Box Score

Post-match Interview with Jasmine Casey (video)

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist sophomore outside hitter Jasmine Casey and senior outside hitter Heather Leaverton each posted double-doubles as the Huskies pulled off an impressive 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) sweep of Texas-San Antonio in non-conference volleyball Monday night at Sharp Gym.
 
Casey slammed 16 kills, tying for the second-most and one shy of the most in a three-set match since the Huskies returned to Division competition in 2007, and added 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Leaverton had 12 kills and a career-high 19 kills, one match after setting a new career-high in kills, for her team-leading sixth double-double. Senior setter Victoria Weatherly dished out 39 assists to go along with nine digs. Junior middle blocker Caiti Wenger had seven kills, while sophomore libero Esther Longoria had 17 digs for the Huskies (8-4).
 
Dempsey Thornton led UTSA (6-3) with 12 kills and had eight digs, while McKenzie Adams had nine kills and nine digs. Brittney Malloy added eight kills, and Kylie Schott had four blocks. Paige Hamilton led the Roadrunners defensively with 16 digs, and Becca Stark had 12.
 
HBU hit .198 for the match, while UTSA hit .152. The Huskies outdug the Roadrunners, 62-57, but UTSA held a 6-1 edge in blocks.
 
The Huskies broke an 8-8 tie in the first set with three-straight points, but the Roadrunners answered to tie the set, 13-13. HBU once again scored three in a row, with UTSA rebounding with three of its own to tie again at 19. HBU's third three-point spurt gave them the lead for good, even though UTSA would cut the lead to one 22-21, but the Huskies scored the last three on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Madeline Gaffney, an ace by Leaverton and a kill by Casey to take the set, 25-21. Wenger hit .857 in the set with six kills and no errors on seven attempts to lead the Huskies, while Malloy had five kills for the Roadrunners.
 
UTSA took an early 6-3 lead in the second, but HBU came back to tie the set, 9-9. From that point there were eight ties, the final time at 18-18, when the Huskies scored four-straight points to lead, 22-18. HBU went on to close out the set, 25-21. Casey had four kills to lead the Huskies in the set, while Adams and Thornton each had four for the Roadrunners.
 
HBU scored four of the first five points of the third set and were never seriously threatened as it hit .366 with 20 kills in the frame. The Huskies extended their lead to 12-6, and when the Roadrunners climbed back to within three, they ripped off three in a row to go back up by six at 18-12. HBU's largest lead of the set came at 20-13, but UTSA would not go quietly as it outscored the Huskies 10-3 to make the score 23-20. Casey then slammed down a kill to get the Huskies to match point and after a sideout by UTSA, Leaverton put the finishing touches on the win with a kill by identical 25-21 scores. Casey led HBU with eight kills in the third set alone, and Leaverton had seven in the frame, allowing Weatherly to post an astronomical 18 assists. Thornton had four more kills in the set for UTSA.
 
The Huskies return to action in the Rice Mizuno Invitational Friday and Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. HBU faces Texas Tech Friday at 2 p.m., followed by host Rice at 7 p.m. The Huskies wrap up the their final tournament of the season against Cal State Northridge Saturday at 4:30 p.m.