Volleyball Flies Into C-USA Finals
Nov. 20, 2005
Tulane - Houston Box Score (PDF)
HOUSTON - Jennifer Hohl fueled three Cougars to double-digit kills and a .372 team attack percentage as the University of Houston volleyball team ended Tulane's Cinderella run with a 3-0 victory (30-20, 30-22, 30-27) in the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament on Saturday night at Autry Court. Hohl racked up her 11th double-double, registering a match-best 49 assists to go along with 12 digs. Eight of Hohl's 11 double-doubles have come against C-USA opponents. The senior setter also passed Amie Roberts (1991-1992) for No. 8 all-time in the Houston record books. "After having 10 days off going into our match against SMU, I was a little nervous," head coach Bill Walton said. "With a layoff like that, sometimes its hard to come back. But last night and today, the team looks it did opening the season. They have that kind of enthusiasm on the court." Houston (18-11) advanced to the C-USA Championship match for the first time since 1997, snapping a four-match C-USA semifinal losing streak. The Cougars will square off against top-seeded Marshall on Sunday afternoon with first serve slated for 4pm Central and a CSTV national telecast. UH students get into the C-USA Championship for free by showing their Cougar 1Card. The Cougar defense set the tempo of the match holding the Tulane offense to a .175 attack percentage, including a match-low .102 clip in the opening game.
"We knew what we they wanted to do coming in, and we didn't let them get off to a good start," Walton said. "We didn't let them get any momentum going, and that's what they did in the first two games they played was get the momentum on their side." All-Freshman performer Justine Farmer led the Houston hitters for the second consecutive matches, slapping 15 kills on a .355 attack percentage. The El Paso native was one dig shy from picking up her team-best 16th double-double. Farmer also wore No. 14 for the second consecutive match after misplacing her usual No. 8 jersey before Houston's quarterfinal match with SMU. Kariny Ritter added 14 kills and a team-high five blocks, while Becca Sartori chipped in 10 kills on a .444 attack percentage. The Cougars also got solid performances from Kelly McAnelly with nine kills and Zuela Adom ripping six kills of her own. Jaci Gonzalez sprawled out for a match-best 19 digs. The Cougars took an early 14-7 lead in game one after consecutive kills by Farmer coupled with a kill from Sartori. Houston stretched the advantage rolling comfortably to a 30-20 opening game win. Ritter smashed eight kills on 11 swings without an error. Houston's defense held C-USA Freshman of the Year, Sara Radosevic to only two kills in game one and forced her to commit three attack errors. "We knew they've been playing well coming in, and we knew they were going to play hard," Farmer said. "We came out strong and didn't let them get going." The Cougars opened up a four-point lead on five separate occasions to begin game two. Tulane charged back from 20-16 cutting the deficit down to 20-18 after a Radosevic kill. Houston pulled away with a 9-2 spurt capped by a Ritter kill allowing the Cougars to carry a two-game lead into the locker room. Tulane (5-16) didn't go down without a fight in game three. The Green Wave sliced a five-point deficit down to a pair at 29-27 after consecutive kills from Radosevic. The Cougars closed out the match with a kill from Farmer sealing Houston's spot in the C-USA Championship. Houston turns its attention to top-seeded Marshall (25-5) and C-USA Player of the Year Kelly-Anne Billingy. The Thundering Herd erased a 2-0 deficit for the second consecutive day. This time against UTEP in the first semifinal earlier Saturday. Billingy tied a C-USA Tournament individual record popping 37 kills on a .471 attack percentage. "We just have to come out and stay within ourselves," Gonzalez said. "We have to worry about our side of the net, and take care of business. This is our chance to reach one of our goals we set at the beginning of the season, and that was to win conference." First serve against the Herd is slated for 4pm with a live national telecast on CSTV. CSTV is Ch. 610 on DirecTV. Chris McGee will do the play-by-play, while Holly McPeak will provide color for the broadcast. Marshall defeated Houston, 3-1 (20-30, 26030, 30-27, 28-30) in the squad's only meeting in the Bayou City back on Oct. 21. "We feel good about our ourselves," Walton said. "And our chances to win against Marshall." |
