LAFAYETTE, Louisiana – HBU remained undefeated to start the season, edging Jacksonville State, 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 25-14, 21-25, 15-8), in the finale of the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic at Earl K. Long Gym. Senior outside hitter
Bailey Banks earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player honors.
"Today was a great team effort," HBU head coach
Trent Herman said. "Both times we faced adversity in losing a set, we responded well, especially in the fifth set when we held their offense to a .000 hitting percentage. I am proud of the way we played with all that is going on at home and with very limited practice this past week. To go 3-0 and win the tournament championship is a great accomplishment for us and we are excited to bring this title home to HBU. I also want to express special thanks to the University of Louisiana for being such a great host to us."
Senior outside hitter
Jessica Wooten, who was named to the all-tournament team, recorded her third double-double of the tournament with 15 kills and 18 digs, while
Bailey Banks notched her second-straight with 16 kills and 12 digs. Redshirt freshman right side
Ashtyn Richey added 12 kills and junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport hit .688 with 11 kills and no errors. Freshman setter
Abby Gargus paced the Huskies (4-0) with 54 assists, seven digs and five kills. Senior libero
Hailey Erickson chipped in with 11 digs and sophomore defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis had eight.
Charis Ludtke led JSU (4-2) with 13 kills, while Mackenzie Rombach had 11 and Allyson Zuhlke had 10. Hannah Kirk made 16 digs to lead the Gamecocks defensively, while Jennifer Hart tallied 33 assists and 10 digs.
The Gamecocks outhit the Huskies, .276-.264, but HBU held the advantage in digs, 59-57, and blocks, 6-4. The Huskies also held a huge advantage at the service line, with 13 aces to the Gamecocks' three.
In the decisive fifth set, HBU jumped out to a 7-1 lead behind three kills from Richey and aces by Gargus and Banks. JSU scored three-straight points to get to within three at 10-7, but HBU answered with a three-point run of its own. After the Gamecocks sided out, Banks came through with another kill, then a JSU attack error clinched the victory for HBU, 15-8.
HBU held an 11-10 lead in the first, but a six-point surge by JSU proved to be its undoing. The Huskies battled back to get within one at 20-19, but the Gamecocks rebounded by scoring the next four en route to a 25-20 win.
Richey got the Huskies off to a fast start in the second with a 7-3 lead. From there, HBU continued to extend its lead by as many as 11, before taking the set, 25-16. HBU also stormed out to a big lead in the third, 8-3, as Davenport had a pair of kill and Banks and Erickson each served up an ace. The Huskies led 14-8, then scored the next five for an 11-point margin. HBU went on to claim the set by that same total, 25-14, and take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, the Gamecocks took an early four-point lead and held the lead the rest of the way. Four consecutive points by JSU extended its lead to 17-10, but HBU rallied to cut the deficit to two at 20-18. The Gamecocks answered by scoring the next three points and tied the match at two sets apiece with a 25-21 decision.
HBU returns to action when it hosts Prairie View A&M Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
