Cougar Volleyball To Host Third Annual "Dig Pink" Match
10/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2011
HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team will play host to UAB at 7 p.m., Friday in its Third Annual "Dig Pink" match at the Athletics/Alumni Center. Following the home match, Houston will head to Memphis for a 1 p.m. match Sunday against the Tigers.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Cougars will wear pink jerseys. The jerseys will be auctioned off and the money raised will be donated to Memorial Hermann and their fight against the disease.
As well as it being the "Dig Pink" match, the volleyball program will welcome back former players for their annual Alumni Weekend.
Friday night's match will be a crucial contest for the Cougars in their quest for the Conference USA regular season title. Houston and the Blazers are currently tied for second place in the Conference USA standings with a 7-2 league record. This will be the only meeting this season between the two teams.
UH closes out the weekend with a trip to Memphis. First serve is set for 1 p.m., Sunday.
Fans can follow both matches online through the Gametracker link on the volleyball schedule page at UHCougars.com. The live video stream of the matches is also available through that All-Access link on the athletics site.
Houston enters the weekend with a 14-5 overall record and a 7-2 mark in league action. Earlier in the week the first NCAA RPI rankings were released and the Cougars came in at No. 44, their highest ranking since 2008. In addition, senior Lucy Charuk ranks eighth in the NCAA with a team-leading 1.30 blocks per set and is 29th with a .413 hitting percentage.
After earning back-to-back C-USA Setter of the Week awards, freshman Caitlin Ogletree ranks second in the NCAA, averaging 11.18 assists per set.
ABOUT UAB
The Blazers enter the weekend with a 17-4 overall record and a 7-2 C-USA record. Their first two losses in league play came last weekend against Tulsa and SMU.
Sam Serley leads the team with 210 kills and a .426 hitting percentage. Serley is also posting a team-high 104 blocks. Alison Woods has a team-high 440 assists and Heather Thomas paces the team with 398 digs.
Houston leads the all-time series with the Blazers, 17-3, including 3-0 wins in both meetings last season.
ABOUT MEMPHIS
The Tigers are 15-7 this season and 4-5 in conference play. They went 1-1 at home last weekend, defeating SMU, 3-2, before falling to Tulsa, 3-0.
Altrese Hawkins leads the team with 335 kills on a .292 hitting percentage. Hajnalka Molnar has a team-high 921 assists and Aleksandra Petronijevic leads the team with 264 digs.
The Cougars split both meetings with the Tigers last season to take a 21-9 lead in the all-time series. Houston dropped a 3-2 decision on the road to Memphis but bounced back to defeat the Tigers, 3-0, at home.
UP NEXT
Houston will head to UCF and UTEP for two matches next weekend. The Cougars open the weekend at 6 p.m., Oct. 28 against the Knights and close out the trip with a 1 p.m. match, Oct. 30 against the Miners.
