Box Score
HOUSTON – HBU played scrappy defense with a 15-dig advantage and rallied from a five-point deficit in the third to sweep New Orleans, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-22) in Southland Conference volleyball Thursday night at Sharp Gym.
Senior outside hitter
Bailey Banks led the Huskies (19-9, 10-5 SLC) with 13 kills and three aces and freshman outside hitter Mikayla Vivens came off the bench to hit .462 with eight kills, four digs and two blocks. Junior setter
Madison O'Brien tallied seven kills, dished out 29 assists and led HBU with 18 digs. Senior middle blocker
Blair Gillard had seven kills and three blocks and junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had four blocks. Senior libero
Hailey Erickson chipped in with 16 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Lewis came up 13.
Blessing Dunn, Rondolyn Bryant and Kyra Hunter each had seven kills for the Privateers (12-16, 6-10). Dunn also had 10 digs and Andrea Nava led UNO with 16. Kaitlyn Grice had four kills and seven blocks. Sarah Thomas handed out 23 assists.
HBU hit .218 for the match, while holding UNO to .139. The Huskies led in digs, 68-53, and aces, 7-1, but the Privateers outblocked them, 9-7.
The Huskies scored the first four points of the match to take an early lead in the first set. HBU continued to lead at 14-12, but UNO scored three-straight to take its first lead in the frame. After a timeout, the Huskies came out and scored five of the next six points to take a 21-16 lead. A solo block by Davenport and a kill by Banks closed out the set, 25-20.
HBU scored the first three points in the second, but UNO quickly tied it back up at 5-5. Leading 10-9, the Huskies got a kill by Banks, an ace from Erickson and a block by Gillard and Vivens to move ahead by four. Back-to-back kills by O'Brien extended the margin to eight and later Vivens put away the final point for a 25-15 decision giving HBU a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The third set was tied, 11-11, but UNO scored five-straight points. HBU scored three in a row to get back within two and still trailed by that tally at 19-17. The Huskies got a kill from Richey and an ace by Banks to tie it up, but the Privateers sided out on a block by Grice to go up by one. HBU scored the next four to get to set point with a three-point lead and Vivens slammed home the final point in a 25-22 victory
HBU wraps up the regular season against Southeastern Louisiana Saturday at 11 a.m. at Sharp Gym. The Huskies will honor its five seniors, Banks, Erickson, Gillard,
Jessica Wooten and
Laura Fox, prior to the match.
The Huskies are in a four-way tie for third heading into the regular season's final match. The Southland Conference Tournament will be held Nov. 17-19 at Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
