Comeback Effort Not Enough for Houston

Friday, October 12

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m. CT

University of Houston

13-8, 0-6

Memphis

8-10, 1-5

Houston

Memphis

Photo by: Stephen Pinchback

10/12/2018 9:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Irvine tallies her seventh double-double of the season

By: Ryan Levine

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Houston volleyball team opened its weekend on Friday night, falling to Memphis 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 17-25, 22-25).

The Cougars now sit at 13-8 on the season and 0-6 in American Athletic Conference play, as the Tigers move to 8-10 and 1-5 against conference opponents.

GAME 1: HOUSTON 1, MEMPHIS 3

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
Memphis jumped out first in the match, claiming an early five-point lead, but Houston battled back. After the Cougars pulled within a pair, the Tigers managed to put together a 7-2 run to hold a 15-8 advantage, which proved to be the difference, as Memphis won the first set by a score of 25-18.

Set 2
Houston found itself in a tightly contested set to start off the second frame, holding on to an early advantage at 6-5. As the Tigers remained within striking distance, the Cougars were able to build themselves a four-point cushion, forcing Memphis to call a timeout, trailing 18-14. From there, Houston pulled away late to win the set 25-16 and even the match score at intermission.

Set 3
Another close start in the third found the Tigers narrowly ahead, as the Cougars found themselves within two midway through the set, trailing 15-13. A late run from Memphis gave the Tigers the opportunity to pull away towards the end of the set, winning the frame 25-17 to claim a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set 4
The Cougars built themselves a three-point lead to start the fourth set, holding a slight advantage at 11-8. Once the Tigers climbed back to take a 13-12 lead, Houston kept the score within an arm's reach, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome, as Memphis took the fourth set 25-22 and the 3-1 match victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Sophomore Abby Irvine finished the match with 31 assists and 16 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. She now has five in her past seven matches, including all but one contest in conference play.
Sophomore outside hitter Silvia Pertens led the Cougars with 11 kills on the night. She has led Houston in kills each of the past three matches.
Freshman outside hitter Kendall Haywood recorded four blocks in the match, the 10^th time this season she has surpassed the 4.0-block plateau.
Junior libero Katie Karbo posted a match-high 21 digs.
Junior outside hitter Faith Squier led all players with at least 20 attacks with her .300 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
Houston concludes its five-match road trip on Sunday, Oct. 14, as the Cougars travel to New Orleans and face Tulane. First serve for that match is schedule for 1 p.m. CT.

The Cougars return to the Athletics/Alumni Center on Friday, Oct. 19 when Houston plays host to Tulsa.

STAY CONNECTED
Follow Houston Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UHCougarVB, and "Like" UHCougarVB on Facebook.

JOIN POINT HOUSTON CLUB
Fans can help support the Houston Volleyball program by joining the Point HOUSTON Club. To find out more information about the Point HOUSTON Club, visit UHCougars.com or call Cougar Pride at (713) 743-GoUH.

– UHCougars.com –