Volleyball Falls to Houston at Conference USA Tournament, 3-0
November 19, 2004 | Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, KY.-- The East Carolina volleyball team fell to the Houston Cougars, 3-0, in the first round of the ChevronTexaco Conference USA Volleyball Tournament inside Cardinal Arena. The Pirates (11-18, 5-9 C-USA) dropped the first three games by scores of 18-30, 23-30, and 29-31.
Freshman outside hitter Mignon Dubenion led all Pirates with 12 kills. Junior middle blocker Paige Howell collected nine kills, freshman outside hitter Kelley Wernert collected eight and junior outside hitter Erica Wilson finished with seven for ECU. Sophomore setter Heidi Krug led the offense with 35 set assists.
Defensively, junior libero Johanna Bertini led East Carolina with nine digs. Howell led all players with six blocks (three solo, three assists).
The Cougars finished with four players tallying double-digit kills, led by Kariny Ritter's 14. Becca Sartori collected 12 kills while Kelly McAnelly and Loure Dews each finished with 11 kills respectively. Mirela Vasconcellos collected 45 assists to lead the Cougar offense. Libero Jaci Gonzalez collected 21 digs to lead all players. McAnelly (6) and Ritter (5) also contributed on defense collecting 11 digs combined.
Houston took the first game by a score of 30-18. Wernert and Howell collected two kills each in the early going, recording four of ECU's first five points of the match. The two teams were tied at 5-5 before Houston made a 4-0 run, taking the lead to 9-5. The Pirates battled back to take three of the next four points, cutting the lead to 10-8. The Cougars then made their second run of the game, stretching their lead to 16-8. East Carolina was never able to recover and Houston took game one. Sartori led all players with six kills in the first game while Wernert and Howell each finished with four kills for the Pirates.
The second game went to Houston, 30-23. The game was back and forth early on with the score tied 15-15 midway through game two. ECU then went on a 5-1 run, moving ahead 20-16. Houston fought back and made a run of their own, taking the lead 27-22 on an 11-2 run. The Cougars were led by McAnelly in game two, who finished with seven kills on 14 attack attempts. Dubenion led ECU with four kills in game two.
The Pirates gave the Cougars their toughest battle in game three but eventually took the game 31-29. The Pirates started off the game on a 5-2 run before Houston tied it up 6-6. The Cougars continued to play well, taking a 15-10 lead. The lead however, was only short-lived. ECU made their second run of the game, winning seven of the next eight points, forcing a Houston timeout, with the Pirates up 17-16. The two teams battled down the stretch, tying the game, 29-29. Houston finished the match winning the next two points. Ritter led Houston with six kills in the third game while Dubenion led the Pirates with six kills on 11 attack attempts in game three.
The Pirates finish the 2004 season with an overall record of 11-8, 5-9 in C-USA play. Houston will move on to play first-seeded Louisville Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cardinal Arena.
