University of Houston Athletics
PREVIEW: Cougars Travel to First Conference Road Matches
9/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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HOUSTON â€" Off a 1-1 weekend in the opening week of American Athletic Conference play, Houston Volleyball travels to Florida for the first road matches of the season.
The Cougars (11-3, 1-1) are set to face USF (4-10, 1-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) in the USF Corral. On Sunday, Houston will take on 2014 conference champions UCF (7-7, 1-1) at 1 p.m. (CT).
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QUICK HITS ON HOUSTON
« Houston Volleyball opened the American Athletic Conference season with a 1-1 weekend as the Cougars swept SMU on Friday and fell in a heartbreaking five sets to Tulsa on Sunday.
« The three-set win over SMU marked the first win over the Mustangs since the 2008 season and the first sweep since 2007.
« Houston opened the 2015 season 10-2 heading into conference play. This is the best start since the 1989 season when the program opened 12-2 leading into the Southwest Conference season.
« Freshman Brookah Palmer was named to the conference weekly honor roll for her third league award of the season. She recorded her fifth double-double of the season in the five-set loss to Tulsa with 15 kills and 12 digs.
LAST TIME OUT
Houston Volleyball had an impressive showing Friday night as the Cougars swept SMU (25-17, 29-27, 25-23) to pick up the first American Athletic Conference win of the season.
On Sunday dropped a heartbreaker to Tulsa in five sets (25-16, 26-24, 20-25, 18-25, 8-15), moving to 11-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
Houston posted a season best 12.0 blocks as a team against the Golden Hurricane. Freshman Brookah Palmer recorded her fifth double-double of the season as she led the Cougars with 15 kills (.200 hitting average) and 12 digs.
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS
South Florida enters the weekend after opening conference play 1-1. The Bulls fell in three sets to the league leader Temple on Friday, but came back to win 3-1 over UConn on Sunday.
The Bulls return five starters plus a libero for the 2015 season.
• Series Record: UH leads 12-10
• Last Meeting: Nov. 21, 2014 - USF 3, UH 1
UCF KNIGHTS
UCF enters the weekend after a 1-1 start to conference play last weekend. The Knights swept UConn on Friday night to pick up their first conference win of the season but fell in three to conference leader Temple on Sunday.
The Knights return just three starters while welcoming seven freshmen newcomers to the team.
• Series Record: UH leads 10-5
• Last Meeting: Nov. 23, 2014 - UCF 3, UH 1
DIG IT OUT
Senior Olivia O'Dell continues to make her way into the record books and the national stat leaderboards this season.
O'Dell has totaled 289 digs, averaging 5.56 digs per set. She is now ranked in the top 10 nationally for most digs per set. She has tallied 20+digs in seven matches and double-digit dig performances in all 14 matches this season.
National Rank | Category | Conf. Rank |
9th | Digs per set (5.56) | 2nd |
26th | Total Digs (289) | 2nd |
NEWCOMER STUD
Freshman outside hitter Brookah Palmer has been a great six-rotation addition for the Cougars. She has posted 20+kills in four matches, double-digit kills in 13 matches and has recorded five double-doubles so far this season.
Palmer was named to the conference weekly honor roll for her third conference award this season.
National Rank | Category | Conf. Rank |
54th | Aces per set (0.42) | 1st |
56th | Attacks per set (10.92) | 1st |
16th | Kills per set (4.48) | 1st |
30th | Kills SG Highs (233) | 1st |
27th | Points (267.0) | 1st |
10th | Points Per Set (5.13) | 1st |
55th | Service Aces (22) | 1st |
30th | Total Kills (233) | 1st |
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
