HOUSTON – In its afternoon match, HBU came back from an 0-2 deficit and rallied past Louisiana, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-12), but fell to Houston, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) to close out the season-opening Marriott Houston Westchase Invitational Saturday at Sharp Gym.
Against Louisiana, senior outside hitter
Melissa Fuchs tied her career high with 18 kills and posted a double-double by adding 14 digs. Junior outside hitter
Bailey Banks also had a double-double with 15 kills, only one error, and 10 digs. Junior middle blocker
Blair Gillard hit .632, tallying 14 kills with two errors, and five blocks. Senior right side
Ashlee Vann also had five blocks. Senior setter
Kayla Armer, an all-tournament team selection, had 49 assists, five kills and six digs, while junior libero
Hailey Erickson led the Huskies (1-2) with 19 digs.
Stacey Reilly had 24 kills and 12 digs for the Ragin' Cajuns (0-3) and Chanelle Gardner had 12 kills and six digs. Jessica Bartczyszyn handed out 53 assists and contributed defensively with nine digs. Sydney Davis also matched Reilly for the team-high with 12 digs.
For the match, HBU hit a remarkable .315, while holding Louisiana to .190. The Huskies outdug the Ragin' Cajuns, 58-55, but Louisiana had more blocks (10-8) and service aces (9-2).
Louisiana scored four-straight points on a kills and two aces by Gardner to take control of the first set, 20-12. HBU staved off three set points before falling, 25-19. The Ragin' Cajuns held as much as a three-point advantage midway through the second, but the Huskies were able to score back-to-back points to get back within one at 16-15. HBU still trailed by one at 21-20, but Louisiana scored four of the next five points claim a 25-21 victory.
The Ragin' Cajuns looked well on their way to a sweep by scoring five of the first six points of the third set, but the Huskies battled back and scored five-straight points to lead 10-8. HBU led by as many as five at 18-13, but Louisiana started to chip away and tied the set at 19-19. The Huskies scored four of five then got a kill from Banks on set point for the 25-22 decision.
HBU carried its momentum into the fourth set, where it blitzed Louisiana with a .464 hitting percentage. Trailing 6-5, HBU nine of the next 10 points, which included a six-point run to lead 14-7. The Ragin' Cajuns got back to within four at 18-14, but the Huskies held them off and scored the final three points to even the match with a 25-16 score.
In the decisive fifth set, HBU trailed 7-5, but scored three-straight points to lead 8-7. A sideout by Louisiana tied the set 8-8 and the teams traded points until the Huskies scored three-straight to lead 12-10. Holding a 13-12 advantage, a Reilly service error took HBU to match point, where Fuchs delivered the final blow in a 15-12 set.
In the evening match against Houston, Vann and Fuchs each had seven kills for HBU, while freshman middle blocker
Megan Patillo and Armer had six kills apiece. Armer also had 25 assists, 10 digs and three service aces, while Erickson led the Huskies with 11 digs.
Brianna Lynch hit .542 and had 15 kills for the Cougars, while Megan Duncan had 10 kills and nine digs. Keandra McCardell led Houston with 18 assists and Katie Karbo led the Cougars defensively with 12 digs.
The Cougars hit .313 for the match, while the Huskies hit .137. HBU had 42 digs to Houston's 37 and neither team posted huge block numbers with the Cougars holding a slight 4-3 edge.
The Huskies face another crosstown rival when they play their first road match against Rice Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.
