HOUSTON – HBU junior outside hitter
Bailey Banks had 14 kills with no errors, adding 11 digs and four service aces for her fifth-straight double-double in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-11) sweep of Prairie View A&M in non-conference volleyball Tuesday night in Sharp Gym.
Banks had 27 attempts for a .519 hitting percentage for the Huskies (5-4). Junior outside hitter
Laura Fox hit .389 with career highs of nine kills and a team-leading five blocks, while senior outside hitter
Melissa Fuchs had seven kills and six digs. Senior setter
Kayla Armer paced the offense with a double-double of her own with 29 assists, 10 digs, five kills and two aces. Sophomore defensive specialist
Rachel Angeles led the Huskies defensively with 12 digs, her third-straight match in double figures, and junior libero
Hailey Erickson chipped in with 10 digs.
Randi Hunter had eight kills and three blocks for PVAMU (0-4), while Larissa Martinez had four kills and five digs and Erica Jimenez tallied 11 assists. Christen Augustine led the Panters with 10 digs.
HBU hit .294 and held PVAMU to .043. The Huskies outdug the Panthers, 51-40, and outblocked them 8-4. HBU also had 10 aces to PVAMU's four.
The Huskies scored four of the first five points of the match behind a pair of aces by Banks. HBU only led by one at 7-6, but then scored six straight and 10 of the next 11, thanks to a trio of kills by Fox, to take a commanding 17-7 lead. Banks had a kill and an ace during a five-point run that stretched the Huskies' lead to as many as 13 before claiming the opening set, 25-14.
PVAMU got of to a solid start in the second set, leading 7-4. The Panthers led 12-11, before the Huskies got back-to-back kills from Fuchs. After a sideout by PVAMU tied the set at 13, HBU scored the next three and would not relinquish the lead the rest of the set. The Panthers got back within one 17-16, but three-straight points gave the Huskies a cushion as they went on to a 25-20 win and a 2-0 lead.
With the third set tied 2-2 early, freshman defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis served the Huskies to seven-straight points, during which Banks had three kills. HBU soon after added a six-point surge to lead 16-5. Fox put the match away with a kill and a 25-11 final margin.
The Huskies will be on the road for the next three weekends, but will not have to travel far for their first trip as they will compete in the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup hosted by the University of Houston Friday and Saturday. HBU opens with ULM Friday at 10 a.m., then face host Houston that evening at 7 p.m. The Huskies conclude the weekend against San Jose State Saturday with an updated start time of 12:30 p.m.
