Photo GalleryHOUSTON – The HBU volleyball team opened Southland Conference play with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 15-25, 25-16) victory over New Orleans on Thursday night inside Sharp Gym.
Junior setter
Kayla Armer recorded her sixth double-double of the season in a 41-assist, 12-dig performance, as the Huskies (8-7, 1-0 SLC) improved to 5-0 on their home court. The 40-plus assist match is the fourth of the season for the native of Bradenton, Florida.
Four HBU players recorded double-figure digs against the Privateers (8-6, 0-1 SLC). Junior
Jessica Wooten led all with 13 digs, while Armer and sophomores
Hailey Erickson and
Laura Fox each tuned in 12. The 12 digs marked a career-high for Fox.
The strong defensive effort held UNO to a .090 attack percentage, while the Huskies hit .226. Junior outside hitter
Bailey Banks led all, landing 13 kills.
Wooten turned in four of her six service aces in the first set, with three coming in the first four points to open the match. HBU jumped out to a 9-1 lead on the Privateers and never looked back in taking a 25-18 victory.
In the second set, both teams traded points, but the Huskies held UNO to a 0.27 clip in picking up a 25-22 edge and 2-0 lead at the break.
However, the Privateers surged to open the third set, leading HBU by as many as 11 points in claiming a 25-15 win to extend the match.
In the fourth set, the Huskies held UNO to a -.029 attack efficiency and got six kills from Banks in the stanza to close the match 25-16.
HBU will be back in action on Saturday, hosting Southeastern Louisiana in a 1 p.m. match.
Postgame Quotes – Head Coach Trent HermanOn the win…"It is good to get off to a 1-0 start in Southland Conference play, and especially to be able to do that at home in front of our fans. We just need to learn to keep our focus through the whole match. We got off to a good start in sets one and two, but then kind of let down in set three and they pressed us to extend the match to a fourth set."
On preparation for Saturday's match against Southeastern Louisiana…"We just need to refocus. Tomorrow is a new day, so we will put this one behind us and begin to get ready for our second conference match of the season."
