar volleyball team as Houston overcame a Game 1 loss to take the match 3-1.
On the evening, both sophomore Kelly McAnelly and junior Jennifer Hohl turned in career-high numbers to help the Cougars snap a school-record 11-game-losing streak.
The skid for the Cougars began after their season opening win against Maryland back on Sept. 3. Since then Houston had struggled to find a rhythm, but it all came together Friday night at the Athletics/Alumni Center with the Cougars winning in four games, 26-30, 30-25, 30-21 and 30-27.
Six Cougars posted double-digit numbers in one statistical category or another, with both McAnelly and senior Mirela Vasconcellos recording double doubles on the evening.
McAnelly lead all players with a match-high 33 kills, while hitting a strong .377 and picked up 13 digs along the way for her fifth double-double outing this season. The 33 kills is a new career high for the sophomore who tied her previous career high of 24 earlier this season against Maryland.
Vasconcellos played sparingly in tonight's match but made her presence felt every time she was on the court with her 17 assists and 15 digs for her second double-double performance of the year.
Other Cougars in double digits were sophomore Becca Sartori with 11 kills, senior Loure Dews with 15 kills and juniors Jennifer Hohl and Jaci Gonzalez, with Hohl handing out a career high 45 assists and Gonzalez sweeping up 26 digs.
Friday's match marked the first time this season that the Cougars have been able to put together three straight wins and did with a season-high 77 kills while hitting a season best .259 and tied the season high for most assists this year with 70 handouts on the team.
After falling in Game 1, the Cougars responded by dominating the next two games before the decisive Game 4 battle.
Trailing 26-22, the Golden Eagles rallied to take the lead from Houston at 26-27. Refusing to allow Southern Miss to even up the match, the Cougars stung their own four-point rally together to close out the match and snap their school-history-high-losing streak with a 30-27 victory.
Houston will look to carry the momentum from tonight's win into tomorrow's battle with Tulane (6-3, 0-1) who lost on Friday to TCU. The Cougars and Green Wave face off at 7:00 p.m. in the Athletics/Alumni Center where admission is free.
