Box Score

Postgame Interview with Isis Gardner (video)

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist University ran an efficient offense, hitting .318 for the match, to hold off Chicago State for a 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 18-25, 25-22) victory in Great West Conference volleyball Thursday night at Sharp Gym.
 
Senior rightside hitter Isis Gardner hit .526 for the match with 11 kills, only one error and three blocks to lead the Huskies (19-8, 5-3 GWC), while sophomore middle blocker Caiti Wenger hit .400 with nine kills and nine blocks. Junior outside hitter Heather Leaverton posted six kills, seven digs and five blocks, while senior outside hitter Christie Dorch had four kills, 11 digs and three service aces.
 
Junior setter Victoria Weatherly had seven kills on seven attempts to go along with 31 assists and five digs. Senior libero Courtney Whittleman led HBU with a match-high 15 digs and added six assists and three aces.
 
Rachel Levitt had a match-high 19 kills for Chicago State (1-25, 0-8), while Alexandra Mason had 13 kills and five blocks. Mysta Townsell led the Cougars with 12 digs, Angelic Brewer had 11 and Mia Townsell recorded 10.
 
HBU held Chicago State to a .124 hitting percentage for the match, but the Cougars outdug the Huskies, 46-42. HBU had nine blocks, with Wenger having a hand in all of them, while Chicago State had six. Both teams had seven aces, but the Huskies made 14 service errors and the Cougars made 11.
 
The first set was tied 8-8, but the Huskies scored 10-straight points, which included four block assists by Wenger and a pair of aces by Dorch, to take an 18-8 lead. Senior middle blocker Jolie Graf had three kills down the stretch as HBU won the first, 25-14.
 
HBU led 12-7 in the second, then got a pair of kills each from Wenger and Gardner to score seven straight and go up, 19-7. Freshman outside hitter Bailey Keith had kills on three of the Huskies' final four points as they took a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 decision.
 
The Huskies jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third, but the Cougars hung around and were down only two at 16-14. Chicago State then scored eight-straight points, including three aces by Mia Townsell and a pair of kills by Levitt, to take a 22-16 lead. Even though the Huskies hit .286 for the set and made only two errors, the Cougars hit .308 with Levitt leading the way with eight kills in the set, and aced HBU four times. The Huskies also had five service errors and no aces.
 
Chicago State led by as many as three, the last time at 13-10 in the fourth set, but the Huskies came back and were tied with the Cougars 14-14. Gardner then slammed down back-to-back kills, Whittleman scored an ace and Dorch finished the five-point run with a kill to give HBU an 18-14 lead. Wenger finished the match with a kill as the Huskies won the fourth, 25-22.
 
HBU returns to action and will host its fourth-annual “Dig Pink” match to support breast cancer awareness when the Huskies face NJIT Saturday at 2 p.m. at Sharp Gym.