HOUSTON – HBU was handed its first loss of the season by Liberty, 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-18) in the opener of the Rice Adidas Volleyball Invitational Friday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Sophomore outside hitter
Mikayla Vivens posted her fourth double-double in five matches with 11 kills and 11 digs for the Huskies (4-1). Redshirt freshman outside hitter
Kelly Colwell registered nine kills and came up with six digs. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien also had a double-double with 25 assists and 10 digs. Senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport added four kills and four blocks, while junior libero
Hannah Lewis had eight digs.
Victoria Baptista and Amelia Johnson each had nine kills for the Flames (2-3). Baptista also led the Liberty with 12 digs and Margaret Latchford had nine. Anna Gragg contributed eight kills and three blocks. Hannah Morris recorded 31 assists and seven digs.
Liberty hit .280 for the match, with HBU hitting .178. The Huskies outdug the Flames, 42-40, and outblocked them, 7-6. Liberty held a 10-3 advantage in service aces.
The Huskies led early in the first set, but five-straight points by the Flames put them ahead by three. After HBU closed back within one, a four-point spurt gave Liberty at 13-8 lead. The Flames led by as many as eight as 20-12, before closing out the set 25-18.
HBU took a three-point lead at 11-8 in the second, but Liberty tied it up with three-straight points. The Huskies fell behind, 14-13, but reeled off a five-point run behind three-straight kills by Vivens and an ace by Patillo. The Huskies led by five at 23-18 and got to set point at 24-20. Liberty then mounted a furious comeback, scoring four in a row to tie the frame. HBU sided out on a kill by Richey, but Liberty scored the final three points of the set to pull out a 27-25 decision.
With the third set tied, 11-11, Liberty scored three-consecutive points, but HBU closed back with one. The Flames then followed with a four-point surge to extend their lead to six. Liberty went on to take the match with a 25-18 win.
The Huskies face South Carolina at 1:30, then host Rice at 7 p.m. Saturday to conclude the tournament.
