University of Houston
<b> Southern Miss
Volleyball's Home Winning Streak Snapped by Southern Miss
10/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2006
Southern Miss at Houston Box Score (PDF)
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HOUSTON - Justine Farmer fired in 28 kills and sprawled out for 25 digs, but the University of Houston volleyball team lost a 3-2 decision to Southern Miss (30-23, 20-30, 30-12, 30-32, 14-16) Friday evening in a Conference USA match at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
The loss ends Houston's 11-match home winning streak. It was the nation's 11th longest streak entering tonight's action. The Cougars have lost six consecutive five-game matches.
"We're awesome and scary all in the same person," head coach Bill Walton said. "Our level of play goes up and down. Everyone on the court is looking at each other. Someone has to want the last ball and not be afraid to take their best shot. We're a young team growing through some growing pains right now. We'll keep fighting and get to where we need to be soon."
Farmer surpassed the 20-dig mark for the seventh time this season en route to her team-leading 14th double-double of the season.
Krystal Schulle dished out a match-best 58 assists and matched her career-high with 18 digs. Sunshine Misa-Uli added 14 kills and 10 digs, while Becca Sartori powered home 11 kills.
Ashley Calhoun reeled in 20 digs from the back row, while Megan Martin corralled a career-best 13 digs making her first appearance in the starting lineup. Akilah Grant-Sullivan tallied nine kills and five blocks.
Angela Hlavaty and Amanda Blunck paced Southern Miss with a pair of double-doubles. Hlavaty compiled 19 kills and 13 digs, while Blunck notched 13 kills and 21 digs.
After splitting the first two games, Houston (12-9, 3-3 C-USA) jumped ahead 7-4 in the third game. The Cougars caught fire, scoring 23 of the next 31 points en route to a 30-12 rout.
Houston notched a match-best .423 percentage and forced Southern Miss (10-9, 3-2 C-USA) into a -.067 attack percentage allowing only six kills.
The Golden Eagles regrouped and edged out a 32-30 victory in game four. Houston erased a late 28-24 deficit and caught Southern Miss at 29-29 with a Farmer kill. After trading sideouts, Blunck slapped consecutive kills to force a deciding game five.
Southern Miss overturned a 14-13 spread in the fifth game, stringing together three consecutive kills for the 16-14 win.
Houston returns to action against UCF Sunday afternoon. First serve against the Golden Knights is on tap for 1pm at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
"I look at the stats, watch the tape and I don't know how we're losing," Walton said. "We're winning big and losing little. We need not only to be a good frontrunning team but execute better when things get tight."
Cougar Notes
Tonight's match was the 18th all-time meeting between Houston and Southern Miss on the volleyball court ... It was only the second time in the series that the Golden Eagles have defeated Houston ... Houston has lost six consecutive five-game decisions ... The Cougars also had their 11-match home winning streak snapped ... The streak was the 11th longest in the nation entering tonight's action ... Megan Martin earned her first career start ... Martin stretched out for a career-best 13 digs ... Ashley Calhoun has reeled double-digit digs in 13 of her 18 starts at libero this season... It was the sixth time this season and second consecutive match that Calhoun has notched 20 digs ... Krystal Schulle passed out 58 assists and matched her career-high, registering 18 digs ... Sunshine Misa-Uli has powered home double-digit kills in seven of her last 10 matches ... Misa-Uli also tallied her sixth double-double of the season and first since the C-USA at Memphis (Sept. 22) ... Justine Farmer slapped 28 kills and added 25 digs for her team-leading 14th double-double of the season ... The El Paso native has crushed double-digit kills in 24 of her last 26 matches she has played in dating back to last season ... It was the seventh time this season and second consecutive match that Farmer has recorded over 20 digs in a match ... Becca Sartori popped 11 kills and now has 1,207 career kills ... The Houston native is 18 shy of Julie Gates (1986-1989) for the No. 6 spot ... Sartori pulls within 85 kills from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book ... With two blocks, Sartori has 339 career blocks and is three blocks away from Leslie Newell (Cincinnati, 2000-2004) for the No. 28 slot in the Conference USA record book ... Sartori also is seven blocks shy from reaching Karina Faber (1990-92) for the No. 8 slot in the Houston record book ... With two block assists, Sartor has 296 block assists and is six away from Karina Faber (1990-92) for the No. 6 hole ... With two kills, Kelly McAnelly now has 1,294 career kills and is 43 shy from Emily Leffers (1993-94, 1996-97) for the No. 4 position in program history ... The Houston native is two kills away from Bridget Files (Southern Miss, 2000-2003) for the No. 29 spot in the Conference USA record book ... With 19 attempts, McAnelly is 609 swings away from Debbie Vokes (1994-98) for the top spot in that category.
