Volleyball Faces SMU in C-USA Quarterfinals
11/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Nov. 18, 2005
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team enters the Conference USA Tournament with a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed. The winner of the C-USA Tournament secures an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships that begin on campus sites, Dec. 1st and 2nd.
This is the first time since 2001 that the Cougars (16-11, 10-4 C-USA) have received a first-round bye and the first time since 1997 that UH has been seeded second. In 1997, the Cougars won the entire tournament dismissing Cincinnati, 3-1 in the final.
"It's a whole new season," head coach Bill Walton said. "Everyone starts back at 0-0 so it's about the team that can execute the best over a three or four day span that will be the most successful."
SMU (13-15, 8-7 C-USA) knocked off UAB, 3-1 last night behind 18 kills and 20 digs from Rachel Guibilato. Three other Mustangs registered double-digit kills in the victory, while Natalie Peters dominated the front row with nine blocks.
The Cougars have already swept SMU twice this season, most recently on Nov. 6 in Dallas.
"It will be a little easier for us to figure out what to do (against SMU) because we have played them twice this season," Walton said. "The problem is that when you've beaten somebody twice before, you have to aviod getting complacent."
Four Cougar players were showered with league honors last Wednesday as C-USA accounced its all-Conference squads.
Jaci Gonzalez and Kariny Ritter were placed on the first team, while Becca Sartori earned second team honors. Justine Farmer was one of six players chosen on the All-Freshman squad. This is the first time since the 1997 that four Houston players have tallied postseason accolades.
"Individual awards are rarely if at all possible for people without a team that does very well," Walton said. "Volleyball is such a team game, and I'm happy that four of six starters earned awards."
First serve against the Mustangs is on tap for 8pm. UH students get in free to the C-USA Tournament by showing their Cougar 1 Card.
