University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
<b> Tulane
Volleyball Wipes Out Tulane
10/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2006
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HOUSTON - Kelly McAnelly crushed 14 kills on a .370 attack percentage and Erin Rice registered a career-best nine blocks as the University of Houston volleyball team knocked off Tulane (30-25, 30-26, 30-24) in a Conference USA match Sunday afternoon at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
"I felt like I was able to turn back the clock this weekend and play the way I used to before getting injured last season," McAnelly said. "Our hitters were confident this afternoon mixing up shots and taking what the defense gave us."
"Defensively I was confident in the gameplan that Coach Walton gave us," Rice said. "I had to stay disciplined, wait for the setter and go after the ball to either side. Each week I strive to beat what I did last week."
The Cougars (12-7, 3-1 C-USA) pushed their home winning streak to 11 matches dating back to last season with eight of the 11 home victories during the streak coming via the sweep.
"It was important for us to hold serve at home especially after what happened at Memphis to open the conference season," head coach Bill Walton said. "We have to continue to get better knowing we have three matches next week."
Justine Farmer powered home 14 kills, while Krystal Schulle distributing a match-best 38 assists. Sunshine Misa-Uli and Becca Sartori added seven and six kills, respectively.
Ashley Calhoun and Misa-Uli picked up eight digs apiece, while Farmer, McAnelly and Schulle each tallied seven digs.
Sara Radosevic paced Tulane (7-6, 3-1 C-USA) with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Ksenija Vlaskovic chipped in with 12 kills and 12 digs of her own.
The Green Wave fired out to an early 14-9 lead in game one taking advantage of a pair of Cougar rotation violations. Houston settled down and charged back with a 6-0 run behind Sartori's serve to take a 15-14 advantage. Rice registered a solo block and an assist during the run.
After four ties and two lead changes, the Houston defense once again turned the pressure on at 23-23 getting a block on Radosevic from Rice and Sartori. Then Rice teamed up with Farmer for a stop of Vlaskovic and concluded the game with McAnelly registering another stop of Vlaskovic for the 30-25 win.
"Erin got three blocks a game today and that's what I want our middle blockers to get," Walton said. "She really used her reach to her advantage."
Houston's offense got into the act opening in game two building an 18-13 lead behind five early kills from Farmer. The Green Wave got within 26-23, but a Sartori kill coupled with a Tulane attack error put the spread back to 28-23. Sartori concluded the game with an ace giving the Cougars a 30-26 win.
The Cougars kept the momentum coming out of the locker room and went ahead 14-9 on a McAnelly kill. Tulane got within two points on six different occasions, but Houston had an answer each time before scoring 10 of the match's final 16 points for the 30-24 sweep.
Houston heads to crosstown rival Rice for a mid-week showdown.
"We're ready to play Rice," McAnelly said. "That's our rival. It's always an exciting match. This is our chance to prove that we have the better volleyball program in Houston."
First serve is slated for 7pm Wednesday night at Autry Court on the Rice campus. Live stats for the match will be available on UHCougars.com
Cougar Notes
Houston improve to 20-4 all-time against Tulane and have won the last four meetings in the series dating back to the 2004 season ... The Cougars improve to 7-0 at home this season and have won 11 straight at the Athletics/Alumni Center dating back to last season ... Eight of the 11 wins during the streak have come via the sweep ... Houston has won eight of 10 matches that have gone three games this season ... The Cougars have won 36 of its last 41 matches when winning game two dating back to November 2003 ... Houston is 11-2 when winning game two this season ... The Cougars improve to 4-0 all-time on Oct. 1 in the Bill Walton era ... Three of the four wins on Oct. 1 have come in conference play ... Houston improves to 3-0 on Sunday's this season ... Ashley Calhoun has served at least one ace in 12 of 19 matches ... She has fired in an ace in all four C-USA appearances ... Erin Rice set a new career-high with nine blocks ... With 14 kills, Kelly McAnelly now has 1,277 career kills and is 60 kills away from Emily Leffers (1993-94, 96-97) for the No. 4 hole ... McAnelly also is four kills away from moving into the Top 30 of Conference USA history ... With 27 attempts, McAnelly is 687 swings away from Debbie Vokes (1994-98) for the top spot in that category ... Becca Sartori had her double-digit kill streak snapped at five consecutive matches ... With six kills, Sartori now has 1,189 kills and is five shy from Karen Bell (1988-91) for the No. 7 hole ... She also pulls within 91 kills from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book ... Sartori added one block assist and is three shy from matching Latisha Charles (1986-87, 1989-90) for No. 7 all-time ... She is one block away from moving into the Top 30 of Conference USA history and 14 total blocks shy of reaching Karina Faber (1990-92) for the No. 8 slot in program history ... Justine Farmer has powered home double-digit kills in 22 of her last 24 matches she has played in dating back to last season.
