Houston players huddle in focus during the second set of an NCAA volleyball game against Louisiana, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Houston. | Matthew Guzman/The Cougar
It took Houston volleyball six contests to drop its first match of the season, let alone in straight-set fashion, when LSU swept UH on Sept. 6 at the Fertitta Center.
One weekend later, after facing its first two ranked opponents in the season, Houston departed Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., with two more straight-set losses and its first losing streak of 2025.
Houston drops first-ranked matchup of the season
Saturday, the Cougars took on No. 14 Purdue Boilermakers, who came into the day with a three-match winning streak, including a 3-2 victory over No. 15 Kansas.
Despite Houston competing in every set, and senior defensive specialist Alana Torres-Rivera recording her second career double-digit digs performance with 10, it wasn’t enough to prevent Purdue from sweeping Houston (25-17, 25-23, 25-18)
Heading into the pivotal second set after dropping set one, the Cougars trailed by as much as seven in the early frames.
However, a 21-14 run, which included three kills from both redshirt junior middle blocker Barakat Rahmon and senior middle blocker Kellen Morin, allowed Houston to tie the set 23-all with Purdue, forcing a timeout.
Following the timeout, senior outside hitter Akasha Anderson recorded back-to-back kills to secure the set for Purdue.
Houston held a 17-13 lead through the first 30 points of set three, but unraveled behind untimely errors, allowing Purdue to tie the deciding set 17-17 eventually.
The Boilermakers would close set three on a 12-1 run, behind eight kills.
Kentucky makes it three consecutive sweep losses
No. 3 Kentucky spoiled Houston’s block party in Louisville, en route to a (25-16, 25-23, 25-13) victory over Houston Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars blocked Kentucky nine times across the three sets, including six from Morin and three from Rahmon.
In a similar fashion to Houston’s previous match, its second set came down to the wire, but an attack error by sophomore outside hitter Halle Schroder sealed the set loss for the Cougars.
Schroder led the Cougars with seven kills while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Gonzales and senior outside hitter Brenya Reid recorded two apiece.
Kentucky stifled Houston in the third and final set, getting off to an 18-10 start before slamming the door with a 25-13 win.
Houston will return home to host Liberty University at the Fertitta Center on Friday, Sept. 19, at 7:00 p.m. CT for the beginning of a three-match homestand to close out non-conference play.
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