TEMPE, Ariz. – The 2019 Arizona State volleyball season will get underway at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup in Houston this weekend, beginning with a match against host-team Houston on Friday at 10:30 a.m. MST.
The five-team tournament will be held on Friday and Saturday in Houston's new venue, the Fertitta Center. The Sun Devils' match against the Cougars will be the first regular-season match held in the Fertitta Center. LSU and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, the two teams ASU will face on Saturday, will also be at the tournament.
ASU's match against Houston will be streamed online. For in-match updates during that match and all other matches, follow along on Twitter (@SunDevilVB). For more information on the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, head to the tournament page.
Opponent Outlook
Houston (0-0, 0-0 AAC) | Friday, August 30, 10:30 a.m. MST | Live Stream
The five-team tournament will be held on Friday and Saturday in Houston's new venue, the Fertitta Center. The Sun Devils' match against the Cougars will be the first regular-season match held in the Fertitta Center. LSU and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, the two teams ASU will face on Saturday, will also be at the tournament.
ASU's match against Houston will be streamed online. For in-match updates during that match and all other matches, follow along on Twitter (@SunDevilVB). For more information on the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, head to the tournament page.
Opponent Outlook
Houston (0-0, 0-0 AAC) | Friday, August 30, 10:30 a.m. MST | Live Stream
- The Cougars went 17-16 in 2018, 4-14 in conference play. At one point, they went on an eight-match winning streak.
- David Rehr is entering his first season as the head coach for Houston.
- Houston returns senior outside hitter Megan Duncan, who led the team in kills last season with 356. Another strong returner is senior libero Katie Karbo, who totaled 659 digs last year to lead the team.
- ASU has the advantage in the series history against Houston, 3-2.
- The Tigers compiled a 12-17 record last year, 7-11 in SEC matches.
- Head coach Fran Flory is entering her 22nd season at LSU. Her record with the Tigers is 368-262 and she has led them to the NCAA tournament in nine of the last 14 seasons.
- Junior Taylor Bannister is the returning kills leader for LSU. She had 456 last year. The Tigers also bring back starting libero Raigen Cianciulli, who had 542 digs in 2018.
- ASU is down 2-3 in the series history against LSU, losing the latest matchup in 2005.
- In 2018, the Islanders had a 9-21 record, 8-8 in Southland Conference play. They made it to the Southland Conference championship and lost in four.
- Head coach Steve Greene is in his fourth season at TAMUCC. He has a 48-43 record over that time.
- The Islanders are returning three hitters who each had 200-plus kills: Sam Dumity, Chloe Simon and Rachel Young.
- This will be the first meeting between these two schools.