Houston Puts Three on Preseason All-Conference Team

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Volleyball program was picked second in the American Athletic Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll with three student-athletes named to the league's Preseason All-Conference Team.

Junior outside hitter Abbie Jackson, senior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson and sophomore setter Annie Cooke earned places on the Preseason with Jackson being one of five unanimous selections.

Houston led the way with three Preseason All-Conference honorees. UCF, Temple and Tulane were tied for second with two student-athletes apiece.

Under the leadership of Head Coach David Rehr, Houston received 80 points in the Coaches' poll to stand second, behind preseason favorite UCF (100). SMU (66), Tulane (64) and Cincinnati (61) completed the Top Five while Temple (58), USF (34), Wichita State (33), Tulsa (24), East Carolina (18) and Memphis (18) rounded out the field.

Rehr enters his third season leading the Cougars, taking Houston to new heights in each of his first two years. Along with back-to-back American Athletic Conference Championship appearances, Rehr has also mentored more All-Conference players (8) than any other school in the league since his arrival.

"I am honored that my fellow coaches in the American Athletic Conference think as highly of us as they have," Rehr said. "Now, we have to back that ranking with wins in the upcoming season."

This was the highest Houston Volleyball was picked in its American Athletic Conference history and tied for the highest since the 2006 Cougars were picked to finish second in the Conference USA Coaches Preseason Poll.

ANNIE COOKE
Cooke returns for her sophomore season after competing as the only freshman in the league to command her team's offense a year ago. In 2020-21, The Woodlands, Texas, native was The American's Freshman and Setter of the Year and was one of five Cougars to earn All-Conference honors.

Cooke led the league with 10.6 assists per set and was recognized as the AVCA Southeast Freshman of the Year. After averaging 14.0 assists per set in wins over Tulsa, she became the first setter to be named the league's Offensive Player of the Week since Aug. 28, 2017.

KORTLYN HENDERSON
Henderson was named to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team a year ago after ranking among the league's Top-15 leaders in kills per set (3.19) and hitting percentage (.268) against league opponents.

She posted a match-high 19 kills against Temple at The American Championship and earned a place on the league's All-Tournament Team.

A native of Waco, Texas, Henderson enjoyed a career-high 20 kills in a win over SMU.

ABBIE JACKSON
Jackson enjoyed an-award-winning season as a sophomore a year ago. The Gig Harbor, Wash., native was a unanimous All-Conference First-Team honoree after leading The American in kills (4.7) and (5.6) points per set.

Jackson smashed a league-season-high 32 kills in a win over SMU, the most by a Cougar since Brookah Palmer on Oct. 7, 2015. She totaled seven 20-kill performances with seven 10-dig outings on the way to five double-doubles.

For her impressive efforts she was named a Volleyball.com All-America Honorable Mention, the program's first All-America honoree since 2014.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACHES PRESEASON POLL

Rk.	School (First-Place Votes)	Pts.
1.	UCF (10)	100
2.	Houston (1)	80
3.	SMU	66
4.	Tulane	64
5.	Cincinnati	61
6.	Temple	58
7.	USF	34
8.	Wichita State	33
9.	Tulsa	24
t10.	East Carolina	18
	Memphis	18

PRESEASON AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
McKenna Melville OH Sr. UCF

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAM

Name	Cl.	Pos.	School
Annie Cooke	So.	S	Houston
Kortlyn Henderson	Sr.	OH	Houston
* Abbie Jackson	Jr.	OH	Houston
* McKenna Melville	Sr.	OH	UCF
* Anne-Marie Watson	r-Sr.	RS	UCF
Bri Wood	Sr.	RS	East Carolina
Marta Cvitkovic	So.	OH	USF
Falanika Danielson	So.	S	Temple
Gem Grimshaw	Sr.	OH	Temple
Kayla Dinkins	Sr.	MH	Tulane
* Lexie Douglas	r-Sr.	OH	Tulane
Sophia Rohling	So.	RS	Wichita State

* – unanimous selection

UP NEXT
The Cougars open the season when they compete at the Oklahoma Invitational on Aug. 27-29 in Norman, Okla. Houston faces Lipscomb at 3 p.m., Aug. 26, before facing Oregon State (2:30 p.m.) and Oklahoma (7 p.m.) on Aug. 27.

From there, the Cougars start their home slate when they play host to the Flo Hyman Invitational inside the Fertitta Center. The Cougars meet Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 3, before taking on McNeese (11 a.m.) and ULM (6:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 4.

BUY TICKETS
Fans can purchase Houston Volleyball tickets by calling 713-462-6647 or by clicking here. The 32-match schedule features 13 contests inside the Fertitta Center, which will be back at full capacity in 2021.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarVB, and "Like" UHCougarVB on Facebook.

JOIN POINT HOUSTON CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Volleyball program by joining the Point HOUSTON Club. For more information about the Point HOUSTON Club, fans can click here or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH.

– UHCougars.com –

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