UH hoped to end its two-game skid Friday night as the team traveled to Dallas to face in-state rival and American Athletic Conference foe SMU.
SMU (14-3, 3-2) retained the best overall conference record, with a four-set victory (13-25, 18-25, 25-23, 14-25) over Houston (9-8, 1-4).
The Mustang defense proved to be a challenge for the Cougars, holding them to a .101 hitting average and 29 hitting errors to go along with their 12 blocks.
The Cougars feel into a hole quickly, going down 0-2 before the half. They came out of the break strong and stayed with SMU point for point before eventually winning the third set 25-23.
The Mustang defense rebounded nicely though, holding the Cougars to 14 points in the final set.
However, redshirt junior Kadi Kullerkann continued her hot streak, picking up her third-consecutive 20-kill game by leading Houston with 21 kills on .325 hitting.
Freshman setter Keandra McCardell picked up her fourth double-double of the season, picking up a season-high 18 digs to go along with 25 assists.
Senior Natalie Keck led the Cougars with 23 digs on her way to her ninth 20-dig game of the season and 16th consecutive match with double-digit digs.
The Cougars aim to get back on the winning side Sunday as they travel to Tulsa, Okla. for an AAC match against former Conference USA challenger University of Tulsa.
