HOUSTON – HBU hit .347 as a team, while holding Texas Southern to .057 as the Huskies swept the Tigers, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-14), in the season opener Friday at Sharp Gym.
Senior middle blocker
Blair Gillard led the Huskies (1-0) with 12 kills and added four blocks, three of which were solo. Senior outside hitter
Bailey Banks recorded 10 kills and nine digs, while redshirt freshman right side
Ashtyn Richey notched seven kills with no errors to hit .636. Senior outside hitter
Jessica Wooten had five kills and six digs and junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had five kills and five blocks. Junior setter
Madison O'Brien dished out 18 assists and had eight digs, freshman setter
Abby Gargus had 17 assists and four aces, while senior libero
Hailey Erickson led HBU defensively with 14 digs.
Nicole Robinson hit .462 and paced the Tigers (0-1) with seven kills and five blocks, while Alexis Austin had five kills. Asia Howard and Alyssa Chuidian each had nine assists, while Chuidian, Cassidy Jannson and Ellena Torres each had eight digs.
HBU posted 47 kills with 12 errors, while TSU had 22 kills and 17 errors. The Huskies outdug the Tigers, 45-36, and outblocked them, 9-6. HBU also held the advantage from the service line, with nine aces to TSU's one.
Leading 4-3 in the first, HBU reeled off a five-point run, capped with an ace by sophomore defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis. A pair of kills by Gillard around an HBU service error put the Huskies ahead, 20-14. After a sideout by the Tigers, the Huskies scored four-straight to get to set point. TSU got a kill by Robinson, but Wooten put the set away with a kill for a 25-16 decision.
TSU led early in the second, 8-5, but Gillard got the momentum back on HBU's side with a kill and followed up with an ace. A pair of blocks by Davenport and a kill by Gargus capped a seven-point run to put HBU ahead, 12-8. Later, a kill by Richey punctuated a four-point run and a stretch where the Huskies scored 11 of 12 points to lead, 16-9. Leading 20-14, a pair of kills by Gillard came during another four-point surge to extend the advantage to 10 and get to set point. Austin had a kill to hold off HBU for one more point, but Banks ended the set with a kill and a 25-15 win.
The Huskies came out of the break on fire, scoring the first nine points of the third set behind the serving of Gargus. She had three aces and Banks added three kills during the opening run. HBU led by 10 at 13-3 and TSU was only able to close within seven at 17-10. Leading 22-14, Banks and Gillard put together back-to-back kills to get to set point. On the final play of the match, Erickson made a dig, which clipped the top of the net and fell inbounds to end the match on a kill for the libero and a final tally of 25-14.
The remainder of the Barcelona HBU Classic scheduled for Friday and Saturday has been cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Harvey.
