Cougars Stumble in Home Opener

HOUSTON – The rv University of Houston Volleyball team came up short in its home opener, falling to Louisiana in five sets on Thursday night at Fertitta Center.

The Cougars (2-1) took a 2-1 lead after dropping the first set, but a late surge from the Ragin' Cajuns (2-2) stole the match from Houston.

A trio of Cougars posted double-doubles in the match. Graduate libero Kate Georgiades tallied 26 digs and 10 assists for her second career double-double, while graduate outside hitter Angela Grieve recorded 16 kills and 12 digs for her 11^th career mark and redshirt senior Rebecca Rocassin tallied 28 assists and 15 digs for her 10^th all-time.

Senior outside hitter Katie Corelli used 20 kills on 41 swings to lead Houston, hitting .341 on the match. The 20 kills marked her first career match with 20-or-more, surpassing her previous career-high of 15. Redshirt junior middle blocker Barakat Rahmon also tallied a career-high 10 kills in the match.

Georgiades' 26 digs marks her third consecutive game with 20-or-more, bringing her career total of 20-plus dig games to 47.

Houston fell behind early in the first set as Louisiana claimed the lead, but the Cougars never allowed the Ragin' Cajuns to take more than a three-point lead. While Houston would tie the set late at 15-15, a 3-0 run with two kills from Louisiana's Jazmin Gaston gave the Ragin' Cajuns a renewed lead for a 25-23 set win.

The Cougars flipped the script in the second set, quickly jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Louisiana evened the set and took the lead at 7-7, but Houston closed the gap and reclaimed the advantage on a kill from Corelli to make the score 13-12. The Cougars put the set away with a 25-18 win while holding Louisiana to a .065 (7-5-31) hitting percentage in the frame.

Houston again controlled play in the third. Using a 5-1 run to take an edge to start the set, the Cougars never relinquished the lead and only allowed a tie score at 11-11 en route to a 25-20 set win, putting Houston up 2-1.

Louisiana evened the match at 2-all in a back-and-forth fourth set. Houston claimed a 7-4 lead early, but Louisiana used a 3-0 run to close the gap, tying the frame at 7-7. Facing more deadlocks at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, and 13-13, the Cougars again snagged a lead, capitalizing on service and attack errors to push the score to 15-1. The Ragin' Cajuns fought back to even the frame at 19-all before forcing a fifth set with a 4-2 stretch to win the fourth, 25-23.

Louisiana shut the door on a home celebration for the Cougars in the fifth. Starting the frame with a 3-0 run, the Ragin' Cajuns never allowed Houston back into the set, clinching the frame, 15-6, and the match, 3-2.

NOTABLES
· Junior setter Paige Bernstein and senior outside hitter Julianna Dalton made their Cougar debuts in the match.
· With Georgiades, Grieve and Rocassin posting double-doubles, it marks the first time three Houston players have recorded a double-double in the same game since Abbie Jackson, Morgan Janda, Annie Cooke and Kenna Sauer all tallied one against SMU on Sept. 9, 2023.

UP NEXT
Houston concludes its weekend at the Flo Hyman Classic with a battle against Northwestern State at 5 p.m., Saturday. The team will sign autographs postgame while the match is also the team's HISD Day, with HISD students receiving free admission to the match.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Volleyball joining the Point Houston Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Volleyball for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarVB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarVB. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at @UHCougarVB.

– UHCougars.com –

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Katie Corelli

Angela Grieve

Barakat Rahmon

Lily Barron

Players Mentioned

Paige Bernstein

Annie Cooke

Katie Corelli

Julianna Dalton

Kate Georgiades

Angela Grieve

Abbie Jackson

Barakat Rahmon

Rebecca Rocassin

Kenna Sauer

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