HOUSTON – HBU held off McNeese for a sweep, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-23) to begin Southland Conference play Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
 
Junior right side Anna Gadway had 11 kills, seven digs and five blocks, while senior middle blocker Ebonie Ballesteros had 10 kills and nine blocks for the Huskies (10-5, 1-0 SLC). Sophomore outside hitter Sara Arroyo had nine kills and freshman outside hitter Alyssa May added eight kills. Junior setter Ellie Wipf recorded 38 assists and also had three kills, six digs and five blocks. Freshman defensive specialist Tatiana Evans came up with 11 digs, while sophomore libero Kaley Feris and freshman defensive specialist Alexia Jones each had eight.
 
Aryn Johnson led the Cowgirls (6-6, 0-1) with 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks. Kendall Glueck totaled eight kills and Regan Stiawalt had five kills and nine digs. Ceci Harness had 24 assists and seven digs, while Lizzy Low led McNeese defensively with 12 digs. Jaylin Gordon posted seven blocks to go along with three kills.
 
HBU hit .189, while McNeese hit .118. The Huskies outdug the Cowgirls, 48-46, outblocked them, 15-12, and outaced them, 3-2.
 
There were 16 ties and eight lead changes in the first set. McNeese led 21-20, but a kill by May tied it and a bad set by the Cowgirls and kill by Arroyo gave the Huskies a two-point lead. A kill by McNeese's Bria Plante was followed by a kill from Arroyo, then Plante had another kill followed by Arroyo putting away set point for the 25-23 decision.
 
With the second set tied at 7-7, HBU scored 10 of the next 11 points, including a six-point run, to lead 17-8. McNeese later answered with its own six-point spurt to get back within two at 20-18. Senior middle blocker Jada Allen made her first appearance of the match and immediately made an impact with a key block. Leading 22-20, the Huskies scored the last three points of the set, with Ballesteros getting the kill on set point.
 
The third was also a back-and-forth affair, with 15 ties and eight lead changes. HBU held a slim 13-12 advantage, but McNeese scored the next three to take a two-point lead. Coming out of a Husky timeout, the Cowgirls extended their lead to four at 18-14 on an ace by Johnson. HBU then scored the next five points, which included three blocks involving Ballesteros to take a 19-18 lead. McNeese tied the set on a kill by Plante, but another block by Ballesteros and a kill by May put HBU ahead by two. The Huskies went up 23-20, but the Cowgirls fought back to score the next three to tie the set. Gadway and freshman middle blocker Audrey Pearce teamed up on a block to end the McNeese run and force a timeout at set point. Gadway then served up an ace on match point to seal the victory.
 
The Huskies return to action when they host New Orleans Thursday at 6:30 p.m., followed by Nicholls Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sharp Gym.