UH falls twice during weekend

After being named Conference USA setter of the week, senior setter Abby Simmons paced the offense against UTEP and Tulane again as she racked up 24 and 38 assists during the weekend.

Two losses on the weekend road trip dropped the Cougars to 5-6 in the C-USA standings, with UTEP and Tulane proving too much for the home team as they fell 3-0 and 3-1.

Senior outside hitter Katie Norris added eight kills while senior middle blocker Chandace Tryon accounted for six. For the match, the Cougars totaled 31 kills while Tryon added two solo blocks.

Simmons leads the team with more than 630 assists and averages 8.9 a set. She ranks second best on the team with service aces and is the fourth best with more than 153 digs.

Last weekend, Simmons put up quality numbers including 92 assists, 53 coming in the victory over Marshall, a tally that was only three away from matching her career-best at UH.

“She not only was successful on offense, but helped out our defense with a strong outing against Marshall,” said head coach Katie Platt.

The Cougars put up a total of 42 kills, with Tryon and senior right side Stephanie Nwachukwu combined for 16. The Green Wave offense was able to overpower the Cougar defense despite freshman defensive specialist Olivia O’Dell putting up a career-best 18 digs. Simmons paced the offense again with 38 assists.

The Cougars take on cross-town rival Rice at 5 p.m. Friday in the Athletics/Alumni Center.

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