Box Score
LAFAYETTE, La. – Houston Baptist junior middle blocker
Caiti Wenger hit .556, posting a career-high 18 kills to go along with three blocks as the Huskies swept McNeese State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-17) in the finale of the Bon Temps Invitational Saturday afternoon at Earl K. Long Gym. Wenger and sophomore middle blocker
Madeline Gaffney were named to the all-tournament team.
Gaffney recorded 12 kills and six blocks, including two solo efforts, while senior outside hitter
Heather Leaverton added 12 kills and nine digs. Senior setter
Victoria Weatherly had 43 assists, four digs, three kills and three blocks. Sophomore libero
Esther Longoria led the Huskies (5-2) defensively with 19 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist
Haley Hoffman chipped in with eight.
Amber Fryer and Megan Carlton led McNeese State (1-5) with five kills each. Whitney Ellisor led the Cowgirls with 16 digs.
The Huskies hit .304 with 52 kills for the match, while holding the Cowgirls to .042 and just 21 kills. HBU outdug McNeese State, 50-43, and held a 9-4 advantage in blocks.
HBU scored five of the first six points of the match, then pushed its lead to 17-10. The Huskies went on to take the set 25-18 with Gaffney and Leaverton tallying four kills each.
The Huskies led 12-10 in the second, but scored five-straight points to lead by seven. After McNeese State scored twice to make it 17-12, HBU went on a six-point run to take an 11-point lead, then closed out the set, 25-13. Wenger dominated the set, recording 10 kills on 14 attacks.
McNeese State took an 11-10 lead in the third set on an ace by Ellisor, but HBU got a pair of kills from Wenger and one apiece by Leaverton and Weatherly to score the next four points to lead 14-11. The Cowgirls answered to tie the set at 14 and again at 15, but the Huskies scored eight-straight points, behind three kills from Gaffney, to put the match away and cruise to a 25-17 victory. Gaffney had seven kills in the set, while Wenger and Leaverton each had five.
The Huskies return to action when they travel to face Prairie View A&M Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Prairie View, Texas.
