Senior outside hitter Megan Duncan played in all but one game for the Cougars in the 2019 Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup. | Kathryn Lenihan/The Cougar
After two days of play from Friday to Saturday, Houston wrapped up the 2019 Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup, where it hosted Arizona State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UT Arlington and Louisiana State at the Fertitta Center.
Many hard-fought sets and matches were well on display by UH, but it was unable to come out victorious in any of its four matches.
Houston kicked off the tournament with an opening match against Arizona State, where the Cougars came out strong early on in the first set. ASU bounced back from an early deficit and rallied to just pull away with a 25-23 victory in the first set.
The Cougars started the second set a bit slowly but quickly regained their composure as they went on to win the set 25-23 and even the match up at a set each. The third set proved to be ASU’s best set, as it came out strong and never looked back, taking the set by a score of 25-16.
A late rally came for the Cougars in the fourth set, but the Sun Devils managed to pull it out and take the 3-1 win.
Houston’s second game of the tournament came against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and the first set was a strong one for both teams. The Cougars came back late in the first set, but the Islanders dug deep and pulled out the win 27-25 to go up one set to none.
An even set early on was quickly taken by TAMCC as it took the driver’s seat in the second set to go up two sets to none over UH.
Down two sets, the Cougars would not stop fighting back to try to pull off a comeback in the match. Late set action came down to the wire, but the Cougars fell short, losing the third set 25-23 as the Islanders won the match three sets to none.
More action followed the next day when Houston opened day two of the tournament against UT Arlington, looking to get over the two losses in the first day. Both teams started strong early in the first set, but the Cougars were able to pull away and win by a score of 25-18 and take a one-set match lead.
The second set was much like the first. The Cougars played focused and determined to win the match. They would go on to win the second set and keep a good lead heading late into the third set.
The Mavericks rallied late to stay in the match and win the third set, and they would use that momentum going forward to win the fourth set to even the match at two sets each. A competitive last set showed the fight in both teams, but UTA ultimately came out with the fifth set and match victory.
In the final match of the tournament, UH met LSU and quickly took over the first set, barely escaping 25-23 and taking a 1-0 lead over the Tigers.
A dominant second set saw the Tigers tying up the sets at one before continuing their strong push heading into the third set against the Cougars.
LSU would come out with a two to one set lead heading into the fourth set. Much like the second and third, LSU quickly jumped out to take control, coming out victorious in the match three sets to one.
Houston will see the court again versus McNeese State Sept. 3 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
