University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Volleyball Opens 2015 Season
8/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
HOUSTON â€" The University of Houston Volleyball program begins the 2015 season on the road at the Texas Tech Fall Invitational this Friday and Saturday.
The Cougars open the tournament Friday afternoon with Louisiana-Lafayette at 1:30 p.m. and Utah State at 4:30 p.m. Houston rounds out the first tourney of the season with host Texas Tech at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Fans will see a revived competition between the Cougars, Utah State and Texas Tech. It has been more than a decade that Houston has met either team. The Cougars last met Utah State 20 years ago and it has been 10 years since Houston faced Texas Tech.
| Gameday Central >> Houston at Texas Tech Fall Invitational | ||
Date | Time | August 28-29, 2015 | |
Location | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, Texas | |
Schedule | Friday, August 28 1:30 pm - Louisiana-Lafayette | Live Stats 4:30 pm - Utah State | Live Stats Saturday, August 29 11 am - Texas Tech | | Live Video | |
Social Media |    | |
LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS
• Head Coach: Heather Mazeitis-Fontenot (Central Oklahoma, '92) - 9th Season
• 2014 Results: 20-13 (9-11) | 6th â€" Sun Belt
• Series Record: 4-1
• Last meeting: Sept. 13, 2014 (Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup) â€" Louisiana 3, UH 0
UTAH STATE AGGIES
• Head Coach: Grayson DeBose (BYU, '93) - 10th Season
• 2014 Results: 13-16 (9-9) | T-5th â€" Mountain West
• Series Record: 3-2
• Last meeting: Sept. 2, 1995 - UH 3, Utah State 0
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
• Head Coach: Don Flora (University of La Verne, '90) - 5th Season
• 2014 Results: 14-14 (2-14) | 9th â€" Big 12
• Series Record: 28-14
• Last meeting: Aug. 27, 2005 (Houston Kickoff Tournament) - UH 3, Texas Tech 1
HOUSTON RETURNS 10
Houston Volleyball returns 10 student-athletes for the 2015 season. Four seniors, Courtney Smith, Olivia O'Dell, Destiny Patterson and Sophie Paine, will lead the Cougars this year.
O'Dell will fill the shoes of starting libero this season. She was one of the Cougars leading defensive specialists last season with 314 digs. Smith is the most experienced middle blocker the Coogs have this season. Patterson has become a very versatile player for the Houston back row. She is a great specialist in the back row, had some experience at the setter role last season and came into the program as a back row hitter. Paine will be in the running for the Cougars starting setter position along with sophomore Keandra McCardell.
Juniors Marisa Guzman and Hunter Wise return for their third season. Guzman is another great back row specialist for the Cougars while Wise adds great height in the front row. Wise hit .260 as a middle and put up 51 blocks.
Sophomores Sarah Afflerbaugh, Bryanna Lawrence and Keandra McCardell will also see action in the 2015 season. Afflerbaugh is the most experienced outside returning to the court. She recorded 115 kills while also picking up 137 digs and 21 blocks last season. McCardell was the Cougars starting setter for most of the 2014 season as she posted 1,095 assists, 231 digs and 35 blocks. She will be vying for the starting role this season against Paine.
Finally, redshirt freshman Chenelle Walker will see some action this season at the middle position. She provides more height and attack in the front row.
FIVE NEWCOMERS JOIN COUGARS FOR 2015
The Cougars added four freshmen and a sophomore transfer to the 2015 roster.
Freshmen Brookah Palmer, Kendall Montgomery, Katie Krebs and Darby Shaw will add depth to the Cougars roster in the back and front rows. Palmer is a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Hebron High School. She was named to the 2014 All-State team and played in the All-Star game this summer. Montgomery is a 5-foot-5 defensive specialist from Cedar Ridge High School. She is a great addition to the Cougars back row and will allow the others to have some rest during games.
Krebs is a 5-foot-6 setter from Flower Mound High School. She will add depth to the setter position for the Cougars. Shaw is another defensive specialist who will add more depth to the back row for the Cougars defense.
Shelby Harper transferred from the University of Arkansas. She saw action in 25 sets for the Razorbacks and tallied 28 kills and 18 blocks.
A LOOK BACK AT 2014
Houston Volleyball entered the 2014 season in its second year as American Athletic Conference members. The Cougars finished the season with a 14-18 overall record and eighth place in conference play with a 6-14 record.
Senior outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors, becoming the second Cougar in school history to be honored nationally. She was also awarded with the AVCA All-Southeast Region. She also reeled in a First Team All-American Athletic Conference selection, the first for the Cougars in the new conference.
Kullerkann was the Cougars top hitter as she notched 644 kills in a single season, good for the third most in school history. She also tied for the second most kills in a single match when she put down 37 kills in the five-set win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sept. 19, 2014).
Nationally, Kullerkann ranked fifth for kills per set (5.03) and third for total kills (644).
Senior Libero Natalie Keck also had a standout season as she notched 654 digs, the best of her career and the third most in school history. She averaged 5.07 digs per set (also ranking third in school history) and recorded 30+ digs in two matches last season.
Keck finished her career with 2,106 total digs, becoming the second Cougar to reach 2,000 career digs.
Houston opened the 2014 season 8-4 before starting conference play.
The American Athletic Conference is a very competitive league. Last season, the Cougars split the season series with six of the 10 conference opponents proving how evenly matched the teams really are.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Volleyball on Twitter @UHCougarVB and "Like" /HoustonCougarVolleyball on Facebook. Houston Volleyball is now on Istagram as well, UHCougarVB.
SHASTA PASS
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2015-16 athletic season. For just $50, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Women's Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer and Softball home games.
The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial savings as single-game tickets start at $8 for all four sports. Fans can save $126 alone during the Houston Volleyball and Soccer seasons. To purchase a Shasta Pass, CLICK HERE.
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
