PREVIEW: Volleyball Hosts USF, UCF in Home Finale
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Gameday Central >> Houston vs. USF | ||
| Date | Time | Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 | 7 p.m. | |
| Location | Athletics/Alumni Center Houston, Texas | |
| Coverage | | Live Video  | |
| Gameday Central >> Houston vs. UCF | ||
| Date | Time | Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014 | 1 p.m. | |
| Location | Athletics/Alumni Center Houston, Texas | |
| Coverage | | Live Video | |
| Social Media |    | |
| Houston Match NotesHOUSTON - The University of Houston Volleyball team welcomes South Florida and UCF this weekend for the home finale of the season.
On Friday, The Cougars are set to face USF at 7 p.m. for the Salute to Service Heroes Game. All former or active duty military, fire department, police department, paramedics, or teachers will receive a discounted admission of $4 at the door.
To purchase tickets online in advance, visit UHCougars.com/VBtickets and use the promo code "Heroes" to receive the discounted price.
Houston Volleyball will also host a Teddy Bear Toss at halftime. Fans will be able to toss a stuffed animal onto the court for a chance to win a prize from Houston Volleyball. All stuffed animals will then be donated to a local children's hospital.
On Sunday, Houston hosts UCF for a 1 p.m. match as a part of the Senior Day celebrations. Houston will honor seniors Natalie Keck, Cortney Warren, Kaiti Waters and Kadi Kullerkann in a post game ceremony.
During both games, Houston Volleyball will be collecting canned goods for the "Houston SAAC's Hunger." If fans bring canned goods to either game they will be entered to win a prize.
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
Earlier this season, the Cougars defeated USF 3-1 in Tampa, Fla., marking the first road win against USF since Oct. 30, 2004.
USF is on a two-loss streak entering the weekend. Junior outside hitter Erin Fairs is the Bulls top performer this season. She has tallied 418 kills, 414 digs and 52 blocks.
Series Record: 12-9 (44-38)
Last meeting: Oct. 26, 2014 - UH 3, USF 1
UCF KNIGHTS
Conference leader UCF comes to Houston on Sunday as a part of Senior Day. The Knights enter the weekend after defeating SMU and dropping to Tulsa.
Senior middle blocker DeLaina Sarden is the Knights top hitter. She leads the conference with a .452 hitting average. She has also tallied 85 digs and 99 blocks.
Series Record: 10-4 (33-20)
Last meeting: Oct. 24, 2014 - UCF 3, UH 0
LAST TIME OUT
Houston Volleyball went 1-1 this week in the second round of conference play as they visited Memphis and Cincinnati.
On Friday, Senior libero Natalie Keck recorded her 2,000th career dig with an 18-dig performance during the three-set loss (22-25, 21-25, 18-25) to Memphis.
Freshman outside hitter Sarah Afflerbaugh led the Cougars hitting .333 with 11 kills, eight digs and two blocks. This match marked the fourth double-digit kill match of the season, the second consecutive for the freshman.
On Sunday, The University of Houston swept Cincinnati in three sets (25-18, 26-24, 26-24) Sunday afternoon to wrap the second to last road trip of the season.
Houston is now 11-2 when winning the first set and 5-1 when leading 2-0 during a set this season. The last time Houston swept a team on the road was at Cincinnati last season (Nov. 11, 2013).
Houston took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 victory in set one. Both teams battled point-for-point in set two until Cincinnati had a 23-20 lead on the Cougars. But a relentless Houston Volleyball would comeback with a 6-1 run to take a 26-24 victory in set two.
It was like déjàvu as the Cougars were down 22-20 in the third set, but a 6-2 run pushed Houston over the Bearcats. Back-to-back kills by senior hitter Kadi Kullerkann tied the set 24-24. From there, a Cincinnati attack error and a huge block by Kullerkann and junior middle blocker Courtney Smith forced Houston to a 26-24 victory.
KADI 'KILLER'KANN
Senior outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann put up 27 total kills this weekend, averaging 4.50 kills per set. She now has collected 559 kills through 28 matches and a hitting average of .287.
Kullerkann has successfully hit double-digit kills in all 28 matches and tallied 20+ kills in 14 matches. Kullerkann also notched 30+kill matches twice this season.
Kullerkann has made a name for herself in the national rankings and leads every category among the conference.
National Rank | Category | Conference Rank |
26th | Attacks Per Set (11.63) | 2nd |
5th | Kills Per Set (5.04) | 1st |
7th | Points Per Set (5.39) | 1st |
16th | Total Attacks (1,291) | 1st |
4th | Total Kills (559) | 1st |
In her final season as a Cougar, Kullerkann has made her way into the Houston Volleyball record books.
Single Season | ||
5th | Kills Per Set | 5.04 |
Career | ||
9th | Kills Per Set | 3.42 |
TOPPING 2,000
Senior libero Natalie Keck recorded 33 total digs this weekend averaging 5.50 digs per set. She has notched 565 digs so far this season, and moved into fourth on the single-season digs list. With an 18-dig performance during the Memphis match this weekend, Keck tallied her 2,00th career dig, becoming only the second Cougar to reach this feat.
Keck has recorded double-digit digs in all but two matches this season. She had a 19-match streak of double-digit digs before the UCF game on Friday (Oct. 24) where she was one shy of double-digits. Currently, she is on a seven match streak with double-digit digs. Keck has notched 20 or more digs in 15 of the 28 matches.
Keck has also made a name for herself in the national rankings this season alongside teammate Kullerkann.
National Rank | Category | Conference Rank |
34th | Digs Per Set (5.04) | 2nd |
19th | Total Digs (565) | 2nd |
Keck has always been a front-runner in the Houston Volleyball record books and in just five weeks, her career at UH will come to an end.
Single Season | ||
4th | Digs | 565 |
3rd | Digs Per Set | 5.04 |
Career | ||
2nd | Digs | 2,017 |
2nd | Digs Per Set | 4.45 |
STAY CONNECTED
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SINGLE GAME TICKETS
Only two home games remain for Houston Volleyball. Fans can now purchase single game tickets for just $8 per ticket. To take advantage, CLICK HERE or call 713-GO-COOGS today!
JOIN POINT HOUSTON CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Volleyball program by joining the Point HOUSTON Club. To find out more information about the Point HOUSTON Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Price at (713) 743-GOUH
