HOUSTON – The HBU volleyball team completed their sweep of the field in the Marriott Houston Westchase Invitational, with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday night in Sharp Gym.
The straight-set win is the third consecutive for the Huskies (3-0) to open the season, marking the first time since 2004 the program has done so and a first in the Division I era.
Junior setter
Kayla Armer was named tournament MVP, collecting 31 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double of the season in the nightcap. The native of Bradenton, Florida, was also joined by
Blair Gillard and
Jessica Wooten on the all-tournament team for their efforts.
Wooten led HBU offensively against the Lady Techsters (1-2), turning in a season-high 13 kills on 25 swings, while senior
Allison Doerpinghaus also turned in a season-best with 10. For the match, the Huskies hit a .321 clip, while holding LA Tech to a .058 attack percentage.
Both teams traded points in the opening set with HBU narrowly leading 9-7, until a 9-3 surge gave the Huskies a comfortable lead at 18-10. HBU's lead never fell below seven points the rest of the way in claiming a 25-15 win.
The Huskies found themselves down 14-9 midway through the second set, but outhit the Lady Techsters .417 to -.042 for the set to come back and take a 25-18 triumph and 2-0 advantage into the break.
Both teams again played close in the third set, tied 18-18 late, but HBU capitalized on eight kills from Wooten to seal the match with a 25-20 win.
The Huskies will be back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 1, playing their road-opener at Prairie View A&M. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Postgame Quotes – Head Coach Trent HermanOpening comments…"It is good to get the season started the way we have. The kids have worked hard from the time we opened practice and this gives them a little reward for that, but it also shows us the things we need to improve on and refine as we continue through our non-conference schedule."
On playing well to start season..."The kids are focused in on what we need to do. We had goals to win our tournament and be undefeated at home and, so far, we've done both those things. We just need to take it one step at a time and continue to improve each time out."
On Kayla Armer's performance…"She was just tremendous for us. She's such a stabilizer for our offense, even when we our passing isn't going well. Kayla is just so dynamic with the ball that she can help our hitters out. She understand the game so well and helps everybody out."
On looking ahead…"I told them to take tonight and tomorrow to enjoy with their families. A lot of the kids had their folks here, so I want them to enjoy the rest of the weekend. On Monday, we will get in practice and tweak a few things and then try to implement them on Tuesday at Prairie View A&M before we take on some tough competition at our tournament at Northern Arizona. We want to be on our way to NAU at 4-0."
