HOUSTON – HBU started off the day with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 26-24) victory over Cornell, but dropped the final to host Houston, 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 25-14), in non-conference volleyball at the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup Saturday at the UH Athletics/Alumni Center.
Against Cornell, redshirt freshman
Kelly Colwell led the Huskies (6-5) with 13 kills and added four aces. Senior middle blocker
Kayla Davenport posted 11 kills and eight blocks, while sophomore middle blocker
Megan Patillo had 11 kills and four blocks. Sophomore right side
Ashtyn Richey had seven kills and six blocks. Senior setter
Madison O'Brien paced the offense with 36 assists, four kills and 14 digs, while junior libero
Hannah Lewis came up with 17 digs.
Jillienne Bennett led Cornell with 17 kills, while Carla Sganderlia had 11 kills and eight blocks and Jenna Phelps had 11 kills. Zoe Chamness recorded 30 assists and Katie Randolph had 18. Lily Barber led the Big Red with 21 digs.
The first set was tied, 9-9, then HBU scored the next three points. The Big Red came back to tie it at 14 and it remained knotted until Cornell scored three-straight to lead 19-16. After the Huskies sided out, the Big Red followed with a four-point run to extend their lead to six and went on to take the set, 25-22.
The Huskies scored six of the first seven points of the second set and quickly built a 12-point lead at 17-5. HBU led by as many as 13 at 22-9 and evened the match with a 25-14 rout. The third set was tied, 7-7, but the Huskies scored three in a row, including back-to-back kills by Richey. The Big Red scored four of the next five to tie the set at 11. The score was still tied at 19, but a block by Patillo and Richey and a kill by Patillo put HBU up by two. A kill by Davenport got the Huskies to set point, then Vivens put it away for a 25-22 lead.
Cornell took an early lead in the fourth, then HBU tied it, 9-9. The Huskies trailed, 13-11, before scoring three in a row for their first lead of the set. Neither team led by more than a point and the set remained tied, 19-19. A kill and an ace by Colwell put HBU ahead by two and they led by three at 23-20 after a kill by Davenport. The Huskies had set point at 24-22, but the Big Red battled back to tie it. An attack error by Sganderlia once again gave HBU set point, then the match ended on a Cornell ball handling error.
Against UH, Colwell recorded a career-high 16 kills and 13 digs, while Vivens had 12 kills and 12 digs. Patillo and Davenport each had seven kills, with Patillo adding six blocks. O'Brien had 46 assists and 10 digs and Lewis led the Huskies with 14 digs.
Megan Duncan led the Cougars (11-1) with 12 kills to go along with seven digs, Gabi Zelaya had 11 kills and nine digs and Faith Squier had 10 kills. Abby Irvine recorded 25 assists and Katie Krebs had 15. Katie Karbo led UH with 15 digs.
UH hit .304, while holding HBU to .174. The Cougars also outdug the Huskies, 64-59, and each team had nine blocks.
The Huskies return to action at the UTRGV Tournament against Texas Tech, Texas Southern and UT Rio Grande Valley Friday and Saturday in Edinburg, Texas.
