Volleyball Wins 3-2 Thriller at UCF
Oct. 16, 2005
Houston - UCF Box Score (PDF)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kariny Ritter pounded a career-high 31 kills, while Jennifer Hohl dished out a career-best 65 assists lifting the University of Houston volleyball team to a thrilling 3-2 victory over UCF (30-27, 23-30, 30-27, 25-30, 15-13) on Sunday afternoon at UCF Arena. "I thought we were fortunate to come out of there with a victory," head coach Bill Walton said. "Our backcourt defense and our blocking weren't very good. We attacked better than the opponent for three games and that's what made the difference." The Cougars (10-8, 5-1 C-USA) have won five consecutive matches for the first time since starting the 2002 campaign, 7-0. With Memphis' five-game victory over Marshall earlier this afternoon, the Cougars are now a half-game back of the first place Thundering Herd (14-5, 6-1 C-USA) in the Conference USA standings. Justine Farmer added 20 kills to go along with 12 digs registering her team-leading 10th double-double on the season. It was the fourth time that the El Paso native has reached the 20-kill mark. Becca Sartori got into the act with 17 kills and smacked three service aces.
Five Cougars stretched out for double-digit digs, headlined by Jaci Gonzalez match-high 30. Hohl and Millicent Martin chipped in 17 and 14 digs, respectively. The duo of Ritter and Farmer registered 12 digs apiece. After splitting the first four games, game five was an offensive showcase. Houston connected on a match-high .435 attack percentage outhitting the Golden Knights .316 clip in the deciding game. The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game five on a kill by Ritter, and a block by the tandem of Zuela Adom and Hohl. Adom paced the Cougar front row with five block assists.
UCF (4-11, 2-6 C-USA) evened the deciding game on three separate occasions, but the Cougars had the answer each time regaining the advantage. Ritter carried the Houston offense slapping seven kills without an error on a .538 attack percentage, while Farmer popped five kills in the final game. "Kariny's hitting carried us at critical times," Walton said. "We passed and hit at a high level in the fifth game, but we still need to work on our blocking." Houston opens a five-match homestand on Friday night against C-USA frontrunner, Marshall. First serve against the Thundering Herd is slated for 7pm at the Athletics/Alumni Center. "This coming weekend (against Marshall and East Carolina) will give us an idea about how good we have to be," Walton said. "And what kind of chances we have in the conference tournament." Cougar Bytes: |
