Oct. 4, 2007

HOUSTON - The University of Houston volleyball team returns to action Friday after a week off just a little past the halfway mark of the 2007 season. The Cougars will face the Tulsa Hurricane on Oct. 5 at 7pm before traveling to Dallas on Oct. 7 to play the SMU Mustangs at 1pm.

Houston (8-6, 3-1C-USA) is tied, 2-2, in the all-time series against the Hurricane. The two schools met twice last season, splitting the matches at one apiece. UH, however, leads the all-time series against the Mustangs, 7-2, with their first two defeats coming last season.

UH has history on its side when they take to the court this weekend. Houston is a perfect 6-0 on Oct. 5 and Oct. 7, respectively, in the Bill Walton era. Their last match-up on Oct. 5 was in 2002 when Houston beat Southern Miss 3-0. Exactly two years ago in 2005, Houston hosted SMU in conference action on Oct. 7 winning 3-0 for their last win on this date.

Entering the match, junior Justine Farmer leads the league in kills with 318 and 5.30 per game and sophomore Erin Rice ranks second in blocks with 71 and 1.31 per game. The team also leads the league in blocks and opponent hitting percentage.

Last Time Out
The Cougars fell to Rice 3-2 in their last contest on Sept. 27 snapping a five-game win streak and a three-game win streak in conference action. It was a tough match as UH jumped out to the early 1-0 lead but Rice responded winning the next two games. Houston forced a game five after evening the score 2-2 but it wasn't enough as the Owls held on for the win. Farmer and freshman Hannah Sullivan paced the Cougars in the loss; both recorded double-doubles in the match. Farmer notched her 10th double-double on the year, while Sullivan has three.

Up Next
After three straight road games, the Cougars will return home to the Athletics/Alumni Center for a weekend series against Tulane (Oct. 12) and UTEP (Oct. 14). It will be the first of three home series remaining on the Cougars schedule.

A complete wrap-up of the matches will be available on www.UHCougars.com following the day's action. Fans can also follow GameTracker by logging on to the website and clicking on the volleyball schedule page.