University of Houston
<b> Miami (Houston Invitational) </b>
Volleyball Falls in Heartbreaker to Miami
9/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2005
Miami - Houston Box Score (PDF)
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team dropped a five game decision in the championship match of the Houston Invitational to Miami (32-30, 25-30, 27-30, 30-17, 5-15) on Saturday night at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
After losing the first point in game five, the Hurricanes scored 13 of the next 15 points forcing seven Cougar attack errors during the run. Karla Johnson paced Miami with 30 kills.
"We just quit executing in the fifth game," head coach Bill Walton said. "A lot of fifth games are like that. Miami got out to a big lead early, and we tried to comeback too hard too fast. It ended up working against us. You can't get it back in one swing."
The Cougars forced the deciding game rolling to a 30-17 win in game four. Houston (4-2) turned up the defense intensity holding Miami to a -.075 attack percentage en route to eight team blocks during the game.
For the match, Jennifer Hohl conducted the Houston offense with 54 of the team's 61 assists on the evening. Hohl has now tallied over 40 assists in three of her last five matches.
In the kills department, Kariny Ritter totaled a team-high 23, while Justine Farmer and Becca Sartori each contribued 16 kills apiece. Sartori had a team-high .353 attack percentage, and tied a career-high with seven blocks. Farmer added 19 digs for her third double-double of the season.
The two teams split the first two games taking back and forth battles in both. There were 21 ties and 10 lead changes in the opening two games alone.
Game three shaped up like the previous two games. With Miami ahead 27-26, the Cougars were unable to capitilize on a Hurricane freeball. Miami went on to take the third game, 30-27.
"It's those kind of plays that can make a difference in a match," Walton said. "Not handing their overpasses really came back to haunt us tonight."
There is no rest for the weary as the Cougars hit the hardwood tomorrow night against eight-time defending Big Sky champions, Sacramento State. First serve against the Hornets is slated for 7 p.m.
Historically Sacramento State has been a ball-control team who makes very few errors," Walton said. "Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow night after a tough match tonight. That's what we're looking at tomorrow night, playing two quality opponents back-to-back. This is a long weekend, but that's why they call it the preseason."
Individual tickets can be purchased for $5 Individual tickets can be purchased inside the Alumni/Athletics Center. UH students get into the match free by showing their Cougar 1Card.
Cougar Bytes
Saturday night marked the first time that Houston and Miami have hooked up on the volleyball court ... The two schools matched up on the gridiron last season with the Hurricanes coming away with a 38-13 victory at Reliant Stadium ... This was the first five game match for UH this season ... Last season the Cougars were 4-4 in five game affairs ... Kariny Ritter is the only Houston player to register double-digit kills in all six matches this season... Ritter kept her double-digit kills streak alive to nine matches dating back to last season ... The Brazilian set a career-mark with 79 swings on the evening ... Her previous career high was 61. That came in the regular season finale against LSU last season ... Justine Farmer and Becca Sartori also contributed with double-digit kills for the fifth consecutive match this season ... Farmer now has three double-doubles in her last five matches ... Sartori tied a career-high with seven blocks on the evening, while Zuela Adom matched a career-high with nine kills ... Jennifer Hohl has distributed over 30 assists in her last five matches ... In three of those five matches, Hohl has pumped out over 40 assists ... Jaci Gonzalez continues her solid back row play extending her 20 + dig streak to nine matches dating back to last season ... Gonzalez is currently 79 digs away from 2,000 career digs plateau ... The San Antonio native is also 142 digs away from the Conference USA record.
