Cooke Named The American Setter, Freshman of the Year

HOUSTON – Headlined by Setter and Freshman of the Year honors for Annie Cooke, the University of Houston Volleyball team saw a program-record five members earn American Athletic Conference regular season honors, the league office announced Monday.

Voted on by the league's coaches, Cooke was one of three Cougars named to The American All-Conference First Team, joining junior Kortlyn Henderson and sophomore Abbie Jackson, while junior Torie Frederick and sophomore Rachel Tullos were tabbed to The American All-Conference Second Team. This is the second All-Conference accolade of Tullos' career.

"It's great to see the growth of the program and the players in it, and that other coaches are recognizing the hard work they have put in," Houston Head Coach David Rehr said. "This season has thrown all sorts of obstacles at us with COVID, along with other adversities, and I'm really proud of how these girls have overcome those challenges to achieve these honors.

Aside from Houston's program-record five All-Conference honorees, the Cougars' three All-Conference First Team members are the most in program history as well. Cooke, Henderson and Jackson are also the program's first First-Team All-Conference honorees since Brookah Palmer in 2015. Jackson was a unanimous First-Team All-Conference selection.

With Cooke's Setter and Freshman of the Year accolade, she is the first Cougar to earn a conference specialty accolade since Jaci Gonzalez was awarded Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. She is also the first conference Freshman of the Year recipient since Michelle Frazier in 1997.

Houston's five All-Conference honorees were more than any other school in The American.

COOKE'S SEASON BREAKDOWN

The only freshman to command her team's offense, leading the league with 11.08 assists per set during conference play.
Helped guide Houston to a conference-best 14.28 kills per set against league foes.
Became the first setter to earn The American Offensive Player of the Week (March 8) since Aug. 28, 2017, after averaging 14.00 assists per set in two matches against Tulsa.
Handed out 67 helpers against SMU (Feb. 12), the first Cougar to surpass the 60-assist plateau in a single match since Destiny Patterson on Sept. 26, 2014.
Her 58 assists against Tulsa (March 5) were the most this season by a player in the conference in a four-set match, and a mark that ranks sixth-most in program history.
Tallied five double-doubles during conference action, which included the first 20-dig performance of her career in the win over Tulsa (March 6).

JACKSON'S SEASON BREAKDOWN

Finished the season leading the league in both kills (4.68) and points (5.61) per set, along with total service aces (19), during conference action.
Awarded Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 22) for the second time in her career after averaging 5.75 kills per set in two wins over Tulane.
Her career-high 32 kills in the win over SMU (Feb. 12) were the most by any player in The American this season. That mark is also the most kills by a Houston player since Brookah Palmer recorded 31 on Oct. 7, 2015.
Posted a career-high hitting percentage of .418 against Tulane, committing just three errors in 55 attempts.
Tallied five 20-kill performances against league opponents, along with four other 10-dig outings, including a career-high 17 digs against Memphis (March 12), to complete a trio of double-doubles.

HENDERSON'S SEASON BREAKDOWN

Ranked in the top-15 in both kills per set (3.19) and hitting percentage (.268) against opponents from The American.
Finished league play with six double-digit kills performances, including a career-high 20 kills in the win over SMU (Feb. 12).
Recorded four outings with a hitting percentage above the .300 plateau.
Averaged 4.00 kills per set in Houston's two wins against Tulsa (March 5-6).
Hoisted a .357 hitting percentage to help lead the Cougars to a pair of conference-opening wins at SMU (Feb. 11-12).

FREDERICK'S SEASON BREAKDOWN

Averaged 5.59 digs per set throughout league play, which ranked second in The American.
Totaled 218 digs, the only player in the conference to surpass the 200-dig mark.
Earned The American Defensive Player of the Week (March 8), after collecting back-to-back 20-dig outings against Tulsa (March 5-6) averaging 6.50 digs per set in both wins.
Posted a career-high 32 digs in the first win over Tulsa, a mark that is not only tied for third-most in program history in a four-set match but is also the most by a player in the conference in a four-set contest this season.
Finished league play with seven 20-dig performances against conference foes.

TULLOS' SEASON BREAKDOWN

Completed the year averaging 1.21 blocks per set, a mark that ranked seventh in the league.
Led The American with 10 solo blocks against conference opponents.
Hoisted a top-10 hitting percentage of .295 that led the team and ranked seventh in the conference.
Named The American Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 15) for the second time in her career, after averaging 2.12 blocks per set in the two wins against SMU (Feb. 11-12).
Recorded the fifth double-digit blocking performance of her career with 10 stops against SMU (Feb. 12).

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