University of Houston
Texas State
Volleyball Sweeps Texas State
9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2006
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HOUSTON - Kelly McAnelly came off the bench to provide five kills on nine attempts with no errors as the University of Houston volleyball team stormed past Texas State (30-27, 30-26, 30-18) Friday evening at the Athletics/Alumni Center in the Conference USA/Southland Conference Challenge.
"Everyone will tell you that you can't put a value of having someone who can come off the bench and be your sixth man," head coach Bill Walton said. "If you're playing badly when they come in, the sixth man can change the momentum of the game. If you're playing good, the sixth man gives you a boost. Kelly McAnelly was our sixth man and made the difference in the match."
Houston (8-6) fell behind early in game one as Texas State (3-8) turned to Lawrencia Brown, who provided five kills as the Bobcats grabbed a 16-10 lead. The Cougars scored 11 of the next 16 points to even the score at 21-21.
After a pair of Justine Farmer attack errors on the left side gave the Bobcats a 23-21 advantage, McAnelly came of the bench, sparking the Houston to a 9-4 run and a 30-27 victory.
"I just wanted to win, and was ready to come off the bench at any time," McAnelly said. "Nobody was going to stop me. I was fired up to thrown down."
Texas State jumped out to a similar 18-12 spread in game two. Once again, the Cougars retook the momentum down 23-21. This time it was Houston defense that forced a pair of Bobcats errors to draw even at 23-23.
Another McAnelly kill in addition to a pair of kills from Farmer and Sartori gave Houston a 30-26 win.
"The fact that we fell behind early and pulled back really made us pumped up," Sartori said. "Everyone on our side of the court was being scrappy and full of energy. That's what pulled us through."
The Cougars used that momentum and scrappiness to jump out to a 17-7 lead in game three and never looked back, hitting a match-best .317 attack percentage to close out the match, 30-18.
Farmer led the way, powering home 15 kills, while Sartori crushed 12 kills in addition to a season-best five blocks.
Krystal Schulle passed out 34 assists to with 13 digs for her second career double-double. Ashley Calhoun sprawled out for 10 digs.
"It such a great feeling to put last weekend behind us," McAnelly said. "We were ready to get back on the court and get our confidence back. We still have some work to do, and we have to come out with the same motivation and drive that pulled us through the first three matches tomorrow."
The Cougars finish the Conference USA/Southland Conference Volleyball Challenge Saturday against McNeese State. First serve against the Cowgirls is slated for 1pm.
Cougar Notes
Tonight's match was between a pair of coaches with 600 coaches ... Only 13 coaches in NCAA history have reached that milestone ... Houston has won 23 of the 25 all-time meetings with Texas State ... The Cougar volleyball program is one win away from reaching 800 wins ... Houston has won 33 of its last 37 matches when winning game two dating back to November 2003 ... Krystal Schulle notched her second double-double in three matches ... Ashley Calhoun reeled in double-digit digs for nine time this season ... The Wisconsin native has corralled double-digit digs in eight of her 12 starts at libero ... Justine Farmer has powered home double-digit kills in 17 of her last 19 matches she has played in dating back to last season ... With five kills, Kelly McAnelly has 1,234 career kills and is 102 kills away from Emily Leffers (1993-94, 96-97) for the No. 4 hole ... McAnelly also is 46 kills away from moving into the Top 30 of Conference USA history ... With nine attempts, McAnelly is 795 swings away from Debbie Vokes (1994-98) for the top spot in that category ... Becca Sartori has reached double-digit kills in 44 of her last 59 matches dating back to October 2004 ... With 12 kills, Sartori moves to four kills away from breaking into the Top 10 in program history and is 145 kills shy from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book ... Sartori added five block assists and is 11 away from matching Latisha Charles (1986-87, 1989-90) for No. 7 all-time ... The Houston native is 11 total blocks from moving into the Top 30 of Conference USA history ... She is 24 total blocks shy of reaching Karina Faber (1990-92) for the No. 8 slot in program history.
