Saturday, Feb. 21

Houston 3, Tulane 1 (25-19, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18)

Box Score

Houston 3, Tulane 1

The University of Houston Volleyball won its seventh-straight match on Sunday afternoon, taking down Tulane by a score of 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18).

Sunday's win also marks the Cougars' (7-1, 4-0 AAC) fourth in a row to start conference action. It's the second time in the past two years Houston has begun league play 4-0. This win also marks the first season series win against the Green Wave (4-7, 2-2 AAC) since 2017.

Houston's defense shined on Sunday, holding Tulane to a .096 hitting percentage, the lowest percentage by a Houston opponent this season. That percentage was in large part behind Houston's 18 blocks, the most in program history for a four-set match.

Set 1

Tulane jumped out to a quick, three-point lead at the 5-2 mark before Houston bounced back and went on a 7-1 run to take a three-point edge of its own.
After the Green Wave tied it up at a 11, the Cougars slowly built a 19-15 lead, courtesy of a solo block from sophomore Celeste Darling that forced a Tulane timeout.
The break in action never stopped the Cougars from keeping their momentum, as they took the 25-19 set-one victory, behind sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jackson's eight kills off a .636 percentage.

Set 2

Tulane came out to another quick advantage, scoring the first five points of the set to grab a 5-0 lead.
Houston clawed its way back and eventually tied the score at 10, courtesy of a kill from junior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson.
From there, the teams struggled to gain an edge on the other, but Houston managed to build itself a 16-13 lead, forcing a timeout from Tulane.
Following back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Isabel Theut and Jackson, the Cougars found themselves ahead 20-15, where they never looked back in route to the 25-19 set win to take a 2-0 match lead.

Set 3

The Green Wave opened up a six-point lead at the 13-7 mark, forcing a timeout from Houston, but the Cougars were never able to recover from the deficit, falling in the third 25-17.

Set 4

A double block from Theut and junior right side hitter Kendall Haywood gave Houston its first lead of the set at 5-4.
After Tulane tied the score at six, Houston scored four of the next five points to grab a three-point edge at 10-7.
The Green Wave closed the gap to a pair, but a mini 3-0 run from the Cougars built the lead back to five at 14-9, resulting in a timeout from Tulane.
The deficit would be too much to overcome for the Green Wave, as Houston went on the win the set 25-18 to claim the 3-1 match win.

INSIDE THE BOX

Houston has started conference play 4-0 for the second year in a row.
Houston's seven-match win streak marks its third consecutive year stringing together a win streak of at least seven.
Houston held Tulane to a .096 hitting percentage, the lowest mark from a Houston opponent this season.
Houston's serve-receive was a perfect 100 percent off of 76 tries.
Houston recorded a season-high 18 blocks against Tulane. Those 18 blocks are a program-record for a four-set match.
Junior middle blocker Isabel Theut posted a career-high 11 blocks in the match, tying sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos for most blocks by a Cougar this season. The 11 blocks are tied for fifth-most in program history for blocks in a four-set match. 
Sophomore outsider Abbie Jackson put down 20 kills, her third consecutive match surpassing the 20-kill mark.
Junior libero Torie Frederick led all players with 17 digs.