The UH volleyball team has fallen on hard times as of late, dropping five of its last six matches, but the Cougars will try to get back on track at home, a place where they have played their best ball this season.
The last weekend of regular-season play will begin with Southern Methodist on Friday followed by Sunday’s regular season finale against Tulsa.
With two matches remaining, the UH volleyball team knows that now is the time that it needs to be at its best.
Assistant coach Phil Nickel said that it’s not necessarily the best team, but the hottest team that is victorious this time of year.
"UAB caught fire last season and won 13 straight en route to the conference championship. If we can build some momentum in these last two matches going into the tournament, that would help us a lot," Nickel said.
Another thing that could help the Cougars would be the return of freshman sensation and middle blocker Lucy Charuk.
Charuk has been out since late September with a foot injury. She was second on the team in kills and first in blocks prior to her injury.
UH defeated SMU (14-10, 4-6 Conference USA) handily when these teams met in Dallas on Oct. 7. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Sullivan notched a career-best 20 kills leading the Cougars in their second sweep of an opponent on the road this season.
SMU has also lost five of its last six matches and is also looking to turn things around.
The Mustangs will feature freshman outside hitter Kathryn Wilkerson, who has put together an impressive campaign thus far with 312 digs and 290 kills on the season.
Sunday the Cougars will have revenge on their minds when they take on a Tulsa team that swept UH on Oct. 5. Tulsa has been good all season, but has shown some vulnerability away from home where it has recorded four losses. UH is 8-3 on its home court.
"We really want to come out and establish ourselves against Tulsa," said Nickel. "No one liked going up there and getting swept. We need to make sure everyone is involved and that we execute."
This match will feature two of the Top 4 hitters in C-USA. UH junior outside hitter Justine Farmer, who is second in the conference with 544 kills, and Tulsa senior middle hitter Fabiola Nepomuceno who is not far behind with 514.
Tulsa will also have senior setter Julia Silva, who earned C-USA Setter of the Week honors for the sixth time this season.
The team will then prepare for the C-USA tournament, which will take place Nov. 15-18 in Huntington, W.Va.
