Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
The No. 19 Utah Utes and No. 24 BYU Cougars iced Houston out in the Fertitta Center last week to continue Houston’s three-match losing streak.
Senior outside hitter Katie Corelli made a statement, totaling 23 kills in the revenge matchups. The Utah native did not get recruited by either opponent. Her resilience allowed her to deliver the Cougars’ final point of the Utah match as she took another shot at the kill after her first attempt was saved by the foot of Utah’s Isabelle Marco.
Houston stayed competitive for much of the first match but it was untimely errors and miscommunications in the later portion of the sets that put out their fire.
Utah jumped to an early 9-5 lead in the first set, but Houston responded with four straight points to even the score at nine. A kill from junior outside hitter Avery Shimaitis and an ace from graduate setter Annie Cooke gave Houston its first lead of the night.
Back-to-back kills by Utah’s junior middle blocker Emrie Satuala tied the set at 19, but Shimaitis answered with two of her own, only for Satuala to strike back with another.
The teams traded points, but back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Lauren Jardine clinched the set for Utah.
The Utes dominated from the service line, tallying six aces in the second set, including two in a row from sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo.
With the score tied at five, Houston scored three straight points, featuring an ace from freshman middle blocker Addisyn Pohl, but Utah strung together five consecutive points to retake the lead.
The teams continued battling, but Houston couldn’t regain the advantage, as Utah took the final five points of the set, winning 25-19, aided by Houston’s errors.
In the third set, the Cougars took control from the service line, with redshirt junior middle blocker Ella Wendel scoring two straight aces to give Houston a 9-7 lead.
Corelli then delivered for the Cougars, scoring their 12th through 14th points to bring Houston within one.
Untimely errors continued as the Cougars recorded two from the service line to put Utah within three points of the victory.
Houston kept it alive two sequences beyond match point, but it ended as Gibadlo slashed one off the hands of Cooke.
Graduate libero Kate Georgiades continued her streak of excellence finishing with double-digit digs for her 27th straight match.
Two days later, Houston was defeated by No. 24 BYU
UH, seeking to salvage a win out of their three-game homestand, showed resilience in the second and third sets but couldn’t get the necessary digs to extend the contest.
The first set was close-knit through nine, but shortly thereafter, BYU began to mount some momentum.
Pohl’s kill ended BYU’s run of three unanswered points and brought Houston back to within two at 12-10.
BYU responded with another 4-0 run and ultimately won the first set 25-16.
Houston was off-kilter in their attacks throughout the first set, hitting .000 compared to BYU’s hitting percentage of .414. BYU’s 14-8 kill advantage also played a massive role in the first-set defeat.
Corelli provided the spark that Houston was desperate for in this contest. She delivered her first kill of the game, followed by an ace to record UH’s first two points in the set.
What began as a 6-6 set soon turned to 14-8 in favor of BYU, thanks to their unrelenting offense, which tried to follow a similar script to set one.
However, Houston would find another gear, storming back to tie the set 22-22, backed by redshirt junior Barakat Rahmon coming to life with numerous timely kills and unforced BYU errors.
An emphatic ace by graduate outside hitter Angela Grieve gave Houston a late 25-24 lead, bringing them to within a point of winning the set.
With their backs against the wall, BYU answered by scoring consecutive points, courtesy of a kill and a block. After exchanging several blows, BYU freshman outside hitter Elli Mortensen’s kill and an attacking error from Houston sealed a 29-27 set-two victory for BYU.
Houston’s offensive improvements carried over into set three, where Pohl’s two early kills helped the Cougars get off to a 4-2 start.
When one team took a lead, the other would immediately respond to tie, and that trend continued until a kill and an ace gave BYU a 22-18 lead and forced Houston into its final timeout of the set.
Shimaitis had nine kills in the contest, and none were more impactful than her latest which brought the third set dead-even at 24-24.
Four hit violations on Houston and a kill from graduate middle blocker Kjersti Strong ended the set at 26-24, sealing the sweep for BYU.
Leading UH with 10 kills was Grieve, who also recorded a team-best 11 points.
Bakarat displayed the best accuracy in her attacks, hitting .500 alongside six kills.
Graduate libero Kate Georgiades had another game with double-digit digs, leading Houston with 14. Grieve wasn’t far behind, with 11 digs of her own.
Houston entered this homestand 11-10 and will take the road one game below .500 and with a 6-8 record in conference play.
Houston will face No. 22 TCU in Forth Worth, TX., on Nov. 20.
