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HOUSTON – Rice held HBU to its lowest attack percentage of the season as the Owls claimed a 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 25-16) win in non-conference volleyball Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Senior outside hitter Jessica Wooten led the Huskies (7-2) with 18 kills and had 16 digs for her eighth double-double of the season, while senior outside hitter Bailey Banks posted 15 kills and 12 digs for her seventh. Freshman setter Abby Gargus handed out 35 assists and added six kills and nine digs and senior libero Hailey Erickson led HBU defensively with 19 digs.
 
Nicole Lennon recorded 20 kills and 13 digs for Rice (7-4), while McKay Kyle had 10 kills, Grace Morgan had nine and Seyvion Waggoner had eight. Madison McDaniel dished out 53 assists and had nine digs. Lauren Lee led the Owls with 18 digs, Lee Ann Cunningham had 16 and Julianna Dole had 11.
 
Rice hit .252, while HBU hit only .125. The Owls outdug the Huskies, 80-70, outblocked them, 7-6, and had four aces to HBU's three.
 
The first set was tied 18-18, but the Owls scored five of the next six points to lead, 23-19. An ace by Erickson got the Huskies back within two, but Rice scored the final two points of the set for a 25-21 decision.
 
Rice scored the first four points of the second to force an HBU timeout, but the Huskies regrouped to score the next three. The Huskies were still within one at 8-7 until the Owls reeled off another four in a row for a five-point advantage. HBU scored five of the next six to cut the deficit to one 15-14, but Rice rebounded to score the next two. The Huskies took another timeout after falling behind 20-17, but scored four in a row to take a one-point lead. The Owls answered by scoring the next four to get to set point, but the Huskies tied it up at 24 on a back-row kill by Wooten. Rice held on by scoring the last two points to take a 2-0 lead into the break, edging HBU, 26-24.
 
In the third, HBU broke a tie with three-consecutive points to take an 18-15 lead on an ace by sophomore defensive specialist Hannah Lewis. The Owls closed to within one at 21-20, but Banks came up with a kill, then Wooten got the Huskies to set point at 24-21. Rice fought off a pair of set points, before Wooten put it away with a kill for a 25-23 win.
 
Any HBU momentum from the third set was quickly dashed as Rice jumped out to an 11-2 lead. The Owls extended their lead to 11 at 15-4, but the Huskies mounted a furious comeback by ripping off a seven-point run to cut their deficit to four. Rice recovered and held off HBU, 25-16, to close out the match.
 
The Huskies will make their final tuneup before Southland Conference play at UT Arlington Maverick Classic this weekend at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. HBU faces UC Davis at 2:30 p.m., then host UTA at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by Arizona State Saturday at 10 a.m.