HOUSTON – The HCU women's volleyball team opened the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament with two matches on Friday, as the Huskies hosted four contests throughout the day at Sharp Gym.
The tournament schedule featured HCU vs. St. Thomas at 10 a.m., Bethune-Cookman vs. Southern Miss at 12:30 p.m., St. Thomas vs. Bethune-Cookman at 4 p.m., and HCU vs. Southern Miss at 6:30 p.m.
In their morning matchup, the Huskies fell to St. Thomas in straight sets (18-25, 20-25, 13-25). HCU battled back-and-forth in the opening set before the Tommies used a late 5–0 run to pull away. The second set saw the Huskies rally from an early deficit to pull within three, but St. Thomas held off the push to take the frame. The Tommies controlled the third set behind a strong offensive stretch to close out the match.
Allana Archie and
Katy Barger led HCU with six kills apiece, while
Peyton Fadal handed out 24 assists. On the defensive side,
Bianca Byerly and
Anna Melgren anchored the back row with 11 digs each.
In the nightcap, HCU dropped a three-set contest to Southern Miss (18-25, 16-25, 14-25). The Huskies opened the first set trading points before the Golden Eagles used a run midway through to take control. In the second, HCU held a brief lead early before Southern Miss answered with consecutive points to regain momentum. The third set saw the Huskies cut the deficit to two late, but Southern Miss closed on a 6–1 run to seal the match. Archie finished with nine kills and two aces to pace the Huskies, while Barger added seven kills. Fadal tallied 27 assists and seven digs, and Byerly and
Savanna Stevens each picked up seven digs.
The Huskies will close out tournament play tomorrow, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman at Sharp Gym.
