Cougar Volleyball Slotted Second in C-USA Preseason Poll

Aug. 3, 2006

"Our league should be very competitive this season. Our conference schedule doesn't do us any favors because we have to play the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place teams twice not to mention the league favorite on the road, but we're up for the challenge ahead."

Head Coach Bill Walton

IRVING - The University of Houston volleyball team was picked to finish in second place as selected by the leagues coaches in the annual Conference USA preseason poll announced Wednesday, while Becca Sartori and Justine Farmer notched C-USA Preseason All-Conference honors.

"This is a wonderful way for our team to start the season," head coach Bill Walton said. "My philosophy on individual awards has always been that players rarely if at all possible are recognized without a solid team surrounding them. Our sport is such a team game. I'm happy for Becca and Justine, who are two deserving players of this honor."

Sartori earned C-USA Second Team, AVCA All-Midwest and AVCA All-America honorable mention honors a season ago after powering home 390 kills at a 3.45 per game clip, just outside of C-USA's Top 10. The Houston native took her game to a new level in C-USA action, connecting on a .355 attack percentage in league matches.

As a C-USA All-Freshman selection last season, Farmer was eighth in C-USA, tallying 3.71 kills per game. She headlined the team racking up 15 doubles-doubles and was the only Cougar average over three kills and three digs per game.

Houston recorded a second-place finish last season after garnering an 18-12 overall mark. The Cougars lost a 3-2 decision in the C-USA Finals against Marshall.

The Thundering Herd is selected to repeat as league champions as the preseason favorite. Marshall's Kelly-Anne Billingy was voted C-USA Preseason Player of the Year after earning AVCA All-America honorable mention in addition to C-USA Player of the Year and C-USA Tournament MVP accolades in 2005.

SMU is slated in third place behind Houston followed by Tulsa and Rice in fourth and fifth, respectfully. Tulane is chosen to finish sixth, while East Carolina is tabbed seventh. Memphis, UCF and UAB fill spots eight, nine and ten. UTEP and Southern Miss round out the final two positions in the preseason poll.

Head Coach Bill Walton enters this season only three wins shy of 400 career victories at Houston.

"Our league should be very competitive this season," Walton said. "Our conference schedule doesn't do us any favors because we have to play the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place teams twice not to mention the league favorite on the road, but we're up for the challenge ahead."

After becoming the 13th coach in NCAA history to notch his 600th career victory a season ago, Walton enters this season just three victories shy of 400 career victories at Houston. Entering his 21st season at UH, Walton joins former swimming coach Phil Hansel with the fifth-longest tenure of any Cougar coach.

The Cougars begin its 11th season of C-USA action at Memphis (Sept. 22) before returning to the Athletics/Alumni Center for five of its next six matches. Houston opens the homestand against UAB (Sept. 24). UH didn't square off against Memphis or UAB last season due to Hurricane Rita.

Houston opens the regular season at the Towson Invitational. The Cougars will face off against host Towson (Aug. 26), Ohio State (Aug. 26) and Robert Morris (Aug. 27) in the opening weekend of the season.

Hofheinz Pavilion will host the Conference USA Tournament for the first time since 2001 as the league's automatic bid to the NCAA's will be up for grabs. The four-day event kicks off on Thursday, November 16 with the championship match on-tap for Sunday, November 19.

Below is the full preseason poll as voted on by the league's coaches with first-place votes represented in parentheses. The 2006 C-USA Preseason All-Conference Team is also below.

2006 Conference USA Preseason Volleyball Poll
(1) Marshall (8)
(2) Houston (4)
(3) SMU
(4) Tulsa
(5) Rice
(6) Tulane
(7) East Carolina
(8) Memphis
(9) UCF
(10) UAB
(11) UTEP
(12) Southern Miss

2006 Conference USA Preseason All-Conference Team
Maggie Arias, Libero (Marshall)
Kelly-Anne Billngy *, Outside Hitter (Marshall)
Ivana Bozic, Outside Hitter (UAB)
Stephanie Cahill, Outside Hitter (Marshall)
Justine Farmer, Outside Hitter (Houston)
Tessa Kuykendall, Middle Blocker (Rice)
Natalie Peters, Middle Blocker (SMU)
Sara Radosevic, Outside Hitter (Tulane)
Becca Sartori, Middle Blocker (Houston)
Julia Silva *, Setter (Tulsa)
Kassiana Urnau, Outside Hitter (Tulsa)

Preseason Player of the Year - Kelly-Anne Billingy (Marshall)

* - Unanimous Selection

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