HOUSTON – HBU senior outside hitter
Bailey Banks had 16 kills to lead the Huskies to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-16) victory over Lamar in Southland Conference volleyball Thursday night at Sharp Gym.
Banks nearly had a double-double, adding nine digs, while senior outside
Jessica Wooten also fell one tally shy of the mark with nine kills and a match-high 13 digs for HBU (11-5, 3-1 SLC). Redshirt freshman right side
Ashtyn Richey added six kills, while junior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport had four kills and eight blovcks. Senior libero
Hailey Erickson came up with eight digs and sophomore defensive specialist
Hannah Lewis had six. Freshman setter
Abby Gargus posted 30 assists, eight digs and four kills
Tomar Thomas led Lamar (2-11, 0-3) with eight kills and Amy Hollowell had six kills, tied for the team lead with 10 digs and had six blocks. Murielle Hlavac had four kills and 10 digs, while Ivette Dim had four kills and eight blocks. Haley Morton recorded 24 assists.
HBU hit .220, while stifling Lamar to an .018 hitting percentage. The Huskies outdug the Cardinals, 50-46, outblocked them, 12-10, and had four aces to Lamar's none. In all three of its league victories, HBU has not been aced.
In the first set, HBU ripped off five-straight points to lead, 13-8, then extended the lead to 17-10. The Huskies led, 20-14, but Dim blocked three-straight, then had a kill as the Cardinals knotted the score at 20. Wooten stopped the run with a kill, then Gillard gave the Huskies a two-point lead. Banks put away the final two points for a 25-22 win.
HBU hit .419 in the second set, recording 14 kills and only one error, including seven by Banks. Lamar took an early 5-4 lead, but the Huskies scored four in a row to lead by three. A short three-point spurt put some distance between the two teams as HBU led 14-8. Banks got the Huskies to set point with a kill, then took the set on an error, 25-14.
For the second time in the match, HBU held Lamar to a .000 hitting percentage with the Cardinals notching eight kills and eight errors in the third. Gillard and Gargus teamed up for a block to stake HBU to a 10-5 lead and force a Lamar timeout. The Huskies still led by five at 17-12, but scored four-straight to take control with a nine-point advantage. HBU would go on to win the set by that margin, 25-16.
The Huskies return to action when they host Stephen F. Austin Saturday at 1 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
