Six miles is the only thing separating UH from Rice and its sixth consecutive win. After starting their current streak two weeks ago by sweeping the Owls, the Cougars will go to Fox Gym to try and remain undefeated in conference play.
When these teams met on Sept. 13, UH (8-6) was riding a three-match losing streak and looking to turn things around.
Behind the swings of junior outside hitter Justine Farmer and freshman middle blocker Lucy Charuk, the Cougars were able to make quick work of the Owls (7-8).
This time around Houston will be without Charuk as she is sidelined for eight weeks with a foot injury. Freshmen will likely see more action in Charuk’s absence.
"Hopefully the team will rally on one of our starters being out," head coach Bill Walton said. "Some other players will step up, and we’ll make some adjustments."
One player that will be in uniform for UH is Farmer, who is coming off of a career-high 36 kill performance against Southern Miss.
Farmer leads the team in kills this season with 293 and is second in digs with 182.
Rice will come into the match looking to win its third straight after defeating Southern Miss on Sept. 21 and Central Florida at home Sept. 23.
Junior outside hitter Jessica Holderness has averaged 16 kills and 15.5 digs for the Owls during their brief streak.
Rice freshman middle blocker Caroline Gill is the reigning Conference USA defensive player of the week after averaging 1.57 blocks per game.
Walton said he is not overly concerned about what Rice has upfront.
"The key to game is always going to be who serves and passes the ball more efficiently," Walton said.
Action is set to begin at 7 p.m. today at Rice’s Fox Gym.
