University of Houston
Southern Miss
Volleyball Outlasts Southern Miss In Five Sets
9/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2011
| Houston 3, Southern Miss 2 |
|---|
 |
| Box Score | Stats |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Southern Miss | 25 | 21 | 11 | 25 | 13 |
| Houston | 22 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 15 |
| Quick Stats | UH | Southern Miss |
| Digs | 62 | 71 |
| Assists | 55 | 65 |
| Kills | 66 | 66 |
| Blocks | 14 | 6.5 |
| Statistical Leaders | ||||
| Kills | Digs | Assists | BS/BA | |
| Katie Norris | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0/2 |
| Ingrida Zauere | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0/3 |
| Stephanie Nwachukwu | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0/4 |
 Schedule Roster |
HOUSTON - Juniors Katie Norris and Stephanie Nwachukwu posted career-highs in kills to guide the University of Houston volleyball team to a 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-18, 15-13) win over Southern Miss Friday night at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
The Cougars improve to 9-3 on the season and 2-0 in Conference USA action.
Norris posted a career-high 18 kills improving on her previous best of 17 set against Rice Tuesday night and Nwachukwu added 16 kills on a .433 hitting clip.
"Stephanie really had a lot of energy, with both her mannerisms and her play," head coach Molly Alvey said. "She was getting kills, bringing energy and creating momentum. She did a great job."
Freshman Caitlin Ogletree finished the night with a career-high 53 assists and senior Ingrida Zauere posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Southern Miss jumped out early on the Cougars 9-7 in the first set and never looked back. With the two-point deficit, Houston called its first timeout and came out of the break scoring the first point, but the Golden Eagles would extend their lead 18-12, forcing a second UH timeout. The Cougars battled off the bench to within three, 23-20, but the USM lead was too much to overcome as Houston fell, 25-22.
Norris paced the Cougars in the first set with seven of the team's 15 kills with a .429 hitting percentage.
Houston traded points with the Golden Eagles to open the second set before taking a 16-14 lead into a Southern Miss timeout. A Charuk kill out of the break extended the UH lead to 17-14 but USM scored the next three points to tie the set. The Cougars answered with a 4-1 run, extending their lead 21-18 and forcing a second timeout from the Southern Miss bench. Houston closed out the set on a 5-2 run to win 25-21 and even the match, 1-1.
Nwachukwu had six kills on eight attempts in the second set to lead the Cougars, while Norris and Zauere added three kills.
The Cougars scored the first three points of the third set and jumped out to a 9-5 lead, forcing the Golden Eagles to call a timeout. Southern Miss scored the first point out of the timeout but Houston went on a 5-1 run to extend their lead, 14-7. The Cougars never let up, leading by as many as 13 before taking the set 25-11.
Nwachukwu pushed her kill total to 15 going 6-for-8 in the third set to post a .750 hitting percentage.
Houston fell behind early in the fourth set and was forced to call a timeout trailing 14-7. The Cougars went on a late run and pulled within four of the Golden Eagles, 20-16, but USM answered, scoring the next three points. UH battled but was unable to overcome the Southern Miss lead, falling 25-18.
Junior Chandace Tryon finished the fourth set with five of the team's 11 kills, while hitting .714.
With the loss, Houston was forced to play a fifth set for just the third time this season. The Cougars defeated Tennessee, 3-2, on Sept. 3 and fell to the Israeli National Team in five sets of exhibition play.
The Cougars trailed 6-3 to open the final set. After calling a timeout to regroup the team, Houston pulled within one of the lead, 6-5, out of the break. USM answered with the next point but a 4-1 UH run gave the Cougars a 9-8 lead. Southern Miss would be forced to call a timeout and came off the bench to within one of the Cougars, 13-12. Houston went on to score the final three points of the night, winning the set 15-13.
UP NEXT
Houston will return to the Athletics/Alumni and continue C-USA action with a 1 p.m. match Sunday against Tulane.
