Chandace Tryon Named To COBRA Magazine All-Midsouth Region First Team

Junior Earns Second Selection To Team After Receiving The Honor In 2010

 Junior middle blocker Chandace Tryon was named to the COBRA Magazine All-Midsouth Region First Team the publication announced this week.

The Corpus Christi, Texas, native earns her second selection to the team after being named an honoree in 2010.

Tryon takes home the honor just a week after being named to the All-Conference USA Second Team. She finished the season with 268 kills and a .314 hitting percentage. Tryon also had 99 blocks and 13 service aces. She ranks eighth in C-USA in hitting percentage and 19^th in blocks.

Tryon tied a career-high with 15 kills against SMU and was named to the University of Kentucky Invitational All-Tournament Team.

COBRA Magazine’s purpose is to celebrate the success of volleyball players of African, as well as Samoan and Tongan decent in hopes of encouraging young girls of those ethnic groups across the country to pursue the sport.

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Four Cougars Earn C-USA Volleyball All-Conference Awards

Senior Lucy Charuk Named First Team All-Conference Selection

HOUSTON – Four University of Houston volleyball players earned All-Conference awards the league office announced on Wednesday. The four honorees are the most for a Cougar squad since 2005.

 Senior middle blocker Lucy Charuk earned First Team All-C-USA honors, while juniors Katie Norris and Chandace Tryon are Second Team selections. Freshman setter Caitlin Ogletree also took home postseason honors with her selection to the All-Freshman Team.

 “I hope these awards help the team recognize what an incredibly successful year this has been,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “Dropping matches at the end of the season or not reaching the exact expectations you have for yourself, as far as wins and losses, can cloud perspective on all the great accomplishments we have made. This season has been the best this program has performed in a long time. Jumping into the top 30, beating a top 25 team and competing on a national level is pretty impressive. I hope these accolades are a very clear recognition of what an unbelievable season this was for UH volleyball.”

Charuk, a three-time First Team selection, leads the Cougars with 365 kills and a .390 hitting percentage. She also has a team-high 159 blocks, averaging 1.38 perset. The Tswwassen, British Columbia, native ranks 15^th in the NCAA in hitting percentage and 17^th in blocks per set. She will leave Houston as the school career leader in hitting percentage second in blocks and block assists, sixth in solo blocks and eighth blocks per set.

Charuk recorded double-digit kills in 22 matches this season and had at least five blocks in 19 matches.

Norris earns her first C-USA postseason award after transferring to Houston from Ole Miss. The Humble, Texas, native is tied for first with 29 service aces, is second on the team in kills (337) and fourth in digs (153). She also has 65 blocks. Norris recorded her first career double-double against UTEP on Oct. 14 with 14 kills and 11 digs. She also had a career-high 25 kills against Marshall on Nov. 5. She recorded double-digit kills in 17 matches this season.

 Norris took home C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 26 and was named to the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup All-Tournament Team.

 Tryon was named to the Second Team after also earning a spot on the Preseason All-Conference squad. She is fourth on the team in kills (253) and her .312hitting percentage is the second best on the team. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native ranks eighth in C-USA in hitting percentage and had at least five blocks in eight matches this season.

 Tryon tied a career-high with 15 kills against SMU and was named to the University of Kentucky Invitational All-Tournament Team.

With Ogletree’s selection to the All-Freshman team, Houston has had a member of its squad on the team in four of the last five seasons. The Montgomery, Texas, native leads the team with 1,154 assists and 29 service aces. She also has 226 digs and 39 blocks. Ogletree ranks fifth in C-USA in assists and seventh in service aces.

 Ogletree is a four-time C-USA Setter of the Week and was named to the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup All-Tournament Team.

“Having Caitlin, Katie and Chandace return next year will be extremely valuable for the program,” Alvey said. “This season is as perfect as you can get in regards to experience for these three players. We felt the success of winning big, the pressure of keeping a winning record and the challenge of pushing through when the outcome is not as you expected it to be.

“Those are all experiences that make players better if they chose to continue to make winning habits out of them. I know these three players, along with the others on this team will do just that. Having these three back will be a big contributing factor to another successful season next year.”

The Cougars are 18-11 this season and 11-8 in league play. UH peaked at No. 38 this season in the RPI rankings, the highest ranking in the program’s history since also reaching a No. 38 ranking in 1999.

Earlier this week, junior middle blocker Stephanie Nwachukwu was named to the C-USA All-Academic volleyball team. The Houston, native was named to the team for the first time in her career after maintaining a 3.89 GPA in biochemistry.

Volleyball Defeats Rice, 3-2, In Season Finale

Stephanie Nwachukwu Finishes With Career-High 16 Kills

Behind a career-high 16 kills from junior Stephanie Nwachukwu, the University of Houston volleyball team defeated Rice, 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 16-14), Wednesday night in its season finale at the Athletics/Alumni Center. The Cougars finish the 2011 season with a 19-11 record and a 12-8 mark in Conference USA play.

