HOUSTON – HBU jumped out to two-set lead, but Lamar rallied to send it to a fifth set, before the Huskies finally prevailed, 3-2 (25-16, 25-21, 22-25, 16-25, 15-7), in Southland Conference volleyball Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
Senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport hit .462 with 15 kills and four blocks for the Huskies (11-13, 4-6 SLC), while sophomore outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens recorded her league-leading 17
th double-double with 10 kills, 13 digs and three aces. Sophomore middle blocker
Megan Patillo and sophomore right side
Ashtyn Richey each added eight kills. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien dished out 39 assists to go along with 13 digs and six kills. Freshman outside hitter
Catherine Drapela also had six kills. Freshman defensive specialist
Cici Collins led HBU defensively with a career-high 16 kills and recorded three aces, while junior libero
Hannah Lewis had nine digs.
Tomar Thomas led Lamar (6-15, 3-7) with 13 kills, eight digs and three blocks, while Dannisha House, Abigale Nash and Ivette Dim each had nine kills, with Dim chipping four blocks. Nash also tied Erin Pequeno for the team lead with 13 digs. Kyla Rogers recorded 38 assists and nine digs.
The Huskies hit .219, while the Cardinals hit .230. HBU outdug Lamar, 63-54, and outblocked them, 7-5. The Huskies recorded 10 aces and 12 service errors, with the Cardinals serving up seven aces and 16 errors.
With the first set tied, 10-10, HBU scored four-straight points. Still leading at 17-15, the Huskies ripped off seven-straight points, which included a pair of aces by O'Brien and two kills by Vivens to get to set point. Richey put the set away with a kill for a 25-16 win.
Lamar rallied from a 17-14 deficit in the second to score four in a row to take the lead. With the set tied 19-19, O'Brien came through with a kill and a ball-handling error by the Cardinals made it a two-point lead. A kill by Davenport and an ace by Vivens gave the Huskies a 23-20 lead, then a service error by Lamar and an ace by Lewis clinched the set, 25-21.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third, but the Huskies battled back and eventually took a 14-13. Richey was injured on the play that gave HBU the lead and did not return to the match, then Lamar scored six-straight points after the delay to go up by five. The Huskies closed within two at 23-21, before the Cardinals claimed a 25-22 decision.
Lamar then scored eight of the first nine points of the fourth behind the serving of Monica Strohschein. HBU never got closer than four points and the Cardinals scored the last five points of the set for a 25-16 victory to even the match and two sets apiece.
Collins served first in the fifth and started it off with back-to-back aces, then the Huskies added five more points, including a block and back-to-back kills by Vivens, for a 7-0 lead. An ace by Vivens pushed the advantage to 12-3 and a kill by Drapela made the score 13-5. Patillo got HBU to set point with a kill and Drapela put it away for a 15-7 victory.
The Huskies return to action when they host Abilene Christian for Dig Pink Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by Sam Houston State Saturday at 1 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
