University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Starts Practice Wednesday
8/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 7, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team will take the practice court in preparation for the upcoming season for the first time at the Athletics/Alumni Center Wednesday morning.
The Cougars are coming off an 18-12 mark and a second place in Conference USA last season. Houston was recently selected to finish second in the C-USA Preseason Poll last Thursday.
Becca Sartori and Justine Farmer, a pair of C-USA Preseason All-Conference selections, headline the group of four returning starters from last season. The duo accounted for 45 percent of the squad's kills in 2005.
Houston will look to fill the void left by two-time Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and C-USA career dig leader Jaci Gonzalez, who finished her career third in NCAA history registering 2,451 digs. The Cougars must also replace setter Jennifer Hohl, who finished eighth all-time in program history passing out 2,172 career assists.
"We have a strong group of returning players sprinkled in with some talented newcomers," head coach Bill Walton said. "I'm excited to see how this team will gel in practice and who will take charge leading the team. It should be a competitive camp especially at the setter and libero positions."
Kelsey King and Emily Luensmann, will battle to take the reigns of the Cougar offense at setter. Both are transfers and have experience setting at the Division I level.
King transfers to Houston from Birmingham Southern where she was named to the Big South Conference All-Freshman squad in 2005, while Luensmann earned Division I Independent Setter of the Week once and Newcomer of the Week twice during the 2004 season at North Dakota State.
Walton will also be looking for a new libero to replace Gonzalez, the only libero that the program has ever known. Entering practice there is an open competition for the position.
Houston starts the regular season with the first of three road tournaments at the Towson Invitational. The Cougars face off against host Towson (Aug. 26), Ohio State (Aug. 26) and Robert Morris (Aug. 27) in the opening weekend of the season.
The Conference USA Tournament returns to Hofheinz Pavilion for the first time since 2001. It will be the third time that the Cougars will host the event. Houston won its lone tournament championship in 1997 at Hofheinz Pavilion. Ticket information for the championship will be posted on UHCougars.com when it becomes available.
