Houston outside hitter Abbie Jackson (24) walks with her teammates after a game in the 2019 season at Fertitta Center. Jackson led the UH volleyball team in kills in both games over the weekend against SMU. | Armando Yanez/The Cougar
Following a canceled matchup due to COVID-19 concerns within the Prairie View A&M squad, the Houston volleyball team was back in play against SMU in a set of back-to-back games against the Mustangs.
UH (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) began its road trip in Dallas at the Moody Coliseum.
Here is how both games transpired:
Thursday
In the first leg of a back-to-back, the Cougars trounced the Mustangs in a clinical display with a three-set sweep: 25-19 in the first, 25-16 in the second and 25-22 in the third.
Sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jackson scored a team-high of 14 kills alongside junior outside hitter Kortlyn Henderson nodding eight kills. Furthermore, sophomore outside hitter Celeste Darling scored seven kills.
Running the team’s offense, freshman setter Annie Cooke dished out 20 assists. On the defensive end, junior libero Torie Frederick posted 20 digs in the match.
Friday
In the final game of the UH volleyball team’s doubleheader with SMU, the Cougars kept their five-game winning streak alive with a final score of 23-21 in a best-of-five-set on Friday evening.
UH’s Jackson filled the stat sheet with a team-high of 32 kills, while Henderson tallied 20 kills. Moreover, Cooke added an incredible 64 assists for the team.
Filling the team’s defensive statistics, sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos scored a game-high of 10 blocks for the Cougars.
Overall, it was an impressive performance by the Cougars on the road against the Mustangs, who were 11-5 against the AAC a season ago, which was good for first place in the conference’s west division.
The UH volleyball team will return back to action to take on the Tulane Green Wave next Thursday at the Athletics Alumni Center.
