University of Houston Athletics
Tourney Ends For Cougars
11/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 20, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Last year at the Conference USA tournament Houston managed to upset the No. 1 seed, playing top-seeded Louisville on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament the Cougars weren't able recreate the magic.
Louisville (24-2, 13-0), who ranks No. 21 nationally, took the match in three games, 30-21, 30-24 and 30-26.
"I thought our girls played with a lot of effort and intensity," said Houston head coach Bill Walton. "We just didn't have the consistency we needed to win the match."
On the afternoon, Houston hit a respectable .201 with 44 kills, but was outpaced by a .331 hitting percentage and a 56-kill performance by the Cardinals.
Senior Loure Dews was impressive leading Houston in her final conference tournament, she hit .321 with 11 kills on 28 swings in the match, while junior Kariny Ritter with sophomores Kelly McAnelly and Becca Sartori chipped in nine kills each for the team.
Also turning in a strong performance was senior setter Mirela Vasconcellos, posted her sixth double-double of the year with a match-high 35 handouts and 10 digs. With her second dig of the match, she also moved into the No. 6 all-time digs position on the Houston record books.
At the outset of Game 1, the Cougars kept pace with the Cardinals and tied up the match at 14 apiece. But Louisville picked up their pace, going on a 9-1 run to go ahead 23-15, relying primarily on the swings of Lena Ustemenko who had six kills in the game. The Cardinals went on to claim the first game 30-21 and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the match.
Tied at 10 in the second game, Louisville used a 6-0 run to go up on top 10-16. Refusing to let up, Houston battled through the game, using a 5-1 run of their own to come with four points of the Cardinals at 26-22, but it wouldn't be enough as Louisville went on to win Game 2, 30-24.
Coming out of the break and facing elimination from the tournament, the Cougars played with intensity and determination. Houston took advantage of Louisville's miscues in the early going of the game to go ahead 11-8.
Houston maintained the lead until the Cardinals went up 23-22. The Cougars tied up the game at 25-25, but two Louisville kills and two blocks, and a Houston kill by Ritter, set up match point at 26-29.
A kill by the Cardinals' Bing Sun ended the C-USA Tournament for the Cougars in a 26-30 loss, as the team surrendered the match to Louisville, 3-0.
"We played the 21st team in the nation, on their home court, with excellent intensity and determination," said Walton. "If someone were to look at our team today they would have never guessed we have the record we do."
Houston will have two more chances to improve that record, which now stands at 9-21, as the team heads to the C-USA/SEC Challenge to close out the season against Alabama and LSU next weekend.
