Houston Shocks Wichita State in Five-Set Thriller

Sunday, October 21

Houston

1 p.m. CT

University of Houston

14-10, 1-8AAC

Wichita State

9-11, 4-5AAC

Wichita State

Houston

10/21/2018 4:56:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Cougars come back after trailing 2-0

By: Ryan Levine

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Volleyball team stormed back from down 2-0 to upset Wichita State 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-13) inside the Athletics/Alumni Center on Sunday afternoon.

With the victory, the Cougars (14-10, 1-8 AAC) snap their eight-game skid and tally their first conference win of the season, as the Shockers (9-11, 4-5 AAC) suffer their third five-set loss in as many matches.

HOUSTON 3, WICHITA STATE 2

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Shockers came out firing, owing a commanding 9-3 lead but that never stopped the Cougars from fighting back. After tying the score at 12-12, Houston finally claimed it first advantage of the match at 20-19 thanks to a service ace from junior outside hitter Megan Duncan. Wichita State came right back to tie the score at 20 and proceeded to carry that momentum to the nail-biting 25-23 first set victory.

Set 2
Houston kept pace with WSU to start the frame and by the time the Shockers took a 16-13 lead, five different Cougars had already tallied three or more kills in the match. Once the score was tied at 23, courtesy of another kill from Duncan, Houston managed to claim a one-point edge at 25-24, but Wichita State found a way to come back and win the second frame 27-25, and go up 2-0 at intermission.

Set 3
The Cougars came out of intermission looking to extend the match even further, as the third set was all about Houston. Led by freshman Alexis Cheatum, who exploded for eight kills and posted a .583 hitting percentage in the set, the Cougars recorded a .286 mark, compared to the Shockers' .056. In the set Houston forced nine hitting errors on its opponent, which set the tone to its 25-19 victory to force a fourth set.

Set 4
With neither team able to gain a significant edge on the other to start the set, Wichita State managed to break through with an 11-8 lead over Houston, but once the Cougars came back and scored three unanswered points, the Shockers were forced to call a timeout. After WSU reclaimed a 19-17 lead, Houston called a timeout of its own, which sparked an 8-3 run to close out the set and win the frame 25-22, taking the match to the distance.

Set 5
Wichita State jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the final set and following a timeout from Houston, the Cougars climbed right back into it with a 5-1 run, which tied the score at 10. Houston grabbed its first lead of the set at the 12-11 mark and built its edge all the way to three points. The Shockers trimmed the Cougar advantage back to one at 14-13, but Cheatum's 23^rd kills of the match proved to be the most important, as it sealed the 15-13 set victory and completed the comeback to win the match 3-2.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

For the second time this season, Houston had four players recorded 10 or more kills in a match.
Led by junior Katie Karbo's match-high 26 digs, four different Cougars posted double-digit digs in a match, the third time this season such a task has been accomplished.
Freshman outside hitter Alexis Cheatum erupted for a career-high 23 kills, the most by a Cougar this year.
Sophomore setter Abby Irvine dished out a career-high 47 assists, the most assists a Houston player has recorded since Keandra McCardell posted 53 in 2016. She also dug 11 balls, marking her ninth double-double of the season and her seventh double-double in her past 10 matches.
Junior outside hitter Megan Duncan finished the match with 11 kills and 11 digs, her eighth double-double of the year.
Senior Chenelle Walker tallied a season-best 11 kills and recorded a match-high .455 hitting percentage of those with at least 20 attacks.
Redshirt freshman Kylie Napoleon posted a season-high 10 digs.

UP NEXT
The Cougars hit the road for a two-match road swing, beginning with a matchup with UCF on Friday, Oct. 26. First serve for that contest in slated for 6 p.m. CT.

Houston returns home on Friday, Nov. 2, when the Cougars host Tulane at 7 p.m. CT inside the Athletics/Alumni Center.

STAY CONNECTED
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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.

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