HOUSTON – The HBU volleyball team used a balanced effort to stave off an Incarnate Word comeback in a 3-1 (25-23, 32-30, 23-25, 29-27) victory on Saturday afternoon inside Sharp Gym.
Senior middle blocker
Allison Doerpinghaus dictated the presence at the net for the Huskies (11-11, 4-4 SLC), turning in a career-high 16 kills while also issuing nine blocks on the defensive end to tie her season-best. The native of Palo Alto, California, was one of three HBU players to finish with double-figure kills against UIW (4-13, 2-5 SLC), joined by outside hitters
Bailey Banks and
Jessica Wooten. Banks tied Doerpinghaus for the team-lead with 16 kills, also recording nine digs and five blocks, while Wooten recorded a 15-kill, seven-dig performance.
Junior setter
Kayla Armer recorded her ninth double-double of the season, amassing a season-high 50 assists and career-high 18 digs. Armer's 50-assist performance puts her at 3,281 for her career, ranking fourth all-time at HBU. Junior libero
Melissa Fuchs and sophomore defensive specialist
Hailey Erickson joined Armer with double-figure digs, recording 14 and 13, respectfully.
For the match, the Huskies and Cardinals each turned in 63 kills. HBU outhit UIW .250-.244 and held a 12-11 edge in blocks, as all four sets were decided by a two-point margin. In total, both teams drew even on 58 occasions and traded the lead 22 times across four sets.
The Huskies got four kills from both Wooten and sophomore middle blocker
Blair Gillard, who finished with eight, and turned in a .346 clip to take the opening set, 25-23.
The second set saw a total of six set-points before an attack error by the Cardinals evened the match 30-all and Banks rattled off two consecutive kills to give HBU a 32-30 victory and 2-0 advantage heading into the break.
UIW finally edged the Huskies in the third set, taking a 25-23 decision to prolong the match, and threated to do so yet again in the fourth set. Tied 23-23, both teams traded set-points until a Wooten kill and ball handling error on the Cardinals closed the set 29-27 in favor of HBU.
The Huskies will now hit the road for two matches, making visits McNeese State (Oct. 22) and Nicholls (Oct. 24).
Postgame Quotes – Head Coach Trent Herman
Overview of match…"The match couldn't have been any closer. If you look at the stats, everything was pretty even and every set was a two-point win. We came through in three sets and that was what matters. For our kids, it was a really good test of how hard they fight. They had to stay in it and just kept battling."
On team's performance…"It is a full team effort again. We've been preaching all year that we are not an offensive or defensive team, we've got to be a total team. That's the only way you're going to contend and beat good teams in this conference."
On Allison Doerpinghaus..."She is our lone senior and it is getting to that point in the season where your seniors need to step up. The last couple of weeks, she has really taken a strong leadership role for us and has been there every point of every match. She played great today."
On having upcoming two matches on the road…"After our slow start in conference we are back to .500 at 4-4. We split out two road matches last week, so we need to go get two on the road here now. It is important for our confidence and also our place in the conference standings."
