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University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Continues C-USA Slate
9/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Houston Volleyball Notes (PDF)
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Sept. 28, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team faces UTEP Friday night before concluding the weekend with Tulane on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics/Alumni Center. The Cougars enter the weekend 5-0 this season at home.
"We've started a stretch of five of our next six matches at home so hopefully we an get a run of wins going to build some momentum at home before having to go out on the road again," head coach Bill Walton said.
Houston split its first weekend of C-USA action falling at Memphis before returning home with a convincing sweep against UAB.
"I'm not sure what it is about playing at home," middle blocker Becca Sartori said. "We played more relaxed against UAB where at Memphis we were scrambling all over the court."
Houston enters the weekend with a combined 23-5 record against this weekend's conference opponents. The Cougars were 4-1 against UTEP and Tulane a season ago.
UH has won four of five all-time meetings with UTEP. The two teams split last season, holding serve at home in UTEP's inaugural season in C-USA. Kariny Ritter knocked home 18 kills, while Justine Farmer notched 13 kills and 17 digs in Houston's 3-0 win at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
The Cougars have recorded a 19-4 all-time record against Tulane and are already 3-0 this season against schools from Louisiana. Houston registered a 3-0 mark against the Green Wave last season as Houston eliminated Tulane in the C-USA Semifinals. Jennifer Hohl fueled three Cougars to double-digit kill performances and .372 attack percentage as Houston advanced to the C-USA Championship match.
Houston has already compiled a league-leading 32 double-doubles this season. Justine Farmer is tied for the C-USA lead with Tulsa's Kassiana Urnau racking up 11 double-doubles. Farmer is followed by Kelly McAnelly's six in addition to Kelsey King's five. Sunshine Misa-Uli and Krystal Schulle have recorded double-doubles in four of their last five outings.
When Houston faces off against UTEP Friday, Kelly McAnelly will take on her younger sister, Casey for the first time on the volleyball court. Both McAnelly's wear No. 11 for their respective teams.
With 13 kills to open Conference USA action against Memphis and UAB (Sept. 22, 24), McAnelly enters this weekend's action No. 5 in program history with 1,250 career kills and is 86 away from equaling Emily Leffers (1993-94, 1996-97) in the No. 4 hole. She is also 30 kills from moving into the Top 30 of Conference USA history. McAnelly tallied her sixth double-double of the season, powering home 10 kills and 14 digs against UAB (Sept. 24).
Schulle has stepped in nicely for an injured Kelsey King at setter. This season is the first time since high school that Schulle has played the setter position.
The Lockhart native has fueled the Cougars to a 5-1 record in her six starts, dishing out 13.30 assists per game. The Houston offense has posted 16.65 kills per game on a .259 team attack percentage with Schulle at setter.
After being named to the 2005 Conference USA All-Freshman Team, Farmer has been proving there is no such thing as a sophomore slump.
The El Paso native is tied for the C-USA lead with 11 double-doubles and has reached double-digit kills in 20 of her last 22 matches she has played in dating back to last season. Farmer is sixth in C-USA, averaging 4.13 kills per game and is just outside of the league's Top 10 digs category. She also is seventh in C-USA, posting 4.63 points per game.
Only a sophomore, Farmer has already reached 600 career kills and 500 career digs. She enters the weekend 33 kills shy of reaching the 700-club in addition to being 15 digs away from the 600-mark.
Sartori joins McAnelly on the prowl of chasing down career marks in the Houston and Conference USA record books.
After popping 24 kills last weekend, Sartori moved past Nashika Stokes (1993-96) and Michelle Frazier (1997-200) for the No. 8 position on the career kills list. The Houston native now has 1,171 career kills and is 23 away from matching Karen Bell (1988-91) for the No. 7 spot. Sartori also is 109 kills shy from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book.
With three block assists over the weekend, Sartori is seven away from matching Latisha Charles (1986-87, 1989-90) for No. 7 all-time in that category. She also is six total blocks away from the Top 30 in C-USA history.
After hitting .355 and being ranked third during Conference USA play last season, Becca Sartori has once again taken her game to another level as the calendar turns to conference action.
Sartori fired in 24 kills on a .380 attack percentage to open the C-USA schedule a weekend ago. It was the seventh-highest attack percentage in the league. The Houston native crushed 16 kills on a .433 mark at Memphis (Sept. 22) and followed that up with 10 kills on a .300 clip against UAB (Sept. 24).
Misa-Uli has come on strong lately, notching career-bests with 23 kills and 18 digs against McNeese State (Sept. 16). The native Hawaiian has recorded double-digit kills in five of her last six matches and has posted a double-double in four of her last five outings.
Misa-Uli cranked out 20 kills and 12 digs in her C-USA debut at Memphis (Sept. 22). She also will compete on the Houston basketball team for head coach Joe Curl this season.
Ashley Calhoun anchors the back row and has reeled in double-digit digs in 10 of her 15 starts at libero. She paces the squad with 227 digs.
The freshman has also made two starts at outside hitter, knocking home 16 kills against Tennessee State (Sept. 9) in addition to 11 kills on a .320 attack percentage against Louisiana-Monroe (Sept. 2). Calhoun also has served strong in league play, blasting in six aces and is second in C-USA averaging 0.86 aces per game.
Erin Rice has made the most of her limited action. She earned a start against McNeese State (Sept. 15) and fired in five kills on a .375 attack percentage to go along with four blocks. Rice came through with career-best seven blocks against UAB (Sept. 24) and paces C-USA, posting 1.71 blocks per game in league action.
First serve against the Miners is set for 7pm Friday followed by a 1pm Sunday start against the Green Wave. UH students get in to all matches free by showing their Cougar 1 Card.
