2019 AMERICAN VOLLEYBALL RELEASE - OCTOBER 22
CINCINNATI, HOUSTON REMAIN IN FRONT
Cincinnati and Houston each remained atop their respective divisions of the American Athletic Conference following week four of league play despite being dealt their first losses in conference play. Cincinnati shook off a sweep at Tulane and bounced back with a win at Houston on Sunday to even each team’s record at 7-1 in conference action. Cincinnati holds a tiebreaker over UCF (7-1) in the East Division, while Houston is a full game up on SMU (6-2) in the West Division.
TULLOS WAS A BLOCKING MACHINE
Houston’s Rachel Tullos established an American Athletic Conference record with 17 total blocks against Cincinnati, breaking the previous mark of 13 that was held by four different players. Tullos’ 17 blocks were the most by any player in a single match in Division I volleyball this season, and her performance was just the fourth since 2014 in which an NCAA player recorded 17 or more blocks.
FLOWERS’ EFFICIENT DAY LEADS TO OPOTW HONORS
Memphis’ Hannah Flowers hit a sparkling .824 on Sunday against Temple, converting 14-of-17 total attacks with no errors to go along with five digs and three blocks in a sweep of the Owls. Flowers’ hitting percentage was the second-highest by any player in The American this season with at least 12 kills (the highest in a three-set match), and was the second-best clip in a three-set match in conference history. Her hitting percentage also ranked seventh in Division I this season as of Oct. 20 for all players with 15-19 total attack attempts in a match.
WHERE THE AMERICAN SITS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
In the seventh full release of NCAA Division I statistics for the 2019 season on Oct. 20, Houston was slotted first in total team attacks and total team kills, second in team assists and digs and fourth in team blocks; Cincinnati ranked first in assists per set, second in kills per set and sixth in aces per set; UCF ranked fifth in total team blocks and blocks per set; and Tulane was sixth in total blocks. Individually Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson was first in points, points per set, kills per set and total kills, ranking third in attacks per set. Houston’s Katie Karbo was second in total digs, with Tulsa’s Taylor Horsfall third in that same statistical category. Cincinnati’s Armania Heckenmueller ranked second and SMU’s Lily Heim fourth in assists per set, while Tulane’s Kayla Dinkins was slotted second and Houston’s Rachel Tullos third in total blocks.