University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Gears Up for Season Opener
8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2009
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team will open the 2009 season this weekend with the Flo Hyman Invitational at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
The Cougars will take to the court at 1:30 p.m. Friday against New Orleans and at 7:30 p.m. against Baylor. They will follow that up with two matches against Southeastern Louisiana and Indiana on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
In addition to the Cougars' matches other tournament action includes Southeastern Louisiana vs. Baylor (11:30 a.m.) and Southeastern Louisiana vs. Indiana (5:30 p.m.) on Friday, with Saturday's slate featuring Indiana vs. New Orleans (11:30 a.m.) and Baylor vs. New Orleans (5:30 p.m.).
Fans can follow all games of the tournament on Gametracker. A tournament central page has been set up, and the link can be found by going to the volleyball page at UHCougars.com. In addition, all UH matches will be streamed live online.
A complete wrap-up of all UH matches will also be available on the web following each day's action.
Houston enters the weekend with a wealth of new faces on the team, including eight newcomers. Among those is Tara Roenicke, who Walton expects to start at setter when the season kicks off. Prior to becoming a Cougar, Roenicke set Los Osos High School records in kills, attack percentage, aces and assists and has traveled the world competing in beach volleyball.
In addition, Stephanie Nwachukwu, Ashley Applequist, Jasmine Terry, Chandace Tryon, Bailey Philippot and transfer Marluci Toazzi could all see their first minutes in a Cougar uniform this weekend.
Expected to guide the Cougars this season are seniors Kinsey Cave, Erin Rice and Alik Cardoso de Sa.
Houston's first contest of the tournament will be just the second ever against the Privateers. Their last meeting was a 2-0 win by the Cougars in 1980. UH holds a 31-5 mark against the Bears, falling 3-0 in 2006.
Saturday's match-up against Southeastern will be the second time the two teams have faced each other with Houston winning 3-1 in their first meeting in 2002. Indiana holds a 2-0 series lead against the Cougars and they will be meeting for the first time since a 3-1 loss in 2004.
