University of Houston
Texas-San Antonio
Volleyball Snaps Streak Sweeping UTSA
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 14, 2006
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HOUSTON - Krystal Schulle passed a career-best 42 assists and added 10 digs for her first career double-double as the University of Houston volleyball rolled to a 3-0 victory over Texas-San Antonio (30-21, 30-28, 30-26) Thursday night at the Athletics/Alumni Center to open the Conference USA/Southland Volleyball Challenge.
"Krystal did a fantastic job of stepping into a challenge," head coach Bill Walton said. "She set the ball all over the court and led a balanced attack tonight."
Houston (6-6) snapped a five-match losing streak in its 2006 home opener as Schulle fueled the Cougar offense to 20 kills and a .600 attack percentage in game one. The Lockhart native was taking the place of Kelsey King.
"You always have nerves, but coach (Bill Walton) told me to go out there and have fun," Schulle said. "I hadn't set a whole match since being in high school. We were out there having a good time. The passing in the first game really made my job easy. "
Justine Farmer paced the Houston offense with her team-leading eighth double-double of the season, slapping 15 kills and 12 digs, while Sunshine Misa-Uli matched her career-best with 13 kills on a .304 attack percentage to go along with 10 digs of her own.
Millicent Martin chipped in with nine kills on .471 clip and Akilah Grant-Sullivan ripped five kills on seven swing in addition to leading the front row with three blocks.
"We had a lot of time in practice to reflect on our 0-4 performance last weekend," Martin said. "We worked hard and it payed off. Krystal made our job as hitters easy tonight."
"Millicent played great low-error volleyball," Walton said. "She handled every situation and did a great job of mixing up her shots."
Houston held a 14-13 advantage early and pulled away with a 15-5 run en route to a 30-21 opening game win. Farmer notched eight kills in the frame as the Cougars hit a season-best .600 attack percentage, connecting on 20 kills with only two errors.
UTSA (6-6) looked to pull even in game two and grabbed a late 25-21 lead on a Shannon Walker kill. After committing 10 attack errors, the Cougars stormed back scoring 10 of the final 13 points in the frame to edge out a 30-28 victory without an attack error.
UH carried the lead from start to finish in game three as the Cougars took a 12-7 advantage on a Martin ace. The Roadrunners got within two points at 17-15, but Houston regained control with sideout efficiency to complete the sweep at 30-26.
"Our goal is to serve tougher for the rest of the tournament because that's what we'll need to do heading into conference play," Walton said.
The Cougars square off against McNeese State and Texas State Friday at the Athletics/Alumni Center to continue the Conference USA/Southland Conference Volleyball Challenge. First serve against MSU in scheduled for noon.
Cougar Notes
Tonight's match was the first time since 2003 that Houston and UTSA have meet on the volleyball court ... It also was the home opener for Houston ... The Cougars have won three of the four all-time meetings ... The Houston volleyball program is three wins away from reaching 800 wins ... Houston has won 31 of its last 35 matches when winning game two dating back to November 2003 ... The Cougars hit a season-best .600 attack percentage in game one ... Krystal Schulle dished out a career-best 42 assists and added 10 digs for her first career double-double ... Sunshine Misa-Uli matched her career-high with 13 kills ... It was the third time in the last five matches that Misa-Uli has powered home 13 kills ... Justine Farmer added her team-leading eighth double-double of the season ... Farmer has notched double-digit kills in 15 of her last 17 matches she has played in ... With seven kills, Sartori moves to 24 kills away from breaking into the Top 10 in program history and is 165 kills shy from reaching the Top 30 in the C-USA record book.
