HOUSTON – No. 2 seed HBU was stopped by No. 3 seed McNeese, 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 25-20), in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon in Sharp Gym.
 
Senior outside hitter Mikayla Vivens led the Huskies (21-8) with 10 kills and added six digs, while freshman outside hitter Alexia Jones had seven kills and seven digs. Senior middle blocker Ebonie Ballesteros had five kills and six blocks and junior right side Anna Gadway was held to three kills and also had six blocks. Junior setter Ellie Wipf had six kills, 20 assists and five digs. Sophomore libero Kaley Feris came up with 16 digs.
 
Anyse Smith had 25 kills for McNeese (18-10), while Aryn Johnson had 18 kills and 12 digs. Macee Krpec added nine kills. Ceci Harness had 26 assists and Baylee Laskoskie had 23. Lizzy Low led the Cowgirls defensively with 28 digs.
 
McNeese hit .214 for the match, while holding HBU to .148. The Cowgirls outdug the Huskies, 65-46, but were outblocked, 12-7. HBU had five aces and 17 service errors, while McNeese had four aces and 12 service errors.
 
The Huskies scored three-straight points to take an early 8-5 lead in the first set, but the Cowgirls rallied back and scored three-straight to take a three-point lead of its own at 14-11. Back-to-back kills by Smith extended McNeese's lead to five at 17-12, but HBU answered to close within 17-15. The Cowgirls scored five of the next six points to go up 22-16 and closed out the set on an ace by Gordon, 25-17. Smith and Johnson each had five kills in the set as McNeese hit .467.
 
HBU scored six of the first seven points in the second set and led, 10-4, before McNeese scored three in a row, the last two on back-to-back kills by Smith. The Huskies then reeled off a four-point run to extend their lead to 14-7. HBU led by as many as eight, but McNeese scored six of the next seven to make the score 17-14 and later tied the set at 21-21. McNeese took its first lead of the frame at 23-22, but HBU answered with a kill from Ballesteros. Jones was called for an attack error to give the Cowgirls set point, but Smith had an attack error of her own to keep it tied at 24-24. Smith then put away a kill and HBU was called for a block error on another attack by Smith to clinch the set for the Cowgirls, 26-24.
 
The third set was tied 7-7 when HBU scored three-straight points, but McNeese battled back and took a 14-13 lead. The Huskies regained the lead at 15-14, but the Cowgirls went on a four-point run to go back up, 18-15. HBU got up off the mat and ripped off seven-straight points to take a 23-19 lead. McNeese got back within two, but a service error put the Huskies at set point at 24-21. Johnson and Smith had back-to-back kills to get the Cowgirls within one, but Smith's attack error kept the Huskies alive with a 25-23 decision.
 
McNeese scored three of the first four points in the fourth and built a five-point lead at 12-7. The Cowgirls extended their advantage to 16-10, but the Huskies scored the next four to get back within two. HBU got within one four times, the last time at 21-20, before McNeese scored the last four points of the matchfor the 25-20 win.
 
The Huskies suffered their first home loss of the season, finishing with a 10-1 mark in Sharp Gym and will now await an invitation from one of the postseason tournaments.