University of Houston Athletics
Season Finale This Weekend
11/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 24, 2004
HOUSTON - For the final time this season the Houston volleyball will take to the court when the Cougars play Alabama and LSU this weekend in Baton Rouge, La.
Four team, two Southeastern Conference and two Conference USA schools, will participate in the round robin format tournament known as the C-USA/SEC Challenge taking place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26-27.
Houston and Tulane are slated as the two representatives from C-USA, but will not face off with one another in the tournament.
Houston is coming off of a 1-1 performance at the league tournament in Louisville, Ky., last weekend, and will be looking to close the season out on a high note.
On the year, four Cougars have posted kill totals in excess of 300, led by 2004 Third Team All-Conference performer Kelly McAnelly, who has 445 on the season. Defensively the team is backed by the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, junior libero Jaci Gonzalez, who is averaging 5.52 digs per game with 613 on the season, both of which are C-USA and school records.
The Cougars (9-21) first take on Alabama (20-8), Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. in the first match of the tournament.
All-time against the Crimson Tide, the Cougars have posted an undefeated 2-0 record that includes a postseason win in the 1976 AIAW Tournament. The last time the two teams faced off was in 1979, and Houston again came out on top of the Tide in a 2-0 sweep.
Alabama is led by senior outside hitter Erin Heffner, who has tallied a whopping 559 kills and an attack percentage of .289, is second on the team with 294 digs and has recorded 58 blocks this year.
The Crimson Tide comes into Friday's match averaging 16.4 spikes per game while holding opponents to just 13.5.
On Saturday, the Cougars battle the Tigers of LSU (16-11) in the 7:00 p.m. nightcap of the C-USA/SEC Tournament. The match will mark the final competition for Houston this season.
The Cougars and Tigers renew a rivalry that is nearly 30 years old and includes 27 matches, with the first match going to the Cougars in a 2-1 final back in 1976. Houston also came away victorious in 2000, the last time the two teams met.
LSU holds a slight edge in the rivalry with a 14-13 all-time mark against the Cougars, something Houston will be looking to even up on Saturday.
The Tigers are led by Regan Hood with 315 kills, but also has three other players over the 200-kill mark. Setter Daniela Romero is a dangerous player close to the net where she has dished out 1,062 assists but is also responsible for 92 kills on 262 attempts this season.
Houston will face Alabama at 5:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday night and the face host institution LSU in the Cougars' final match of 2004 at 7:00 p.m. (CST).
