NATCHITOCHES, Louisiana – HBU senior outside hitters
Bailey Banks and
Jessica Wooten each recorded double-doubles as the Huskies slipped past Northwestern State, 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 16-25, 15-9) in Southland Conference volleyball Tuesday night at Prather Coliseum.
Banks had 22 kills and 18 digs, while Wooten had 19 kills and 22 digs for the Huskies (16-6, 8-2 SLC). Senior middle blocker
Blair Gillard added seven kills and five blocks, junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had four kills and three blocks and redshirt freshman right side
Ashtyn Richey had four blocks. Junior setter
Madison O'Brien dished out 43 assists and came up with a career-high 18 digs. Senior libero
Hailey Erickson led HBU defensively with 28 digs and served up three aces and sophomore defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis chipped in with 13 digs.
Regan Rogers recorded a match-high 23 kills and had 21 digs for the Lady Demons (10-13, 5-3). Hannah Brister had 16 kills, while Madeline Drake had nine kills and eight blocks. Kathryn Wristen handed out 51 assists and had eight digs. Channing Burleson dug 32 attacks and Megan Lohmiller contributed 13 digs.
The two teams combined for 200 digs as HBU hit only .109 and NSU hit .117. The Huskies had more digs than the Lady Demons, 103-97, but NSU edged HBU in blocks, 10-9. Each team had five aces, but the Lady Demons made 12 service errors to the Huskies' four.
After allowing NSU to force a decisive fifth set, HBU came out and hit .393 with 11 kills and no errors in the frame. The Huskies trailed 8-7, but kills by Banks and Davenport gave HBU a one-point lead. A kill by Drake knotted the set back up at 9-9, but the Huskies ripped off the final six points of the match to slip away with the victory. The run started with back-to-back kills by Wooten and Gillard came out of an NSU timeout with a kill. An ace by Erickson made it 13-9, Gillard followed with a solo block, then teamed up with Wooten on a block on the final point for the 15-9 win.
NSU jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth, but HBU responded out a timeout with three-straight points. Still trailing by three at 16-13, the Huskies gave up a five-point surge to the Lady Demons for a 21-13 lead. NSU would tie the match after going on to a 25-16 decision.
HBU led 9-6 early in the third, but NSU came back to tie the set at 10-10. Neither team would take more than a one-point lead until the Huskies scored four in a row to lead, 21-18. NSU tied it up again, 22-22, but Banks came through with a kill and a block by Richey and Davenport got HBU to set point. The Lady Demons got a kill from Brister to get back within one, but an attack error gave the set to the Huskies, 25-23.
The Huskies led 7-3 in the second, but a kill by Rogers capped a three-point rally to get the Lady Demons back within one. With the set tied, 10-10, a pair of kills by Wooten and an ace by Erickson led to five-straight points for HBU. NSU closed back within two, but a four-point spurt restored HBU's advantage at 21-15. The two teams traded points, then the Lady Demons score eight of the next nine to lead 24-23. Wooten tied the set, 24-24, with a kill, but NSU scored the final two points on a kill by Brister and an HBU attack error for the 26-24 tally.
Behind the serving of Erickson, HBU reeled off eight-straight points to lead 13-3 in the first set. NSU answered with five points of its own, but the Huskies came back by scoring the next three to lead 16-8. The Lady Demons were able to get within four three times down the stretch, but the Huskies held on for the 25-20 win.
HBU returns to action when it hits the road again to face Prairie View A&M at 6:30 p.m. in Prairie View, Texas.
