A Peek into UH Volleyball!

Volleyball Picks Up Pair Of C-USA Weekly Awards

Norris and Ogletree Named Offensive and Setter of the Week; Zauere Earns International Award

HOUSTON – University of Huston junior Katie Norris was named the Conference USA Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while freshman Caitlin Ogletree was named the league’s Setter of the Week the league office announced Monday.

The weekly honor is the first for both Cougars after they guided the team to a 3-0 record in conference play for the first time since 2007. Houston knocked off Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse early last week before recording home wins against Southern Miss and Tulane.

 After the three wins, Houston improved to 10-3 on the season.

 In 12 sets, Norris posted a .329 hitting percentage with 39 kills on 96 attempts with only eight errors. She opened the week with a career-high 17 kills in a sweep of the Owls, going 17-for-32 with a .531 hitting percentage and no errors. The Humble, Texas, native followed that up with another career performance, connecting on 18 kills and two blocks against Southern Miss. She closed out the weekend with four kills, two blocks and five digs against Tulane.

 Ogletree finished the week averaging 11.33 assists per set as well as tallying 21 digs and five service aces. In the conference opener, she had 40 assists, four digs and two service aces in the sweep of Rice. The Montgomery, Texas, native followed that with a career-high 53 assists and nine digs in the 3-2 win over Southern Miss. She closed out the weekend with 43 assists, eight digs and two blocks against Tulane.

 ZAUERE EARNS INTERNATIONAL AWARD

In addition to the Cougars’ C-USA awards, senior Ingrida Zauere was named the American Volleyball Scouting Report Global Player of the Week. The Kuldiga, Latvia, native recorded 30 kills, 26 digs and eight blocks as the Cougars moved into a tie for first place in the league standings.

 Zauere was also named an AVSR Global Player of the Week as a freshman in 2008, and she is the second Cougar to earn this honor.

UP NEXT

The Cougars continue C-USA play on Sept. 30 when they travel to Tulsa. The weekend will close out on Oct. 2 with a trip to SMU.

A Great Rally!!!

Here is a clip of an epic rally from our match against Rice!!

Amazing Play

A great hustle play for UH Volleyball!!

Sister Duo

Check out the team performing their sister names. We group the girls together at the beginning of
pre-season to help with the transition and it's FUN!!!

UH Cheer B team

UH Volleyball showing some school spirit!

Become a Cougar!!

Welcome to the University of Houston—a Tier One Academic University in the heart of the country’s 4^th largest city! In January 2011, the University of Houston joined the ranks of the top research universities in the nation!! The designation makes the University of Houston one of only three Tier One research universities in Texas, along with the University of Texas and Texas A&M. In addition to being a Tier One university, UH has also been chosen as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review.  Now you know one main reason we LOVE our university.

One, two, three strikes you’re out? Not at the University of Houston! UH has had 77 student-athletes/coaches participate in an Olympics, earning 33 medals. We’ve also had 16 intercollegiate teams compete in Conference USA, winning 33 titles in the past 10 years. Such notable athletes include Olympic medalists Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell, and diver Yulia Pakhalina; Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware; NBA stars Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon; golfers Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Fuzzy Zoeller; and MLB pitchers Doug Drabek, Ryan Wagner and Woody Williams.

On top of all of these key successes, our volleyball team is excelling as well.  We are currently7-3 and have a top 25 win this season!!  Our players had the most successful year in the classroom in 2010-2011 earning a 3.37 cumulative GPA – the  highest in the entire athletic department!  So while there are many fantastic university’s for you to choose from, we hope you take a closer look at the University of Houston. We are the PRIDE of Houston.  GO COOGS!

Houston takes 2nd at UK Invitational

Just finished another great weekend!! We knocked off West Virginia and LMU - two solid teams. We went four with Kentucky and dropped a close one. Check out Facebook...I will post some fun pictures of the team!

We are back at home for Lamar on Tuesday at 7pm so quick recovery for us. We will be ready to go!
"I am very proud of Lucy and Chandace - both made the All-Tournament Team."
Molly Alvey
Head Coach

Check out the pictures below from this weekend!

Preparing for the Kentucky Invitational

Had a great practice at U of Kentucky this morning!! Tomorrow we have our first match against WVU. Then we play the U of Kentcuky tomorrow night in front of a big, rowdy crowd. We wish you were here to watch because it's going to be a fun weekend!

Make sure to keep up with us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/HoustonCougarVolleyball. Attached is a picture of us getting mentally prepared for the weekend. Don't be afraid to call us anytime. GO COOGS!!!


Molly Alvey
Head Coach

Volleyball Closes Out State Farm Classic With 3-2 Win Over Tennessee

Three Cougars Record Double-Digit Kills In Victory

 The University of Houston volleyball team closed out tournament play at the State Farm Classic with a 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 15-8) win over Tennessee Saturday night in Champaign, Ill.

Three Cougars finished with double-digit kills as the Cougars improved to 4-2 on the season. Junior Stephanie Nwachkwu paced the team with 15 kills and junior Katie Norris and senior Lucy Charuk added 14 and 11 kills, respectively. FreshmanNatalie Keck added a team-high 17 digs.

“We played a very good program and team tonight,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “We stayed very patient and played good volleyball and matched Tennessee point for point. Lucy (Charuk) played an amazing match. Lucy, Chandace (Tryon) and Stephanie(Nwachukwu) had amazing blocks and it allowed us to get a touch or get back to play defense. Our serving was also exceptional tonight.”

“We played a true high level of volleyball. Ingrida (Zauere) came off the bench and played well and had two huge plays that launched us forward.”

After dropping the first set in a tough 25-19 decision, Houston rallied back to even the match with a 25-22 win in the second set. Houston matched the Vols point for point early in the set before falling behind 20-15. The Cougars answered with a 5-0 run to tie the score, 20-20. That would be all the momentum they needed as they took the lead on the next point and went on to win the set.

Houston came out of the break with the match tied 1-1 and battled to a 2-1 match lead. The Cougars played to a 3-3 tie and traded points with Tennessee before taking a 6-5 lead. UH held on to the slim lead and battled to a 25-23 third set victory.

 Tennessee jumped out to an early lead on the Cougars and never looked back, taking a 25-20 win in the fourth set.

After dropping the fourth set, Houston played to a 6-6 tie in the final set. After a service error by Nikki Brice broke the tie the Cougars’ favor, UH extended its lead to 13-7. A kill by Kelsey Robinson would pull the Volunteers within five, 13-8, but back-to-back kills by Charuk and Norris sealed the win.

UP NEXT
The Cougars will continue the season Sept. 9-10 at the UK Invitational on the campus of the University of Kentucky. The Cougars will open tournament playagainst West Virginia at 10 a.m. Friday and continue against Kentucky at 6 p.m. They will play a final match against Loyola Marymount at 4 p.m.