Volleyball Concludes C-USA Action
11/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team concludes the 2006 conference schedule with matches at SMU and Tulsa. The Cougars are coming off a 3-1 win over Rice on Senior and Alumni Night back on Nov. 2.
"It was fantastic to get the body some rest last weekend," outside hitter Justine Farmer said. "We all needed it. We're going to be fired up and regenerated for this weekend."
"We've strung together some good practices this week after having some time away," head coach Bill Walton said. "The team will be motivated to prove themselves against SMU and Tulsa before heading into the conference tournament. Our job is to keep our focus and play hard each time we take the court."
Houston enters the weekend with a combined 9-2 mark against this weekend's conference opponents. The Cougars are 7-1 all-time against SMU and have won two of three meetings with the Golden Hurricane.
With a season-best 21 kills against Rice, Kelly McAnelly continues her climb towards the top of the Cougar career kills list. The Houston native enters this weekend's action with 1,392 career kills and is 14 away from matching Jennifer Wittenburg (1999-2001) for the No. 3 hole in program history and No. 21 spot on the Conference USA list.
Becca Sartori joins Kelly McAnelly on the prowl of chasing down career marks in the Houston and Conference USA record books. After popping 11 against Rice, Sartori has racked up 1,287 career kills and needs 49 kills to match Emily Leffers (1993-94, 1996-97). She also is nine kills shy from joining McAnelly in the Top 30 of the C-USA record book.
Sartori also is ranked in the Top 10 in program history for total blocks. She enters this weekend's action 13 blocks away from matching Marie Tourillon (1994-96) for the No. 7 spot in program history and two blocks from the No. 23 position in the Conference USA record book.
Krystal Schulle has stepped in nicely for an injured Kelsey King at setter. The Lockhart native has fueled the Cougars to a 12-6 record. She is second in C-USA action, dishing out 12.64 assists per game. The Houston offense is fifth, posting 15.15 kills per game in league play.
Schulle has racked up 10 double-doubles, including three in her last five outings. She has eclipsed the 50-assist mark seven times, including a 59-assist performance against Rice. The Cougars have won nine of its 12 matches via the sweep with Schulle at setter.
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 has reached double-digit kills in 32 of her last 34 matches 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 ranks fourth in C-USA and 17th nationally, averaging 4.77 kills per game and is 10th in the league, posting 3.83 digs per contest.
Farmer is coming off of a 27-kill effort against Rice and has reached the 20-kill plateau 11 times, including four straight outings, in addition to the 20-dig marks in eight matches.
Farmer continues to climb the charts of the Houston record book and is currently 11th for kills during a season with 510 so far this season. She along with Ashley Calhoun are working their way up the list for digs during a season. Calhoun is 7th, while Farmer is 9th on the single-season annuals.
Ashley Calhoun and Erin Rice are a pair of Cougar freshmen that have made an instant impact in 2006. Calhoun has reeled in double-digit digs in 18 of her 25 starts at libero. She paces the squad with 416 digs and is just eighth in C-USA, posting 3.85 per game. The Wisconsin native has bumped her average up to 4.18 digs per contest in league matches. She also paces the team, recording 40 service aces.
Rice has been a blocking machine in C-USA action recording 61 blocks in 41 games. She paces the C-USA, posting 1.49 blocks per game in league play. She blocked five balls in a 3-1 victory against Rice (Nov. 2).
Millicent Martin has provided some extra depth on the Cougar back row. The senior has notched double-digit digs eight times this season. She is coming off matching a season-best 18 digs against Rice. She also posted a career-best five blocks against the Owls.
First serve against the Mustangs is set for 7pm Friday followed by a 1pm Sunday start against the Golden Hurricane. Live video for the SMU match will be available on UHCougars.com. CSTV will air the SMU match on tape delay Sunday at 5pm. Live stats for both matches will be available on UHCougars.com
Houston plays host to the 2006 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at Hofheinz Pavilion on Nov. 16-19. Ticket information is available on UHCougars.com. The C-USA office will release seeds in addition to the schedule of play for the championship Sunday evening.
