University of Houston
Tulane
Volleyball Swept by Tulane in C-USA Opener
9/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 26, 2008
Tulane Box Score in PDF Format 
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team lost a three-set match to Tulane, 3-0, Friday night in New Orleans in their Conference USA opener. The Cougars snapped and four-match win streak with the loss. The Green Wave defeated Houston with scores of 13-25, 23-25 and 21-25.
For the fourth-straight match, senior Justine Farmer led Houston (7-6, 0-1 C-USA) with 15 kills on a .278 hitting percentage. Her kill total was also a game-high.
Senior Kelsey King also had a match-high 24 assists.
In the first set, Houston was unable to get any momentum going. Early on, the Cougars kept the set close, tying it at 5-5 but Tulane would respond with a 5-0 run to pull ahead, 10-5. It was the first of two runs by the Green Wave that gave them the 25-13 win. Houston was outhit in the set, 18 to 5.
In the second set it looked as if the Cougars might even the score. They responded by recording 14 kills, eight of those from Farmer, while holding Tulane to 12 kills. Houston held an 11-6 lead to open the set before Tulane tried to stop the momentum by calling a timeout. The Cougars would continue to extend their lead by as many as seven points, 15-8. However, Tulane was not about to give up and they slowly chipped away at the lead tying it at 21-21. With the momentum now in Tulane's favor, Houston would be unable to hold on for the win, falling 25-23.
"The first game was pretty much a no-show. Then in the second game, we were up 19-14 and then 21-18. I'm thinking when you're up 19-14, you probably shouldn't lose when you're playing to 25," said head coach Bill Walton.
That has happened to us a couple of times during the year against good teams where we are in a position to win and we kind of get ahead of ourselves. We don't stay in things, we lose a few points, we get tight and then we kind of break down."
With one final chance to extend the match, Houston needed to come away with a win in the third set. Luna Rebrovic of Tulane wanted to make sure that didn't happen, as she opened the set with three-straight service aces as part of an opening 6-0 run by the Green Wave. As in the first set, the Cougars would never be able to recover and Tulane took the 25-21 win.
"I didn't think we came out with the right emotion (in the third set)," Walton said. "We lost the game and lost momentum, and you have to alter your thinking and your mental approach to the next game. You have to go out there like we won the last game and we have to get the momentum back. Instead, we go out and we're down , 6-0. We played pretty good after that, but we weren't able to overcome that initial six points."
Houston is now 8-4 in C-USA openers and 22-5 all-time against the Green Wave.
UP NEXT
Houston will continue conference play Sunday when they travel to El Paso, Texas to take on UTEP at 1pm. Following the road trip, the Cougars will return home for a weekend series against Tulsa and SMU on Oct. 3 and 4. UH will then remain on its home court for a mid-week match-up against Texas State, on Oct. 7.
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