Houston didn’t lose a set in either of its games at Texas Tech. | Anh Le/The Cougar
No. 22 UH volleyball bounced back from its two losses to No. 7 Texas, going on the road and sweeping Texas Tech twice in dominant fashion.
Game 1
The UH volleyball team dominated Big 12 rival Texas Tech in a 3-0 matchup on Friday night in Lubbock.
Though the Red Raiders were the first to put a point on the scoreboard, UH proved unstoppable.
After two kills from graduate student outside hitter Abbie Jackson, that would be the last time Texas Tech took the upper hand.
A total of 10 kills from Jackson and seven from graduate student outside hitter Kenna Sauer helped the Cougars overshadow the Raiders 25-12 in the first set.
Texas Tech came to play in the second set, leading the scoreboard most of the game until a kill from Sauer tied it up 18-18.
Three attack errors from Texas Tech and two kills from Jackson and Sauer widened the gap 24-20.
The Raiders fought hard off a service error from Houston but fell short when they played an error and gave UH the final point of the second set, 25-23.
Houston started strong in the third and final set with kills from junior middle blocker Kellen Morin.
Texas Tech would never see the lead again as the Cougars benefitted from four errors and a service ace to bump the score to 10-3.
Try as they might, the Raiders could not match UH’s six kills and three aces, only adding six errors of their own including the game point.
Houston took the third game 25-11.
Game 2
UH program defeated Texas Tech in a clean sweep again Saturday afternoon.
In the first set, the Raiders held the lead against Houston 15-11 at the media timeout. Texas Tech continued to hold onto their advantage until Houston made a late comeback causing Texas Tech to call a timeout with the score 21-20.
Shortly after that, Houston held onto their lead forcing Texas Tech to call another timeout, right before Houston grabbed their first set of the match. Sauer scored six kills in this set meanwhile senior Kate Georgiades and Jackson both earned six digs together.
Continuing into the second set, Houston hit the ground running attaining a comfortable lead, leading Texas Tech to call a timeout following the 7-2 deficit. Following the timeout, the Red Raiders began to make a small comeback until the Cougars answered with a flurry of kills, causing another Texas Tech timeout with a score of 15-11.
After the second timeout, Houston kept their lead, swiftly gaining their second set of the match. Senior middle blocker Annie Cooke logged five digs while junior middle blocker Kellen Morin, graduate outside hitter Nena Mbonu and Sauer each scored two kills.
Concluding the match in the third set, Houston started with a small lead while Texas Tech was close behind. The Cougars began to further their lead when Texas Tech called a timeout with the score at 12-7.
The Red Raiders responded, however, and made a comeback tying the game at 14. The set was evenly matched with each kill answered back with another until Houston sparked a run to force Texas Tech to call its final timeout in the set, 18-15.
After the timeout, the Red Raiders began to come back and close the margin to a close 22-20 deficit causing Houston to call a timeout of their own. Not long after, though Houston scored the final three kills of the match.
UH improved to 11-7 after the two games and 4-5 in the Big 12. Houston will travel to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Oct. 29.