Since Rice joined C-USA in 2005, it is the first time the Cougars have swept the series with their cross-town rival. Houston is now 60-18 all-time against the Owls.

“This is an incredible win,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “It is a great way for the seniors to go out on a high note. It was also a win against Rice, which is great for the athletic department and the University. Those things make a statement.

“Rice played great tonight, so it was a real important win. We played a very consistent volleyball match from start to finish. We had a point run in set three that cost us that set, but we were able to pull back together, stay in it through the end and pull out the win.”

 In addition to Nwachukwu’s career night, junior Chandace Tryon finished with 15 kills and junior Katie Norris had 12 kills. Senior Lucy Charuk finished 12 kills and had five solo blocks, the third most in UH single game history. Senior Ingrida Zauere also played her final match at the AAC and finished with 10 kills and 21 digs.

 Freshman Caitlin Ogletree added 61 assists and freshman Natalie Keck has 12 digs.

The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match, but the Owls battled back to tie the contest, forcing a fifth set where Houston came out on top, 16-14.

Houston began the night playing to a 16-12 lead in the first set. After a Rice timeout, the Cougars came off the bench to push their lead to 19-16, prompting a second Owls timeout. Following the second timeout, UH committed two quick errors and Alvey was forced to call a timeout. The break proved effective as the Cougars came out of the timeout to win the first set 25-22.

Rice opened the second set to a 3-0 lead, but Houston battled back to tie the score 6-6. The Cougars took the lead on the next point and never looked back. The Owls got within one of Houston, 14-13, but UH pulled away and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 win.

After two sets, Nwachukwu led the team with nine kills and the Cougars hit a combined.351.

Houston opened the third set to an 11-9 lead, but the Owls battled back to tie the score 12-12 before taking the lead on the next play. Rice held a 15-12 lead into a Cougar timeout and came off the bench to win the third set, 25-21.

Rice used the momentum from the third set to open the fourth to an 8-4 lead. The Cougars got within one of the lead, 11-10, but the Owls held off the Cougars to even the match, 2-2, with a 25-20 win.

 The fifth set turned into a battle between the two teams as they traded points the entire way. Rice took a 14-13 lead to match point but three-straight kills from Tryon gave Houston the 16-14 win.

Stephanie Nwachukwu Named To C-USA Volleyball All-Academic Team

Junior Earns First Selection To All-Academic Team

 University of Houston junior middle blocker Stephanie Nwachukwu was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Volleyball Team the league office announcedTuesday. The team consists of 11 student-athletes and is selected by the league’s Sports Information Directors.

The All-Academic Team includes members that have earned a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve on their team.

Nwachukwu was named to the team for the first time in her career after maintaining a 3.89 GPA in biochemistry. She is a two-time C-USA Academic Medal winner and a two-time selection to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The Houston native has also been named to the Dean’s List and helped the Cougars win the program’s first AVCA All-Academic Team award at the conclusion of the 2010-11 school year.

“Stephanie is an incredibly talented student,” head coach Molly Alvey said. “She is super sharp, super focused and just a really smart person. For her, it is great to be recognized when you work so hard at something. There is one thing that never wavers with her and that is her diligence in the classroom.

“She has acouple of academic opportunities ahead of her that will be great for her and the athletic department. This recognition is really nice and congratulations to her for the amount of time and effort she has put in the classroom.”

Nwachukwu is third on the team with 256 kills and is hitting .208. She also has 64 blocks and 38 digs. During the opening weekend of the season, she was named the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup MVP.

Houston closes out the regular season at 7 p.m., Friday at the Athletics/Alumni Center against cross-town rival Rice. The Cougars defeated the Owls 3-0 earlier this season at Tudor Fieldhouse. 

Conference USA will announce the 2011 all-conference teams and individual award winners on Wednesday.

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Caitlin Ogletree Named C-USA Setter of the Week

Freshman Earns Fourth League Award This Season

University of Houston freshman Caitlin Ogletree was named the Conference USA Setter of the Week, the league office announced Monday. This is Ogletree’s fourth C-USA honor this season.

 The Montgomery, Texas, native averaged 12.10 assists per set and 3.00 digs per set as the Cougars split matches against Marshall last weekend. She opened the weekend with 56 assists and 14 digs against the Thundering Herd and followed that up with a career-high 65 assists and 16 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Ogletree also had two service aces, four blocks and three kills in the 3-2 win over Marshall. Her 121 assists total topped the league standings for the week.

 Ogletree leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with an 11.00 assist-per-game average.

 She earned her first career Setter of the Week award on Sept. 26 before earning back-to-back honors on Oct. 10 and Oct. 17. Ogletree is also the only four-time C-USA Setter of the Week this season.

UP NEXT

The Cougars remain at home this weekend for matches against SMU and Tulsa. Houston opens the weekend against the Mustangs at 7 p.m., Friday and closes out the weekend against the Golden Hurricane at 1 p.m., Sunday. Following Sunday’s match, Houston will honor the three members of its senior class.