Cougars End Season with Senior Day Sweep of Colorado

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Volleyball team sent off its seven-member senior class in style, completing its 2024 season with a win over Colorado in straight-sets on Saturday afternoon in Fertitta Center.

Houston (12-16, 7-11 Big 12) controlled play throughout, limiting Colorado (13-17, 6-12 Big 12) to a .071 hitting percentage in the match, including a sub-.100 mark in each of the three sets. Led defensively by seven blocks from redshirt junior Barakat Rahmon, Houston recorded 11 stuffs, its second most in a three-set match this season, while also siding out on 75 percent of opportunities.

The Cougars spread the wealth on offense with seven players posting a kill in the match. Led by nine kills from graduate Angela Grieve, Houston also had support from senior Katie Corelli and junior Avery Shimaitis, who both tallied seven kills, and Rahmon, who posted five. The team also shined from the service line, posting eight aces during the match with a trio of Cougars (senior Julianna Dalton, senior Rebecca Rocassin and graduate Annie Cooke) each boasting two apiece.

Houston dominated the first set, limiting Colorado to just six kills in the entire set. The Cougars won seven of the first 10 points to take a quick lead and used a 6-0 run among other short bursts to force Colorado's second timeout of the frame at 17-7. Houston went on to win the opening set, 25-13, limiting the Buffaloes to a .037 efficiency while hitting .414 behind 15 kills and only three errors.

Just like the first set, the Cougars again jumped out to a 7-3 lead after 10 serves to earn an early edge, forcing Colorado's first timeout after another 3-0 run put them up 10-4. Houston extended its advantage to nine points as the Buffaloes paused play again at 19-10, before cruising to a 25-15 win in the second.

Colorado seized the momentum early in the third, winning the first three points of the set. However, Houston never allowed the deficit to grow larger than four, tying the frame at 10-10 and asserting a 12-10 advantage behind a 3-0 run. Another trio of consecutive points pushed the Cougars' edge to 19-14 before a third 3-0 stretch completed the sweep as Houston won the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.

NOTABLES

Following the match, Houston recognized the seven members of its senior class: Kennedi Bray, Annie Cooke, Katie Corelli, Julianna Dalton, Kate Georgiades, Angela Grieve and Rebecca Rocassin.
Houston held its opponent to a hitting percentage below .100 for the fourth time this season and the second time in conference play.
The one service error allowed by Houston marked the second time this season it only ceded a single ace.
Cooke finishes her collegiate career with the following ranks on Houston's career record lists:
- Matches Played: 140, t-2^nd
- Service Aces: 142, 2^nd
- Sets Played: 147, 3^rd
- Assists: 3,894, 3^rd(Most in rally-scoring era)
- Assists Per Set: 7.53, 10^th
Georgiades completes her Cougar career with the following ranks on Houston's career record lists:
- Digs Per Set: 5.07, 2^nd
- Digs: 2,335, 3^rd
- Service Aces: 110, 7^th
Corelli finishes the season ranked tenth on Houston's current era (post-2008) single-season hitting percentage list, posting a .290 mark via a 319-103-745 line.
Grieve completes the year tied for ninth on the team's current era single-season service aces list, amassing 33 during the year.
Freshman Lily Barron wraps up her debut campaign in 10^th on Houston's overall single-season service aces per set list, recording 0.39 via 30 aces in 77 sets. The mark also ranks fourth in the current era.
Georgiades' tally of 532 digs places tenth on Houston's single-season list for the current era while her mark of 4.97 per set places ninth in the current era.

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