HOUSTON – Houston Baptist University scored the first 11 points of the match and never looked back as it swept Prairie View A&M, 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-19), in non-conference volleyball Tuesday night in the Huskies' home opener at Sharp Gym.

Senior middle blocker Jolie Graf hit .438 and led the Huskies (4-0) with nine kills to go with three blocks. Junior outside hitter Heather Leaverton hit .353 with seven kills and five blocks. Senior rightside hitter Isis Gardner had five errorless kills on nine attempts and freshman rightside hitter Kaiti Waters hit 1.000 with five kills on five swings and added three blocks in just over one set. Sophomore middle blocker Madison Harper played only one set, but racked up four blocks.

“I think we blocked pretty well tonight, we were able to capitalize on certain points and put away balls,” Graf said. “Right now we're trying to push the middle offense so we can open up other hitters as well. We're just trying to create options out there, and Vic (junior setter Victoria Weatherly) is doing a great job setting us.”

Weatherly, who was named Great West Conference Offensive Player of the Week earlier Tuesday, had 30 assists, three kills, three digs and four blocks. Senior libero Courtney Whittleman had a match-high 12 digs, while senior outside hitter Christie Dorch had seven digs and a team-high three service aces.

Breanna McNeil and Christine Ruckman each had five kills to lead Prairie View A&M (0-4). Marie Moulaz led the Lady Panthers with 17 assists and eight digs.

The Huskies hit .318 for the match, while holding the Lady Panthers to -.034. HBU has held all four of its opponents below a .100 hitting percentage so far this season. The Huskies outdug the Lady Panthers, 38-30, outblocked them, 11.5-2.0, and outaced them, 8-2.

HBU came out blazing to an 11-0 lead at the start, highlighted by a pair of aces from Dorch and a pair of kills each by Graf and Leaverton. The Huskies had only two attacking errors in the first set and claimed a 25-13 decision.

The Huskies took a 10-4 lead in the second after an ace by freshman defensive specialist Haley Hoffman, who leads the team with 0.62 aces per set. HBU led 15-9, before scoring six-straight points and 10 of the last 11 in the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-10 victory.

In the third set, Prairie View A&M never let HBU take more than a six-point lead, despite the Huskies recording 16 kills, five blocks and an ace in the set. After the Huskies led 12-6, the Lady Panthers climbed back to within three at 16-13, but HBU scored three straight points. The Huskies lead 21-17, then got a kill from Waters, a block by freshman outside hitter Jasmine Casey and Harper for a 23-17 advantage. After Prairie View A&M scored a pair of points, Waters came up with back-to-back kills to end the match with a 25-19 win for HBU.

The Huskies return to action in the Rice Mizuno Invitational Thursday through Saturday. HBU will host the opener of the tournament against Texas-San Antonio Thursday at 6 p.m. at Sharp Gym, before heading across town to face Rice Friday at 11 a.m., followed by Georgia Tech Saturday at 11 a.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.