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Golden Hurricane falls to Cougars

In their final road match of the season, the Cougars bounced back from a 3-1 loss against Southern Methodist on Friday to sweep Tulsa on Saturday, putting their record at 15-11 overall and 7-6 in Conference USA heading into their final three matches of the season.

Houston defeated the Golden Hurricane at the Athletics/Alumni Center on Oct. 3 and completed the season sweep of Tulsa at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The first set between the two teams was the closest – Houston and Tulsa were tied 17-17 before the Cougars scored two of the next three points in the game to force a Tulsa timeout. Houston held on to win the set 25-23 and gain the early one-set lead.

The Cougars continued to control the game after the first set, jumping out on a 6-1 run in the second back to win 25-18 and completed the sweep by beating Tulsa 25-20 in the third set.

Senior outside hitter Beth Hodge led the Golden Hurricane (20-8, 7-6 C-USA) with 17 kills, but it was not enough to keep Tulsa from dropping its second consecutive conference win.

Senior outside hitter Justine Farmer and sophomore middle blocker Lucy Charuk led the Cougars with double-digit kills. Farmer had a team-high of 16 kills and a .467 hit percentage, and Charuk recorded 10 kills with a .421 hit percentage.

Senior setter Kelsey King had a game high of 37 assists, and sophomore defensive specialist Amanda Carson led both teams with 16 digs.

Even with 17 kills and 17 digs from Farmer, her ninth double-double this season, the Cougars were unable to attain victory against SMU on Friday at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

The Mustangs snatched the first set 25-22, but the Cougars came back from an early 3-1 SMU lead in the second set to win 25-23. However, the Mustangs regained control and won the third and fourth sets 25-18 and 25-21 to win the set and split the season series with the Cougars.

Sophomore outside hitters Dana Powell paced the Mustangs with 15 kills, and Kathryn Wilkerson followed closely with 13 against Houston.

King contributed 43 assists and Carson finished with 24 digs in Houston’s loss.

The Cougars will close out the regular season with a three-game home stand. Houston faces off against Memphis on Friday and will take on the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers on Sunday.

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