The UH volleyball team (7-7, 0-2 Conference USA) will play in Houston for the second time this season coming off two tough road losses against conference rivals UTEP and Tulane, breaking a four-game win streak. Houston will play back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday against C-USA opponents Tulsa and SMU and must win both matches to even out their record in C-USA play.
The Cougars had a rough start on the season with a brutal 9-game road stretch, as damage caused by Hurricane Ike forced them to cancel four home games, including contests against Texas and LSU. With 10 of the final 15 games of the regular season at home, Houston looks to rebound from their early losses.
Senior outside hitter Justine Farmer (183 kills on the season) will lead her team Friday night against a Golden Hurricane team led by senior outside hitter Beth Hodge. Tulsa is coming off a loss to C-USA foe Central Florida at home in which Hodge led the team with 11 kills. She has 175 kills in 58 games on the season.
Central Florida had 18 blocks against Tulsa (14-3, 2-1 C-USA), who made 23 attack errors in its 3-0 defeat. The Golden Hurricane will face the Cougars in their first of two games in Houston before heading to Rice on Sunday.
The Cougars will also host in-state conference opponent SMU on Sunday. The Mustangs (9-7, 2-1 C-USA) will look to extend their 2-game win streak after beating C-USA rivals UCF and Southern Miss at home this week.
The Mustangs took the Golden Eagles to four sets and defeated them to earn their second consecutive conference victory. Sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Wilkerson had team highs on offense and defense with 14 kills and 19 digs and recorded a .800 hitting percentage in Sunday’s win over Southern Miss. Freshman Kelli Becerra led the Mustangs with 31 assists in that win.
Houston has gone 3-2 in its last 5 matches, all of which have been decided in three sets with four on the road. The Cougars swept Sam Houston State 3-0 in their sole home game this season. In their most recent loss, a 3-0 loss to UTEP, the Cougars were able to battle the Miners to two ties, but never led in the game and dropped their second consecutive conference loss.
Students are admitted to all home games free with a valid CougarOne card.
