University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Dismisses Robert Morris
8/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2006
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TOWSON, Md. - Justine Farmer cranked 16 kills, while Akilah Grant-Sullivan tallied a career-best nine kills on an .818 attack percentage as the University of Houston volleyball shut down Robert Morris (30-23, 30-13, 30-17) Sunday afternoon at the Towson Center.
The victory for the Cougars was also No. 399 at Houston for head coach Bill Walton. He is only one win away from becoming the third coach in Cougar history to win 400 games at UH. Walton is looking to join former basketball coach Guy V. Lewis and current baseball manager Rayner Noble.
The Cougars concluded the opening weekend of the season at 2-1 for the third time in the last four seasons. Farmer along with Becca Sartori was named to the Towson Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Kelsey King distributed a match-best 37 assists and fueled the Houston offense to a .405 attack percentage for the afternoon, while Millicent Martin added five kills and a match-best 11 digs. Erin Rice also powered home six kills and three blocks for the victors.
Kelly McAnelly recorded five kills and moved passed Janelle Harmonson (1988-89, 1991-92) for No. 9 in program history. The Houston native now has 1,144 career kills and is 14 kills away from equaling Nashika Stokes (1993-96) for the No. 8 spot.
The Cougar defense put together a stellar performance, holding the Robert Morris offense to a -.045 attack percentage en route to forcing 24 attack errors. Emily Wolthius paced the Colonials with nine kills.
Houston (2-1) came out firing on all cylinders behind the right arm of Grant-Sullivan, who knocked four of the team's first six kills as the Cougars built an early 11-4 lead in game one. Robert Morris (0-3) got within five points on two separate occasions, but the Cougars answered each time, earning the 30-23 win.
The Cougars opened game two with another early run, scoring 13 of the frames first 16 points. Farmer found her swing, knocking down six kills on 10 swings as Houston notched an afternoon-best .458 attack percentage running away to a 30-13 victory.
RMU stayed within four points for much of game three until the Cougars close out the frame with nine consecutive points on Krystal Schulle's serve going away for the 30-17 win.
Houston heads to Waco next weekend for the Baylor Invitational. The Cougars will face Arkansas-Little Rock and New Mexico on day one. First serve against UALR is set for 10am, while action against the Lobos is scheduled for 2pm.
Cougar Notes
This afternoon marked the first time that Houston and Robert Morris have met on the volleyball court ... The Cougars are now 2-0 against first-time opponents this season ... The victory was also No. 399 at Houston for head coach Bill Walton ... Walton is only one win away from becoming the third coach in Cougar history to win 400 games at UH ... He is looking to join former basketball coach Guy V. Lewis and current baseball manager Rayner Noble ... Akilah Grant-Sullivan made the most of her season debut ... She ripped a career-best nine kills on an .818 attack percentage ... Akilah's previous career high was five kills that came against Tulane (Oct. 28) last season ... Erin Rice also contributed career-bests with six kill and three blocks ... Ashley Calhoun had her double-digit digs streak come to a close at two matches, while Kelly McAnelly and Justine Farmer had their double-double streak end at two matches ... Farmer kept her double-digit kills streak alive to nine consecutive matches and 13 of her last 15 outings dating back to last season ... Farmer is now 36 kills shy of reaching the 500-mark for her career ... The El Paso native is also 86 digs away from 500 ... With 5 kills, McAnelly moved past Janelle Harmonson (1990-93) for No. 9 in program history ... McAnelly is 14 kills away from equaling Nashika Stokes (1993-96) in the No. 8 hole ... She is also 109 kills from moving into the Top 30 in Conference USA history ... The Houston native is also 13 attack attempts away from Emily Leffers (1993-94, 1996-97) for the No. 3 slot and 22 swings from Jennifer Wittenburg (1999-2001) in the No. 2 position in the Houston record book.
