University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Volleyball Opens Conference at Home Friday
9/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston Volleyball team opens conference play this weekend as they host the Cincinnati and Memphis for the first American Athletic Conference matches of the 2014 season.
"The American Athletic Conference is a great volleyball conference. It is very competitive so every single night there will be a battle for that `W' at the end of the day," Head Coach Kaddie Platt said. "There's not really a top team and a bottom team, everyone is kind of stacked in the middle."
The Cougars (8-4, 0-0) host Cincinnati (8-4, 0-0) Friday evening starting at 7 p.m. in the Athetics/Alumni Center. On Sunday, Memphis (10-4, 0-0) travels to Houston for a 1 p.m. serve.
CINCINNATI BEARCATS
Cincinnati is off to a better start this season with an 8-4 record. During the 2013 season, Cincinnati picked up only three wins the entire season.
Sophomore outside hitter Ciara Hill is one of the Bearcats top hitters this season. Last week, she picked up 22 kills with a .378 hitting average and was named to the conference weekly honor roll.
Series Record: 7-7 (25-27)
Last meeting: Nov. 10, 2013 - Houston 3, Cincy 0
MEMPHIS TIGERS
Houston meets 10-4 Memphis for a Sunday match this weekend. The Tigers are off to a better start than last season and even picked up a 3-1 win over Tennessee to sweep the Lady Vol Classic.
Senior Lauren Wright (formerly Hawkins) is the Tigers leading attacker. In 45 sets played, she has recorded 136 kills, averaged 3.02 per set and a .368 hitting average.
Series Record: 24-10 (81-45)
Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2013 - Memphis 3, Houston 0
QUICK HITS
- Houston Volleyball picked up a 2-1 record on the weekend for the fourth straight week this season. The Cougars are now 8-4 entering conference play, sitting sixth in the conference standings.
- Redshirt junior outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann put up a record-settting 37 kills against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Friday and averaged .405 during the five-set win.
- With her performance, Kullerkann now holds the school record for kills in a five-set match, the most scored points in a match and set an American Athletic Conference record.
- Her match high is ranked second nationally for kills in a five-set match.
- Kullerkann now ranks sixth in the nation for kills per set (4.96) and ninth in the nation for total kills (228).
- Senior libero Natalie Keck also had an outstanding performance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Friday night. She recorded a career best 39 digs, just one shy of an American Athletic Conference record.
- Keck's accomplishment is tied for third nationally for digs in a five-set match. She has averaged 5.00 digs per set this season, ranking 25th in the nation. Keck has also tallied 1,682 career digs, the third most in school history.
- Houston is 4-2 when playing at the Athletics/Alumni Center this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Houston Volleyball went 2-1 over the weekend to move to 8-4 entering the American Athletic Conference play. The Cougars started the weekend with a four-set loss (28-30, 25-19, 21-25, 12-25) to UTSA Thursday night.
In set one, Houston used its first timeout to regroup after a 5-0 run by UTSA put the Roadrunners ahead 23-19. The Cougars battled back with a 5-0 run for themselves, tying the match at 23-23. From there, both teams went point-for-point, but the Roadrunners came out on top with a 30-28 win.
Houston responded with a 25-19 win in set two. The Cougars out hit UTSA, recording a .394 hitting average and forcing eight errors by the home team.
Errors plagued the Houston offense in set three as the Roadrunners pulled ahead 2-1 with a 25-21 win.
The Cougars then traveled to Corpus Christi for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders Classic where they took a three set win (27-25, 25-15, 25-15) over UT-Pan American Friday afternoon. Houston then picked up a five-set win over host Texas A&M-CC Friday evening.
Houston held the Broncos to a .059 hitting average, forcing 26 attack errors. The Cougars also won six points off service aces and 10 service errors by UTPA.
In the third set, The Cougars held UTPA to a .000 hitting average (10-10-33) while setter Destiny Patterson served nine points.
On the day, Houston Defense also had a big showing as the Cougars recorded 15.0 blocks, nine coming against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 138 digs and only four reception errors.
KADI `KILLER'KANN
Redshirt junior outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann recorded 37 kills in a five-set win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday night. With that career best, she now holds the school record for the most kills in a five set match and set a new American Athletic Conference record. Her performance is also ranks second nationally (in a five-set match).
Kullerkann has made a name for herself in the national rankings and leads every category among the conference.
| National Rank | Category | Conference Rank |
| 6th | Kills Per Set (4.96) | 1st |
| T-21st | Attacks Per Set (11.52) | 1st |
| 10th | Points Per Set (5.20) | 1st |
| 9th | Total Kills (228) | 1st |
| --- | Total Points (239.0) | 1st |
CHART CLIMBERS: Natalie Keck
Senior libero Natalie Keck recorded 68 total digs this weekend averaging 5.67 digs per set. She has notched 230 digs so far this season, adding toward her 1,682-career dig total. The Louisville, Ky., native moves to sole possession of third place in the school record books and is 233 digs away from jumping Amanda Carson (2007-10) for the second most career digs.
In 11 of the 12 matches played this season, Keck has recorded double-digit digs. She has notched 20 or more digs in six of the 12 matches including her 39-dig performance against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend.
Keck's career high of 39 digs is tied for third in the nation match highs and leads the conference (digs in a five-set match).
Keck has also made a name for herself in the national rankings this season alongside teammate Kullerkann.
| National Rank | Category | Conference Rank |
| 25th | Digs Per Set (5.00) | 2nd |
| 39th | Total Digs (230) | 2nd |
| 123rd | Total Service Aces (16) | 4th |
| 141st | Aces Per Set (0.35) | 5th |
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