Volleyball To Host Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup To Open 2011 Season

Cougars Take To The Court At 7 p.m., Friday Against Lipscomb

Houston – The University of Houston volleyball team begins its 2011 campaign when it plays host to the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup on Friday and Saturday at the Athletics/Alumni Center.

The Cougars open tournament play against Lipscomb at 7 p.m., Friday and will be back on the court at noon, Saturday against Xavier. Houston will then close out the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against Central Arkansas.

Fans can follow all of the tournament’s action by visiting the Tournament Central page. A Gametracker link will be available for each match, while the Cougars’ three tournament games will be available through the All-Access site.

The Cougars are looking to build off their 19-13 record last season that earned them a third-place finish in the Conference USA race. Houston returns First Team All-Conference selections senior Lucy Charuk and junior Chandace Tryon. Charuk is a three-time C-USA Preseason selection and led the team with 361 kills, 148 blocks and was second on the team with a .348 hitting percentage. She was also named a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

Tryon led the league with a .353 hitting percentage in 2010 and had 285 kills. She also ranked in the league’s top 20 for kills (2.61) and points (3.06) per set.

ABOUT XAVIER

The Xavier Musketeers begin their season tabbed to finish second in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Musketeers posted a 20-10 record last season and finished second in the league standings. Kathryn Traut returns for the Musketeers looking to build off of a season in which she tallied 216 kills and 54 blocks.

ABOUT LIPSCOMB

The Lipscomb Lady Bisons come into this season fresh off their second-straight Atlantic Sun Conference championship. After posting a 24-7 overall record last season, the Lady Bisons earned the program’s third NCAA tournament berth. Kaycee Green returns to lead the Lady Bisons after posting 295 kills and 55 blocks last season.

ABOUT CENTRAL ARKANSAS

The Central Arkansas Sugar Bears finished the 2010 season with a 28-8 overall record and ran through the Southland Conference only to fall in five sets in the conference championship game. The Sugar Bears return five starters from last year’s team, including senior outside hitter Jessica Hays. Hays posted a school record 487 kills last season and also ranked second in the NCAA in aces per set with .61.