Volleyball To Play Host To ECU, Marshall
10/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2007
Houston - The University of Houston volleyball team returns home to face the ECU Pirates and the Marshall Thundering Herd this weekend in the friendly confines of the Athletics/Alumni Center.
Houston (11-10, 6-4 C-USA) opens the weekend Oct. 26 with a 7pm match against ECU and concludes the weekend with a 1pm match against Marshall on Oct. 28.
The Cougars are 7-2 at home this season and 4-0 in conference play heading into this weekend. After falling to UAB and Memphis last weekend, Houston is in fifth place in conference play.
Entering this week's action, junior Justine Farmer ranks third in the NCAA in kills per game. Through 82 games she has 448 kills for a 5.46 per game average.
ECU
UH is 6-1 in the all-time series against ECU with all matches coming in the Bill Walton era. The Pirates handed the Cougars their first loss in the series last season, winning 3-1in Greenville, N.C.
ECU is 3-7 in conference play and 12-13 on the season. They went 0-2 last weekend falling to Marshall in two matches.
Marshall
Houston will be looking for just their second victory all-time when they face Marshall on Sunday. The Thundering Herd holds a 3-1 advantage over the Cougars all-time. Houston notched their first win in the series last season with a 3-2 win.
Marshall is in first place in C-USA action with a 9-1 record and they are 16-8 overall.
Around the League
In conference action this season the Cougars rank fourth in multiple categories as a team including, kills (15.08 p/g), service aces (1.82 p/g), and digs (17.45 p/g). They also rank third in blocks (2.57 p/g) and sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.197) and assists (13.536 p/g) and hitting percentage (.207).
Individually, Justine Farmer leads the league in kills (5.95 p/g) and points (246.5) and Hannah Sullivan leads the league in service aces (27). She is also 10th in kills (3.84 p/g). Libero Amanda Carson sits in fourth in digs with 180 (4.74 per game) and Erin Rice is fourth in the league in blocks with 47.0 (1.31 per game).
Last Time Out
Houston was on the road last weekend for two matches against UAB and Memphis. Houston fell in five games to UAB and despite the loss four Cougars recorded double-doubles including Farmer, freshmen Hannah Sullivan and Robin Fitzgerald and junior Kelsey King. Houston ended the weekend with a 3-1 loss to Memphis where Farmer recorded her 14th double-double this season.
Up Next
Houston has only four regular season matches remaining on the schedule. They will travel to UTEP and Tulane for matches on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4, respectively before returning home for two matches against SMU and Tulsa on Nov. 9 and Nov. 11.
Following the conclusion of the regular season Houston will travel to Huntington, W. Va., for the Conference USA Volleyball Championships on Nov. 15-18.
For a complete wrap-up of each match and updated stats log on to www.UHCougars.com.
