HOUSTON – HBU used another balanced attack to sweep Texas Southern, 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-23), in non-conference volleyball Tuesday night at H&PE Arena.
Sophomore outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens posted her third double-double in four matches with 11 kills and 10 digs for the Huskies (4-0). Senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport hit .500 with nine kills and freshman outside hitter
Kelly Colwell had nine kills and seven digs. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien recorded 21 assists and three aces, splitting time with sophomore
Morgan Dewyer, who dished out 18 assists. Freshman outside hitter
Jada Allen had five kills with no errors and freshman middle blocker
Ebonie Ballesteros chipped in with four kills. Junior libero
Hannah Lewis led HBU with 11 digs.
Kirby Anderson hit .467 with eight kills and three blocks for the Lady Tigers (0-4). Jada Hall recorded seven kills and four digs and Eboni Mitchell registered four kills. Breyanna York had 19 assists and three aces. On the defensive side for TSU, Jordan Brown came up with 10 digs and April Brown posted four blocks.
HBU hit .290 for the match and held TSU to .118. The Huskies outdug the Lady Tigers, 36-30, but TSU outblocked them, 6-2. HBU had nine aces to TSU's four.
The Huskies led 8-4 in the first set, before ripping off eight-straight points behind the serve of Vivens. Davenport had three kills, while Vivens had one and an ace to lead 16-4. A kill by Vivens got HBU to set point, then she finished off the set with an ace for a 25-13 win.
O'Brien was the first server of the second set as HBU jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Colwell had back-to-back kills to start off the run and O'Brien served up three aces. TSU battled back to within two at 15-13, but would get no closer. Leading 21-17, the Huskies scored three in a row, before closing out the set, 25-18.
The third set was tightly contested as neither team led by more than three the entire frame. The Lady Tigers led 21-20, but Ballesteros tied it with a kill and an ace by Colwell gave the Huskies the lead. After a side-out by TSU knotted the score at 22, back-to-back kills by Vivens and Allen put HBU at set point. Anderson pulled TSU back within one, but Vivens once again put the final point away for the 25-23 decision.
The Huskies return to action at the Rice Adidas Invitational to face Liberty, South Carolina and Rice Friday and Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
