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University of Houston Athletics
Houston Volleyball Travels to McNeese State Tourney This Weekend
9/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
| Gameday Central >> Houston at McNeese State Tournament | ||
| Date | Friday, Sept. 5-6, 2014 | |
| Location | Memorial Gym Lake Charles, La. | |
| Schedule | Friday, Sept. 5 vs. UT Arlington | 12:15 p.m. vs. Jackson State | 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 at McNeese State | 1:15 p.m. | |
| Coverage | Live Stats | Match Notes | |
| Social Media |    | |
HOUSTON - The University of Houston Volleyball team returns to the court this weekend for the first road tournament of the season. The Cougars travel to Lake Charles, La., for the Big Daddy's Invitational hosted by McNeese State.
Houston will face UT Arlington Friday at 12:15 p.m. followed by a match against Jackson State at 4:45 p.m. On Saturday, the Cougars wrap up the tournament with a match against host team McNeese State at 1:15 p.m.
UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
The UT Arlington squad is 3-1 on the season after hosting a tournament at home. The Mavericks, led by head coach Diane Seymour, have swept opponents in all three wins and took Denver to five sets before falling 3-2. UT Arlington also picked up a win on the road when they swept Abilene Christian, 3-0.
Junior opposite hitter Stacey Koch is the Mavericks top returner. She picked up 41 kills in four matches with a .561 hitting average to start the season.
JACKSON STATE TIGERS
Jackson State enters the weekend 0-3 after a trip to the UT Arlington tournament. The Lady Tigers, led by head coach Rose Washington, fell to UT Arlington, Denver and Incarnate Word in three sets each match. Jackson State finished the 2013 season third in the SWAC. Junior middle blocker Mikayla Rolle returns for the Lady Tigers. Earlier this season she was named the SWAC preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
MCNEESE STATE COWGIRLS
McNeese State enters the tournament on a two-game win streak after defeating Florida Atlantic and Bethune-Cookman at the Florida Atlantic invitational last weekend.
Malina Sanchez, a junior outside hitter, is the Cowgirls leading returner. Last season, She was named All-Southland Conference Second Team and was an All-Louisiana selection. This season she has averaged 3.00 kills per set.
LAST WEEK
Houston started the season 2-1 and finished second in the inaugural Houston Cougar Classic last weekend. The Cougars picked up a three set win over Lamar (25-18, 25-18, 26-24) on Friday. Day two of tournament play resulted in a 1-1 for the Cougars as they fell to Texas State in four sets and defeated Wake Forest in five sets.
The Cougars are now 2-0 against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams. The last time Houston defeated an ACC team was in 2007 when the Cougars beat Wake Forest in four sets.
Redshirt junior Kadi Kullerkann recorded 20+ kills in two of the three matches this weekend including a 23-kill match against Lamar. She is now third in the school history books for the most kills in a three set match. Kullerkann was very efficient hitting as she averaged a .350 or better in all three matches.
Senior right side Cortney Warren was also one of Houston's key players last weekend as she knocked 21 kills against Wake Forest. She was also efficient in her attacks as she averaged a .350 or better in both matches played.
Newcomer Keandra McCardell earned her first collegiate start at setter for the Cougars during the tournament. She picked up her first double-double with 36 assists and 12 digs against Lamar. Freshman outside hitter Bryanna Lawrence also recorded her first double-double in her collegiate career with 12 kills and 10 digs against Lamar.
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