UH hosted Memphis on Friday evening and dropped the three sets (18-25, 22-25, 18-25). The Cougars started the match with an 8-3 lead, but in the end, they were unable to tame the Tigers.
Head coach Kaddie Platt knew the team would have to go back to the drawing board after the loss to Memphis. The next day, UH steered its focus to Temple for a Sunday match-up.
“On Saturday we regrouped, watched some videos and detailed out some stuff,” Platt said. “It was a lot of getting back to details and fundamentals of what we need to do offensively and defensively.”
Sophomore outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann getting set to spike in Sunday’s match-up against Temple. She had a 2.78 percentage. | Caitlin Hilton/The Daily Cougar
Freshman outside hitter Sarita Mikals, junior right side Cortney Warren and sophomore middle blocker Emily Howard each had a hitting average of .500.
Sunday was a better day for the Cougars as they defeated the Owls after four sets (25-19, 17-25, 25-18, 25-19). The Cougars nearly swept the Owls but were not able to fend them off in the second set.
“Overall, it was an improving weekend. We stuck to our game plan against Temple, and I think that’s why we won,” said junior defensive specialist Natalie Keck.
Keck will soon have another victory to celebrate. She has 486 digs, well on her way to recording her 500th.
The news came as a surprise to Keck, but she is happy about her record-setting digs.
“I didn’t know anything about it until now, but it’s exciting.”
Mikals was thrilled with the win against Temple. She knew that it was important for the team to study its opponent to secure a win.
“Watching all the film and seeing their tendencies, we were prepared for everything they were going to throw at us,” Mikals said. “We can’t take a team for granted; anyone can win on any given day.”
The Owls were a worthy opponent, but at the end of the day, they were no match against the Cougars.
“Temple is a very good team, but they did a great job sticking to the game plan,” Platt said.
Match leaders were Mikals with 14 kills; sophomore outside hitter Kadi Kullerkann, who hit .278; freshman setter Sophie Paine with 17 assists; and Keck with 29 digs.
This weekend, the Cougars will travel to Florida, where they will take on USF on Friday and UCF on Sunday. The last home game of the season will be at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Athletics/Alumni Center.
