University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Preps to Host C-USA Matches This Weekend
10/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 2, 2008
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team will play host to Tulsa and SMU this weekend at the Athletics/Alumni Center. The match against Tulsa is slated to begin at 7pm on Friday with the SMU match slated to begin at 7pm on Saturday.
Houston (7-7, 0-2 C-USA) returns home after a tough conference opening weekend on the road. The Cougars dropped two three-set matches to Tulane and UTEP to open C-USA play 0-2 for the first time since 2003.
The Cougars will look to get back in the win column against the Golden Hurricane. UH is tied 3-3 in the all-time series after splitting matches last season against Tulsa.
Tulsa enters the weekend with a 14-3 record. They opened conference play with a 3-1 win over Southern Miss, but lost to UCF in the second match of the weekend. Both Hannah Stout (.333) and Julia Kenealy (.301) of Tulsa rank in the C-USA's Top 10 in hitting percentage entering this weekend's match.
Houston will close out the weekend with a match against the Mustangs. The Cougars take an 8-3 lead in the all-time series into the match, having split two matches last season. SMU is 9-7 this season, including a 2-1 mark in C-USA. The Mustangs lost to Tulsa to open conference play, but have recorded back-to-back victories over UCF and Southern Miss.
Kendra Kahanek of SMU ranks second in C-USA in blocks averaging 1.22 per set, while the Mustangs have three players that rank in the Top 10 in digs.
For the Cougars, sophomore Amanda Carson continues to pace the league in service aces, averaging 0.53 per set for a total of 28 this season. Carson's service ace average also ranks 19th in the nation. Senior Justine Farmer is second in kills with a 3.59 average per set and sophomore Lucy Charuk ranks ninth (.311) in hitting percentage.
Following the weekend series, Houston will play host to Texas State on Oct. 7 at 7pm before returning to the road against ECU and Marshall.
For a complete recap of each day's events log on to www.UHCougars.com. Fans can also follow the live in-game action by clicking the Gametracker link on the volleyball schedule page or watch the live video stream of the match on the All-Access site.
