By Chris Parker
Houston volleyball finished 12-11-3 last year, which marked the first time the Lady Tigers finished above .500 since 2010. This year could be even better for Houston after graduating just three seniors and returning three all-conference selections.
Those three returning all-conference players are: Hannah Dzurick (senior setter), Angie Smith (sophomore outside hitter) and Olivia Crites (junior middle).
Dzurick was a first-team all-conference selection who led the Lady Tigers in both kills (207) and assists (279). Smith was a second-team all-conference selection as a freshman after she put down 134 kills along with 217 digs. Crites was an honorable mention all-conference selection who had 114 kills last year.
Mali Brookshire (senior libero), Sarah Purcell (senior opposite/outside hitter), Kelsey Pritchett (sophomore middle hitter), Mackenzie Holder (senior outside hitter) and Aliyah Walker (junior setter) also return.
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Brookshire led the team in digs (373) and serve receptions (619). Purcell was second on the team in kills with 136, which gives Houston four returning players who had at least 100 kills last year. The returns of Pritchett (73 kills) and Holder (61 kills) mean Houston brings back six players who had at least 61 kills.
In total, Houston returns 98.6% of the teams kills from last year.
“I think our biggest strength this year will be our attack and blocking. We have some size and the girls are really figuring out how to use that to our advantage. The girls have looked really strong this summer and are hitting the ball well,” Houston head coach Loran Richardson said.
While the offense is potent, the defense will need to improve.
“We’ve got to improve our communication and defense in order to be successful this year. They tend to get quiet on the court at times and we need that energy and communication to keep the momentum,” Richardson said.
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This group also gained valuable experience in how to navigate the best-of-five set format Missouri adopted last year.
“I really feel like the five-set format helped give the girls some confidence. In the past, if we lost the first set, they had trouble fighting back. With five sets, even if they lost the first set, they knew they had time to turn it around. We’ve got to focus on starting stronger though. We shouldn’t wait until the last couple of sets to start playing well,” Richardson said.”
Houston will travel to Cabool for a jamboree on Aug. 24 with the host Bulldogs and Willow Springs. The Lady Tigers open the regular season on Aug. 31 at home against Licking.
“The girls and coaches have high expectations this year. We finished our season winning 10 of our last 15 games and had a great summer,” Richardson said. “We can’t get complacent though. We’ve got to work hard this preseason to get even better and reach some of those goals we set for ourselves.”
