The Cougars are back on the road this weekend, facing Marshall today and Conference USA bottom-dweller East Carolina on Sunday.
UH (13-10, 7-4 C-USA) is currently tied with inner-city rival Rice for third place in C-USA behind Tulsa and SMU. The Cougars have won seven of their last nine games.
“Wins help you to continue to play better,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “It’s a little bit easier to focus on the things that you did well and build off of it.”
The Cougars will first carry a 9-5 road record this season to Marshall (9-13, 3-7 C-USA). The Herd has dropped six straight matches. Their last win came Oct. 3 against UAB.
Marshall is led by outside hitter Elizabeth Herman’s 76 kills. Against SMU Oct. 17, Herman exploded for a career-high 30-kill performance, and 25 kills Oct. 22 against Southern Miss.
“They look like a solid team and have a few people doing some things. So, it comes down to us getting our job done,” Alvey said.
Following a trip to West Virginia to play Marshall, the Cougars will play East Carolina (1-21, 0-10 C-USA) in a Halloween matchup Sunday before returning home for four consecutive games.
The Pirates’ only win this season came in the final game of the Georgetown Classic where they beat Binghamton 3-2 on Sept. 18. The Pirates have been on a 10-game slump since.
East Carolina is led by Amanda Lutzow and Britney Roper’s 151 and 148 kills respectively.
“It’s another conference match and it’s one that we have to have,” Alvey said. “I think we have to stay focused. You can never go in and expect a win.”
UH has turned its season around after a difficult 1-6 start, and has since rattled off 12 wins in their last 16 games.
UH is led by Lucy Charuk’s 259 kills and 106 blocks. Amber Brooks has 891 assists, and defensively Amanda Carson leads the way with 411 digs.
The Cougars have their eyes on a sweep this weekend and doing so will give them a three-game win streak with six of their final seven regular season games in Texas.
“Each match here on out is very important. We have to show up to play against everybody left on the schedule,” Alvey said.
Reserve libero Krysta DeAngelis will most likely be out this weekend due to a minor stress fracture in her right foot. DeAngelis was in a walking boot Wednesday, and did not practice. She has 75 kills on the season.
“It’s better I think to give it a rest than to force the issue and force her to be out the rest of the season,” Alvey said.
