Southern Miss
Houston
Volleyball Team Holds Off Houston, 3-1
10/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 16, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Golden Eagle volleyball team used a balanced scoring attack with four players tallying double-digit kills in defeating Houston, 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 21-15, 25-18), in Conference USA action Friday night.
Southern Miss improved to 19-3 overall and 7-1 in league play, while Houston dropped to 6-17 and 3-5.
The trio of Angela Hlavaty, Ashley Mell and Caitlin Clarke recorded 12 kills apiece and Sarah Jane Bowden added 11 for the Eagles. Maia Ivanova led the team defensively with a match-high 24 digs, Mell had 13 and Lisa Knecht added 12.
"I don't think we came out and played our best right away," Coach Ricci Luyties said. "But Houston is a good team and we knew we were going to be challenged. Like all of our matches so far, we've started out slow but we adjusted and played better throughout the match. We had four players in double figures with kills and that helped us to have a balanced attack. The only time I was disappointed was in the third set when we gave up a lead when they scored seven points in a row and I felt like we let that one slip away. Overall, I'm happy with our team because any conference win is good."
The Eagles popped out to 4-1 lead before Houston rallied to tie the set at 7-7 using a 6-3 run. After trading points, the Cougars took a 12-9 lead behind solid net play from Jasmine, Chandace Tryon and Kinsey Cave. Southern Miss fought back to tie the set at 12-12, but the teams continued to trade points during a span that saw six ties. With the scored tied at 21-21, Mell put down a kill to spark a 4-0 run for a 25-21 win.
The teams traded points to start the second set. Southern Miss then ran out to a 9-4 lead using a 7-2 run with four different Eagles registering a kill. Houston fought back to cut the lead to three, 13-10 with Cave doing most of the damage for the Cougars. The Eagles regrouped and cruised to a 25-16 win, out hitting Houston .353 to .109.
Southern Miss ran out to an 8-3 lead to start the set, but Houston mounted a comeback to cut the lead to one, 12-11. The Eagles were able to keep the Cougars at arms' length, leading by as many as four points (17-13). With Southern Miss leading 19-16, Houston rallied using a 7-0 run to take the lead for good in capturing set three, 25-21.
The Golden Eagles popped out to the early 3-1 lead to start the fourth set. Houston closed to within a point on two occasions with the last coming at, 8-7, before Southern Miss pushed the lead to 11-7. The Golden Eagles maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, getting timely kills from Hlavaty and Clarke, in addition to several big blocks by Bowden and Hlavaty in the 25-18 win.
Cave led Houston with 15 kills with Jasmine Terry adding a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Toazzi Marluci tallied 10 kills. Amanda Carson had a team-high 18 digs for the Cougars.
Southern Miss returns to action, hosting Rice on Sunday at 1 p.m.
