Volleyball Rekindles Rice Rivalry
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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Oct. 4, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team rekindles its longest rivalry against crosstown foe Rice for a mid-week showdown Wednesday evening at Autry Court.
"We're ready to place Rice," outside hitter Kelly McAnelly said after Sunday's match with Tulane. "That's our rival. It's always an exciting match. This is our chance to prove that we have the better volleyball program in Houston."
Houston and Rice will meet on the volleyball court for the 66th time at Autry Court. The Cougars are 54-11 all-time against the Owls, but Rice has won six of the last eight meetings in the series dating back to the 2002 season. The two teams split its two meetings last season, winning on each other's home court in Rice's first season in C-USA.
"Playing Rice isn't any different than playing anyone else in our conference in my eyes," head coach Walton said. "Considering how they've been against us in recent history, they feel like they're trying to prove that they're the dominant team."
With a team-best 27 kills against C-USA foes UTEP and Tulane (Sept. 29, Oct. 1), Kelly McAnelly enters this week's action No. 5 in program history with 1,277 career kills and is 59 away from equaling Emily Leffers (1993-94, 1996-97) in the No. 4 hole.
Becca Sartori joins McAnelly on the prowl of chasing down career marks in the Houston and Conference USA record books.
After popping 18 kills last weekend, Sartori is No. 8 in program history with 1,189 career kills and enters the week five away from matching Karen Bell (1988-91) for the No. 7 spot. Sartori also is 91 kills shy from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book.
With four block assists over the weekend, Sartori is three away from matching Latisha Charles (1986-87, 1989-90) for No. 7 all-time in that category. She also is one total block from the Top 30 in C-USA history.
Krystal Schulle has stepped in nicely for an injured Kelsey King at setter. This season is the first time since high school that Schulle has played the setter position.
The Lockhart native has fueled the Cougars to a 7-1 record, dishing out 13.46 assists per game. The Houston offense has posted 16.61 kills per game on a .242 team attack percentage with Schulle at setter.
Schulle has racked up four double-doubles and passed out a career-best 61 assists in the Conference USA/Southland Conference Challenge against McNeese State (Sept. 16). The Cougars have won six of its seven matches via the sweep with Schulle posting over 40-assists in three of the six sweeps.
After being named to the 2005 Conference USA All-Freshman Team, Justine Farmer has been proving there is no such thing as a sophomore slump.
The El Paso native is second in C-USA and one off the league pace with 12 double-doubles this season. Farmer has reached double-digit kills in 22 of her last 24 matches she has played in dating back to last season. She is the only player in C-USA to be in the Top 10 in kills and digs per game. Farmer is tied for sixth in C-USA, averaging 4.15 kills per game and tenth in the league, posting 3.72 digs per contest. She also is eighth in C-USA, posting 4.65 points per game.
Farmer smacked 12 kills and added 21 digs in a three-game sweep of UTEP (Sept. 29). Only a sophomore, Farmer has already reached 600 career kills and 600 career digs. She enters the week only seven kills and 87 digs shy of reaching the 700-club
Ashley Calhoun, Kinsey Cave and Erin Rice are three Cougar freshmen looking to make an instant impact in 2006.
Calhoun has reeled in double-digit digs in 11 of her 17 starts at libero. She paces the squad with 252 digs. The Wisconsin native also has made two starts at outside hitter, knocking home 16 kills against Tennessee State (Sept. 9) in addition to 11 kills on a .320 attack percentage against Louisiana-Monroe (Sept. 2). Calhoun also has served strong in league play, recording an ace in her first four C-USA outings. She's blasted nine aces and is third in league matches, averaging 0.69 aces per game.
Cave was an All-CIFSS selection and Century League First-Team honoree in both 2004 and 2005 at El Dorado High School in California. The southpaw came through with a pair of seven-kill performances against New Mexico (Sept. 1) and Baylor (Sept. 2) at the Clarion Invitational. She returned to the floor last weekend after missing three weeks, notching a kill and a block in limited action against UTEP (Sept. 29).
Rice has made the most of her limited action, but has been a blocking machine in C-USA action, recording 24 blocks in 13 games. She paces the C-USA, posting 1.85 blocks per game in league play. Rice came through with seven blocks against UAB (Sept. 24) and recorded a career-best nine stops against Tulane (Oct. 1) in a pair of three-game sweeps.
First serve against the Owls is slated for 7pm at Autry Court. Live stats are available for tonight's match on UHCougars.com
