UH volleyball coach Rehr: 'You can't take these situations and think they're going to come around again'

The No. 22-ranked University of Houston (UH) Cougars women’s volleyball team made history before and after the Thanksgiving holiday as the program secured its first American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship and its first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament berth in more than 20 years. 

According to a UH-issued press release, the Cougars will begin tournament play as the fifth seed in the Creighton regional. UH drew South Dakota in the first round, which will be played on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that the Cougars hadn’t lost for more than two months, reeling off a 20-match winning streak. 

The team, which dropped its regular season finale against Central Florida on the day after Thanksgiving, compiled a 28-3 overall record to go with an impressive 19-1 conference mark. 

"You can't take these situations and think they're going to come around again,” UH head coach David Rehr told the station. “That's what you remind the team: Take care of this and be thankful for it.”

Per the university – the Friday five-set loss to the Knights notwithstanding – the Cougars earned an automatic tournament bid by virtue of tiebreakers. 

As future members of the Big XII Conference, UH and Central Florida will see more of each other in the coming years. The Cougars’ last conference title was in 1999 when it won the Conference USA crown.

To have an invite to her sport’s version of the Big Dance is a dream come true for UH libero Kate Georgiades, who posted her fourth straight match with at least 20 digs against Central Florida, per KTRK. 

"Back when I was playing in high school, I would sit down and make bracket predictions,” Georgiades told the station. “I would get so super into it, and just dreamed of playing on that stage. And now that that's becoming a reality, it's pretty cool."