University of Houston
@ Memphis
Tigers Claim Final C-USA Match
11/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2004
HOUSTON - Houston volleyball wound up the regular Conference USA season on Saturday night in Memphis with a 3-0 loss to the Tigers, as Memphis downed Houston 30-23, 34-32 and 30-27.
With the loss the Cougars stand at 8-20 on the year and 5-8 against C-USA opponents, while the Tigers improve to 25-9 and 9-4, heading into the C-USA Tournament this weekend.
For Houston, it was their fourth straight defeat, and comes on the heels of a four game winning streak that ended with a loss to TCU at home and began the four-game skid.
Junior Kariny Ritter led the way for the Cougars with a team-high 14 kills, senior Loure Dews added 11 kills, and junior libero Jaci Gonzalez led all players with 18 digs.
With her 18 digs, Gonzalez broke her own record for most digs in a single season by any Cougar, now holds the top three spots for digs in a season, and increased her record for most digs in a career to 1,638.
After a 30-23 loss in Game 1, the Cougars bounced back with a strong performance in Game 2 that forced the two teams to a 34-32 finale with the Tigers taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
The 32 points by the Cougars was the most the team has scored in a single game this season, besting their previous best of 31 in a 33-31 loss to Rice back in September.
In the final game of the match, Houston and Memphis each recorded 17 kills in the game while the Cougars committed four attack errors to the Tigers' five. But the Cougars were unable to pull out a win and fell 30-27 to close out the match.
Houston now returns home to await their opponent and their seeding in the C-USA Tournament, which begins on Thursday, Nov. 18, in Louisville, Ky.
