University of Houston
Baylor
Volleyball Neutralized by Baylor
9/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2006
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WACO - The University of Houston volleyball team lost a 3-0 decision to Baylor (30-19, 30-28, 30-19) Saturday afternoon in the Clarion Invitational final at the Ferrell Center on the BU campus. The Cougars were playing its fourth match in a 28-hour span.
"It was a case where our passing wasn't where it's been, which makes the setting not quite at the same tempo," head coach Bill Walton said. "I think the hitters were tired from the match load, and Baylor knew this was the championship match. They were ready to shut us down, and we didn't respond very well to a tough situation."
Houston (5-2) was outhit by their hosts .225 to .014 on the afternoon. The Baylor front row controlled the tempo outblocking the Cougars, 13.5 to six. The Houston hitters were also forced into a season-high 36 attack errors.
Sunshine Misa-Uli connected for a career-best 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage and added three blocks, while Kinsey Cave matched a career-best totaling seven kills.
Justine Farmer notched her fifth double-double of the season on 10 kills but also had 10 errors to go along with 11 digs. Kelsey King dished out 32 assists and tallied 11 digs. In the back row, Ashley Calhoun reeled in 14 digs. Krystal Schulle tacked on a career-best 11 digs for the Cougars.
Nicole LeBlanc paced Baylor with 13 kills, while Desiree Guilliard-Young chipped in seven kills and seven blocks for the victors.
The Bears (5-1) got off to a fast start in game one, scoring 12 of the first 16 points of the match. Baylor notched five blocks and never looked back, claiming a 30-19 opening game win.
After falling behind 4-3 to start the second game, Houston scored eight unanswered points capped by a Becca Sartori ace to go ahead, 11-4. Baylor chipped away and eventually caught the Cougars. At 26-26, the Bears forced a Farmer attack error, grabbing the lead for good and taking game two, 30-28.
Houston hung tough in game three staying within two points for a majority of the game, but Baylor used a strong finishing kick, closing the match on a 12-3 spurt clinching the sweep, 30-19.
"I'm pleased with how a couple of our new players are starting to come on," Walton said. "Ashley has really stepped up to the challenge of playing libero and is serving great, while Sunshine and Kinsey are starting to find their swings."
The Cougars head to Nacogdoches for the Austin Bank SFA Invitational next weekend. The Cougars will face Tennessee State, Arkansas State, Stephen F. Austin and Baylor. Houston takes on Tennessee State Friday at 10am before finishing day one against Arkansas State at 5:00pm.
Cougar Notes
This afternoon was the 35th meeting all-time between former Southwest Conference rivals Houston and Baylor on the volleyball court ... UH holds a 31-4 all-time advantage, but Baylor has won the last three meetings in the series ... Sunshine Misa-Uli powered home a career-best 10 kills on a career-high .400 attack percentage ... Kinsey Cave matched a career-best, tallying seven kills for the third time this season ... Ashley Calhoun's stretch of consecutive matches with an ace comes to a close at six ... Calhoun has corralled double-digit digs in five of her six starts at libero ... Krystal Schulle tacked on a career-high 11 digs in the back row ... Kelsey King has provided double-doubles in three of her last four matches ... Justine Farmer has tallied a double-double in five of six matches she has played in ... She has totaled double-digit kills in her last 12 outings and 16 of the last 18 matches she has played in dating back to last season ... With 11 digs, the El Paso native is 52 digs away from the 500-mark ... Kelly McAnelly added nine kills and is nine kills shy of equaling Karen Bell (1988-91) for the No. 6 position all-time ... McAnelly is also 97 kills shy from moving into the Top 30 in Conference USA history ... With 43 attempts, McAnelly is exactly 957 swings away from Debbie Vokes (1994-98) for the top spot in that category ... Becca Sartori was held to two kills ... It was only the 11th time in the last 52 matches that Sartori didn't reach double-digit kills dating back to October 2004 ... Sartori moves to 75 kills away from breaking into the Top 10 in program history and is 216 kills shy from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book ... The Houston native is also 22 total blocks shy from the Top 30 in Conference USA history.
