HOUSTON – Junior setter
Madison O'Brien posted the second triple-double in HBU history with 46 assists, 11 kills and 13 digs to lead the Huskies over Abilene Christian, 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22) in Southland Conference volleyball Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym. The victory marked head coach
Trent Herman's 100
th at HBU.
O'Brien joins former setter
Kayla Armer as the only two Huskies with triple-doubles, with Armer achieving the program's first last season against Lamar in five sets on Nov. 1. Senior outside hitter
Jessica Wooten led HBU (15-6, 7-2 SLC) with 15 kills and had 17 digs, while senior outside hitter
Bailey Banks had 14 kills and tied for the team lead with 21 digs. Senior middle blocker
Blair Gillard had 10 kills and made three blocks, while junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had six kills and seven blocks. Redshirt freshman right side
Ashtyn Richey chipped in with four kills and five blocks. Senior libero
Hailey Erickson joined Banks with 21 digs and sophomore defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis contributed with nine.
Lauren Walker, Jacey Smith and Lorin McNeil each had 12 kills for ACU (6-13, 2-5). Walker also had five blocks and McNeil had six. Kendall Bosse had 41 assists and six blocks and Amanda Chapa led all players with 31 digs and was the only Wildcat in double figures.
HBU hit .220, while holding ACU to .169. The Huskies outdug the Wildcats, 85-68, had more aces, 8-4, but ACU held the edge in blocks, 12-10.
Up two sets to one, the Huskies fell behind, 18-13, in the fourth set. HBU came alive on a kill by Wooten too rip off seven-straight points and take a two-point lead. O'Brien had two kills during the spurt, which ended as it started with a kill by Wooten. The Wildcats tied the set on an ace by Smith, but she followed with a service error and an attack error by Walker put the Huskies back up by two. ACU sided out with a Walker kill, but Banks pushed it to set point and a block by Davenport and Banks ended the match in a 25-22 decision.
In the third set, ACU broke a 14-14 tie with three-straight points, but HBU responded with a six-point run, capped by a Wooten ace to take a 20-17 lead. The Wildcats came back to score three more and tie it back up at 20, but kills by Banks and O'Brien led to four points in a row to get to set point at 24-20. A kill by Corinne Grandcolas and back-to-back blocks pulled the Wildcats within one. Banks put the set away with a kill for the 25-23 tally.
HBU jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the second set, then ACU scored the next three. The Huskies continued to lead at 16-11, but the Wildcats put together four-straight points to get within one. After an HBU sideout for a 17-15 lead, ACU scored four more, the last on an ace by Chapa to take a two-point lead. With the set tied, 21-21, the Wildcats scored a pair before Banks had a kill. A kill by McNeil and an ace by Bosse gave ACU a 25-22 win and tied the match at a set apiece.
The first set was tied 9-9 until a kill by Davenport, back-to-back aces by Banks and a kill by Wooten put the Huskies ahead by four. The Wildcats never got closer than three the rest of the way and kills by Gillard and Wooten end the set in a 25-18 victory for HBU.
The Huskies return to action when they face Northwestern State Tuesday in Natchitoches, Louisiana, followed by a non-conference matchup at Prairie View A&M Wednesday.
