Saturday, Feb. 20
| Houston 3, Tulane 1 (25-15, 25-12, 18-25, 25-18) |
Box Score |
Houston 3, Tulane 1
Behind a .328 hitting percentage, the University of Houston Volleyball team defeated Tulane by a score of 3-1 (25-15, 25-12, 18-25, 25-18) on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Cougars (6-1, 3-0 AAC) extend their winning streak to six, as Houston wasted no time jumping out in front of the Green Wave (4-6, 2-1 AAC), hitting .424 in the first set and .481 in the second.
Overall, Houston's offense posted a .328 hitting percentage, marking the fourth time in the last five matches the Cougars have surpassed the .300 plateau.
Set 1
Houston jumped out to a quick, 6-1, lead after an ace from freshman defensive specialist Sarah Martinez, forcing a timeout from Tulane.
As the Green Wave started to claw back, junior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson bounced one off the Tulane libero to put Houston in front 14-10.
A block at the net from sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jackson and junior middle blocker Isabel Theut pushed the Houston advantage to six.
The Cougars never let their foot off the gas, ending the set on a 9-2 run to win 25-15 and take a 1-0 match lead.
Set 2
Another strong start from the Cougars gave Houston an early five-point edge at 6-1.
After a crosscourt set from freshman setter Annie Cooke that resulted in a kill from sophomore right-side hitter Celeste Darling, Houston found itself ahead 11-6.
Martinez continued to show off her serving prowess, as her third ace of the match stretched Houston's lead to double-digits.
Behind a .481 hitting percentage in the frame, Houston rolled to the 25-12 set victory to take a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3
Houston found itself trailing by as many as four to start the frame and the fourth service ace from Martinez brought the deficit to just two at 11-9.
Tulane stretched its lead to five at 17-12, forcing a timeout from Houston, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome, as the Green Wave took the set by a score of 25-18.
Set 4
A tightly contested battle from both sides is how the fourth set started out, but an overpass kill from sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos gave Houston the two-point edge at 10-8.
The Green Wave fought back to tie the score at 14, but a monster kill from junior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson went off the head of a Tulane player to put the Cougars back in front by a score.
Houston's lead was stretched to three following a huge solo block from Darling, giving the Cougars a 20-17 lead.
After Tulane scored the next point, Houston closed out the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-18 and take the 3-1 match victory.
INSIDE THE BOX
Houston has started conference play 3-0 for the second year in a row.
Houston's six-match win streaks marks its third consecutive year stringing together a win streak of at least six.
Houston held Tulane to a .189 hitting percentage, the fourth time this season the Cougars have held their opponent to under .200.
Behind a career-high four aces from freshman defensive specialist Sarah Martinez, Houston posted a season-high 11 service aces.
Sophomore outsider Abbie Jackson put down 26 kills off a career-high .418 hitting percentage.
Junior libero Torie Frederick logged 21 digs, her third match in a row surpassing the 20-dig mark. She has reached that plateau in five of seven matches this season.
Freshman setter Annie Cooke logged her second double-double in as many contests, finishing Saturday with 44 assists and a career-high 14 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos recorded a season-high 11 blocks, the most by a Cougar this year. It's the fifth time in her career she has posted double-digit blocks in a contest.