University of Houston Athletics
Volleyball Places Four on All-Conference Teams
11/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 16, 2005
IRVING - Four University of Houston volleyball players were showered with league honors on Wednesday morning as Conference USA announced its All-Conference squads.
The Cougars (16-11, 10-4 C-USA) placed Jaci Gonzalez and Kariny Ritter on the first team, while Becca Sartori earned second team honors. Justine Farmer was one of six players chosen on the All-Freshman squad.
"Individual awards are rarely if at all possible for people without a team that does very well," head coach Bill Walton said. "Volleyball is such a team game, and I'm happy that four of our six starters earned awards."
Ritter entered the season as a middle blocker, but moved to outside hitter when Kelly McAnelly was injured after the first weekend. She stepped up leading the squad smacking 443 kills at a 4.76 per game clip which is third in C-USA. In league play, Ritter is ripping 5.35 kills per game and is one of only three players to be named C-USA Player of the Week on three seperate occasions.
"This award for Kariny says a lot about what she has accomplished this season," Walton said. "Not only is she playing out of position, she's had to play back row for the first time in her career.
Gonzalez was not only on the first team but picked up her second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award. She currently sits third all-time, second among active players, in NCAA History with 2,379 career digs. She broke the C-USA career record (2,074) earlier this season and leads the conference as a five-time member of the 30-dig club. She paces C-USA and enters the weekend ranked fifth in the NCAA averaging 6.15 digs per game. She has registered 20 or more digs in 21 of 27 matches this season.
"Jaci has been one of the best liberos in the conference ever since her freshman year," Walton said. "This award for her is fulfilling an expectation. I've said this before, but this team is sucessful not because Jaci digs the ball. It's because of her leadership and what she does for the team off the floor."
Sartori has taken her game to a new level in C-USA play and was third connecting on a .355 attack percentage in league action. The Houston native has powered home 357 kills and is just outside the Top 10 in C-USA with 3.53 kills per game. She has also been a force on the defensive side of net registering 99 total blocks and has blocked at least four shots in 14 matches.
"Becca has been our most consistent player all season," Walton said. "She has been the backbone and what we have built our entire offense around. So her getting some recognition is well deserved."
Farmer paced Houston with a team-best 15 double-doubles, ranking fifth in C-USA in that category. She is the only Cougar to average over three kills and three digs per game. The El Paso native nailed 369 kills, second on the squad, and eighth in C-USA at a 3.69 per game clip.
"If everyone would have been healthy it would have been hard for Justine to get on the floor," Walton said. "All of a sudden after some injuries she's out on the floor without a back-up. We would not have been a second place team had Justine not stepped up. Her getting on the team is a direct reflection of our team doing well."
Houston has secured one of four first-round byes at the upcoming Conference USA Tournament, Nov 17-20 on the Rice campus. The Cougars will face off with either SMU or UAB in the quarterfinals. First serve is slated for 8pm on Friday night at Autry Court.
