Sept. 4, 2008

HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. this weekend for the 2008 Hotel Encanto Volleyball Classic on Sept. 5-6 hosted by New Mexico State University.

Houston will open play at the tournament Friday at 10 a.m. when they face Florida Gulf Coast. UH will also play tournament host New Mexico State at 7 p.m. They will play in a final match on Saturday against Utah at 4:30 p.m.

Livestats for the games will be available through www.nmstatesports.com.

The Cougars will be playing Florida Gulf Coast for the first time in program history when they face the Eagles. Houston will then be facing a 2007 opponent in New Mexico State. UH is 4-4 all-time against the Aggies. Last season, Houston lost to New Mexico State, 3-1, at the Houston Invitational.

Closing out the tournament with Utah, UH holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series against the Utes, however, the Cougars have not faced the them since 1983 when they earned a 2-1 win.

Last Time Out
Houston gets back on the court after finishing 2-1, last weekend, at the Marquette Kickoff Tournament. The Cougars won matches against Marquette and Chattanooga while losing to Tennessee.

Senior Justine Farmer and Freshman Ingrida Zauere were both named to the All-Tournament team.

Up Next
Following the tournament at New Mexico, Houston will be back on the road for the third straight weekend when they travel to Austin, Texas for the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational on Sept. 11-12.

Houston will then play host to Lamar on Sept. 17 in the 2008 home opener at 7 p.m.