The Cougars (13-9, 5-4 Conference USA) look to bounce back with conference wins when they face UTEP on Friday and Tulane on Sunday at the Athletics/Alumni Center after a road loss at Rice on Tuesday.
Houston, led by senior outside hitter Justine Farmer, has won six of its last eight matches, but dropped a tough 3-1 match to the Owls. The Cougars lost two close sets 25-23, but their crosstown rivals prevailed despite a game-high 21 kills from Farmer.
Houston head coach Bill Walton said blocking and defense are key to winning.
"My goal for our team is to average four blocks per game," Walton said after last week’s win over Southern Miss.
The Cougars struggled against Rice, recording only six blocks in the entire match, a two block per set average not to the liking of Walton.
UTEP (6-16, 2-6 C-USA) is coming off a 3-0 home loss to New Mexico State, an opponent the Cougars dropped a 3-2 decision on the road to in September.
Junior outside hitter Amy Sanders led the Miners against NMSU, recording eight kills and eight digs while getting two unassisted blocks.
The Tulane Green Wave (16-5, 7-1 C-USA) are entering the second half of C-USA play having won five straight matches, four against conference opponents, and will look to add the Cougars to that list.
Senior outside hitter Sara Radosevic leads the Green Wave with 3.63 kills per game. Radosevic, along with Farmer, are the only two active players in the league with at least 1,000 career kills and digs.
Houston’s match against Tulane will be televised via tape-delay on CBS College Sports. Admission to the games is free with a valid CougarOne card.
