University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Heads To Tulsa, SMU This Weekend
9/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 29, 2011
HOUSTON - After opening Conference USA with a 3-0 start and taking home C-USA Hitter and Setter of the Week honors, the University of Houston volleyball team will have a tough road test ahead this weekend with trips to Tulsa and SMU.
The Cougars will put their perfect conference record to the test on Friday at 7 p.m. against Tulsa and close out the weekend at 1 p.m. Sunday against SMU.
Fans can follow both matches through the Gametracker links on the UH volleyball schedule page at UHCougars.com, while the live streaming links will be available through the All-Access site.
Houston is 10-3 overall this season after knocking off Rice, Southern Miss and Tulane in the opening week of play. For their efforts junior Katie Norris and freshman Caitlin Ogletree were named the C-USA Hitter and Setter of the Week, respectively. In 12 sets, Norris posted a .329 hitting percentage with 39 kills on 96 attempts with only eight errors. Ogletree finished the week averaging 11.33 assists per set as well as tallying 21 digs and five service aces.
Norris leads a trio of Cougars that have at least 130 kills this season. She has 139 kills, while junior Stephanie Nwachukwu has 137 and senior Lucy Charuk has 132. Ogletree has a team-high 506 assists and freshman Natalie Keck leads the team with 203 digs.
ABOUT TULSA
Tulsa, the defending Conference USA Champion and preseason favorites, is 11-4 this season and 2-0 in conference play. They defeated UTEP and UCF on the road last weekend. The Golden Hurricane has won 24-straight regular season C-USA matches and are winners of 36 of their last 37 matches in league play. They have only lost three C-USA regular season matches in two-plus years.
Tyler Henderson, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, leads Tulsa with 275 kills on a .357 hitting clip. Three Tulsa players have at least 100 digs, led by Jessica Adams' 255. Jordan Clampitt also leads the team with 480 assists.
In two meetings last season, Tulsa got the best of the Cougars, winning both meetings 3-1. The Golden Eagles also lead the all-time series 6-5.
ABOUT SMU
SMU was picked to finish second, just three points ahead of the Cougars, in the preseason coaches' poll and enters the weekend with a 4-10 overall record and a 0-2 mark in C-USA action. They lost matches at UCF and UTEP last weekend.
Three Mustangs have at least 100 kills, led by Jessica Oliver with 154. Sidney Stewart has a team-high 284 digs, while Kelli Bacerra leads the team with 480 assists.
Last season, Houston defeated SMU, 3-1, at the Athletics/Alumni Center but the Mustangs got the best of the Cougars, 3-2, in Dallas. Houston leads the all-time series, 10-7.
UP NEXT
Houston will continue its road swing with a trip to East Carolina. The Cougars will play the Pirates at 1 p.m. on Oct. 8 and close out the weekend with a noon match on Oct. 9.
