Thursday, Jan. 28

Houston 3, SFA 1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21)	Box Score
Houston 3, SFA 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-14)	Box Score
Southeastern La. 3, Tulane 1 (32-30, 23-25, 19-25, 22-25)	Box Score

Houston 3, SFA 1; Houston 3, SFA 0

Behind a combined hitting percentage of .338, the University of Houston Volleyball team's offense guided the Cougars to a pair of victories over Stephen F. Austin on Thursday inside the Athletics/Alumni Center.

The Cougars (3-1) began the day taking down the Ladyjacks (10-4) by a score of 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21) and posting a clip of .327, before sweeping (25-16, 25-14, 25-14) SFA in the second matchup, behind a .357 hitting percentage.

Thursday's matchups were the second and third time that Houston has reached a .300 hitting percentage in the David Rehr era, having won all three occasions.

Houston's offense erupted for 64 kills in the first contest, marking the most kills in a four-set match since the Cougars recorded 67 in the 3-1 win over UCF on Oct. 20, 2017. The Cougars saw a balanced attack with five different players surpassing the double-digit kill mark.

In the second matchup of the day, everyone that recorded an attack for Houston also posted a kill, resulting in another steady balance in the Cougars' offense. The .357 hitting percentage is the highest in a single match since the Cougars posted a .369 mark in the 3-1 win over Lamar on Sept. 8, 2018.

MATCH 1: Houston 3, SFA 1

Set 1
Houston wasted no time making its presence felt and went up 8-2 after an ace from junior libero Torie Frederick cemented the hot start for the Cougars.
Sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jackson continued to pace the offense and notched her fourth kill to put Houston ahead 13-6.
Another kill from Jackson stretched the lead to 19-11, where the Cougars ran away with the 25-16 set win.
Set 2
After a slow start from the Cougars, Houston was forced to call a timeout, trailing 14-9.
Houston brought the score to within three at 17-14, but the deficit was too much to overcome, falling 25-19 in the set.
Set 3
A back row attack from Jackson set the tone for Houston, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The seventh kill of the match from sophomore middle blocker Isabel Theut kept the Cougars without an error in the set, leading 9-3.
Junior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson slammed home a thundering kill to put Houston out in front, 14-8.
Sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos showed why she's one of the best in the country, as her solo stop gave the Cougars a 10-point advantage, where they never looked back in route to the 25-13 win.
Set 4
Houston found itself in a six-point deficit early, trailing 12-6 before the Cougars called a break in action.
The Cougars came out of the timeout a strung together a 9-3 run to tie the score at 15.
With the score knotted at 20, Houston closed out the set scoring five of the final six points to set seal the 25-21 win and match victory.

MATCH 2: Houston 3, SFA 0

Set 1
Houston's presence at the net was felt early on with a couple of overpasses from SFA that resulted in kills for the Cougars.
Holding a 15-10 advantage, the Cougars scored three unanswered points to stretch the lead eight, which proved to be the difference in the 25-16 set win.
Set 2
With a two-point edge, Houston began to pull away in the second set after a surprise dump-off from freshman setter Annie Cooke to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead.
The Cougars then stretched the advantage to 21-13, forcing a timeout from the Ladyjacks, but the deficit proved too overwhelming as Houston took a 2-0 match lead, courtesy of the 25-14 set two victory.
Set 3
Serving played a prevalent role early, as four the first eight points from the Cougars came from service aces.
Houston managed to build itself a seven-point lead at 16-9, resulting in a SFA timeout.
The Cougars came out of the break and closed out the set on a 9-5 run to win 25-14 and cement the 3-0 sweep.

Southeastern La. 3, Tulane 1

The Tulane volleyball team (2-1) opened action at home on Thursday, falling 1-3 (32-30, 23-25, 19-25, 22-25) to Southeastern Louisiana (1-0) in the Hertz Center.

"SELU made the plays at the crucial times and we did not," head coach Jim Barnes said. "We are still trying to find our identity and our best lineup. We will go back to work and get ready for SFA."

Senior outside hitter Lexie Douglas led the Green Wave's offense, totaling 16 kills while hitting .382. Freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Martin and junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins each added 12 kills while junior right side hitter Yvette Burcescu recorded 10.

Martin earned her first double-double in an Olive and Blue uniform in the match, also adding 16 digs.

Junior setter Amanda Giardina also recorded her second double-double this season, notching 31 assists and 13 digs in four sets of action. Junior setter Taylor Henigsman added 17 assists.

Junior outside hitter Makala Heidelberg led Tulane defensively, totaling 18 kills.

Both teams started the match off strong with a back-and-forth battle before Tulane was able to take an 11-10 lead. That point ignited a 6-0 run from the Green Wave, putting the home team ahead with a 15-11 score. Southeastern came back to tie it up at 19-19, with both teams showing up how they started as the set went into extra points before Tulane was able to close it out, 32-30.

The Olive and Blue jumped out to an early lead in the second, with a 10-2 run putting Tulane ahead with an 11-6 score. Southeastern came back to close the score gap, making it a one-point game at 16-15 to force a Tulane timeout. The Lions ended up taking the lead, winning the set 25-23 to even the match at 1-1.

SELU held the lead for most of the third set, ultimately closing it out with a 25-19 score to a take a 2-1 lead in the match. Kills from Burcescu, Davis and Martin helped to close the gap toward the end of the set, but weren't enough to put the Green Wave back on top.

The Lions jumped out to an early lead in the fourth before a 4-0 run forced a Southeastern timeout and put the Green Wave on top, 14-12. The remainder of the set was filled with back-and-forth points and seven tie scored before SELU closed out the match, 2-1, avoiding a fifth set of action.