UH’s weekend plans: Sink Pirates’ ship

After suffering their first back-to-back losses of Conference USA play, the Cougars will aim to rebound Friday when they head to Greenville, N.C., to take on East Carolina (2-12, 0-5 C-USA) for two weekend matches.

For UH (10-5, 3-2), the brief stop in North Carolina will provide an opportunity to right the ship after their three-set loss to Tulsa sank the momentum of its surging offense.

“You have to forget those losses,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “We played great volleyball for a lot of those matches, but just couldn’t pull through at the end of sets.

“It’s important for us this weekend to move on and let ourselves get back on track instead of dwelling on those losses.”

Successfully re-igniting the offense begins with putting the hitters in opportune positions. Freshman setter Caitlin Ogletree shoulders a lot of that weight.

“I’ve definitely been pleased with her decision-making thus far,” Alvey said. “She really played a smart match against SMU and is still developing.

“We have different girls with different styles — the way Stephanie (Nwachukwu) gets going isn’t the way Katie does, and it’s on her to manage that.”

Olgetree leads the team in assists (10.64 per set), and ranks fourth in C-USA.

ECU limps into weekend

While UH looks to return to their winning ways Friday, the Pirates enter the matchup desperately searching for answers.

In 14 tries, ECU has dropped all but two matches, with their most recent victory coming against UNC Wilmington on Sept. 9.

At outside hitter, Britney Roper leads the Pirates in with 110 kills and 3.11 points per set.

“I’m comfortable with where we are right now,” Alvey said.

“We’re not where we need to be, but I think we’re figuring that out. We have to learn to be winners, and that can take time.”

UH has the opportunity to make good on that challenge as they take on the Pirates at 1 p.m. Friday, and again at noon Sunday at Minges Coliseum.