University of Houston
Memphis
Volleyball Sweeps Memphis, 3-0, Wins Fifth-Straight Match
11/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team won its fifth-straight match with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 26-24) sweep of Memphis Sunday afternoon at the Athletics/Alumni Center. With the win and two Rice losses this weekend, the Cougars move into sole possession of third place in the Conference USA standings. Houston also improves to 17-10 on the season and 11-4 in C-USA action.
"The game plan that we came in with today was executed very well," head coach Molly Alvey said. "I would have liked to have made a couple blocking adjustments little bit sooner in the match for a couple extra points. To be able to step up against a team that beat us once this year and finish in three sets is a testament to strong focus and all-around great team play."
"Defensively we did a great job containing them and offensively we were putting the ball in play."
Stephanie Nwachukwu finished with a team-high 11 kills and had two blocks in the win over the Tigers. Chandace Tryon added nine kills and three blocks and Amber Brooks finished with 33 assists. Amanda Carson paced the team with 11 digs.
"Chandace Tryon did a great job today as she continues to get better offensively," Alvey added. "Stephanie Nwachukwu stepped up big time and was able to make some timely kills for us. We knew she was going to be an important option in this match."
The Cougars jumped out early to score the first two points of the opening set and pushed its lead to 9-6. Nwachukwu slapped back-to-back kills to give UH the 11-6 lead, which quickly prompted a timeout from the Memphis bench. Out of the break, Lucy Charuk and Marluci Toazzi blocked a Tiger attack and another Nwachukwu kill gave Houston a 13-6 lead.
Houston took a 17-9 lead into a second Memphis timeout, and this time it was the Tigers who benefited from the break. They scored four of the next six points to pull within six, 19-13, but the Cougars had built a lead that was too much to overcome and the home team would take the first set, 25-16.
Nwachukwu finished the first set with six kills on eight attempts with a .500 hitting percentage. The Cougars tallied 16 kills in the first set while holding the Tigers to nine.
A Brooks service ace opened the second set and the Cougars used that to build a 7-3 lead in the set's early going. The Tigers quickly rebounded from the deficit to tie the set at 14-14 but the Cougars scored the next three points to regain the lead, 17-14, forcing Memphis to call its first timeout of the set.
Memphis scored the first two points off the bench but a Tiger service error and an ace by Carson gave the Cougars the next two points. UH capitalized on strong serving and errors by the Tigers to take a 23-18 lead, forcing a second Memphis timeout. The Cougars came out of the break to set up set point on a block by Charuk and Nwachukwu and a Memphis attach error sent the Cougars into intermission with the 25-18 lead.
The Cougars combined to post a .650 hitting percentage without an attack error, while the Tigers finished with six attack errors and a .194 hitting percentage.
Memphis played to a 3-1 lead to open the third set but UH quickly regained the lead, 4-3, scoring the next three points. The two teams continued to trade points, forcing seven ties and four lead changes before the Tigers were able to build a two-point lead. The Cougars answered with two points to tie the set at 14-14 but Memphis regained a 16-14 lead, forcing Alvey to call her first timeout of the set.
The Cougars benefited from a ball handling error by the Tiger's setter and Brooks slapped her fourth kill of the match to tie the set once again. An attack error by the Memphis offense gave Houston a 17-16 lead and a timeout was called from the Tiger bench.
The two teams continued to battle out of the break and with the score tied 23-23, Memphis called its second timeout. The Tigers scored the first point out of the break but Houston took the next points. Chandace Tryon gave the Cougars the win, 26-24, with a solo block.
UP NEXT
Houston will play its final two matches in front of a home crowd next weekend as they host East Carolina and Marshall on Nov. 12 and Nov. 14, respectively. Following the match against the Thundering Herd, the Cougars will honor its two seniors, Amanda Carson and Marluci Toazzi, as part of the team's Senior Day festivities.
