Houston Continues Hot Start to Season in Win Over Duquesne

Friday, September 14

Moon Township, Pa.

6 p.m. CT

University of Houston

13-1, 0-0

Duquesne

4-7, 0-0

Duquesne

Houston

Photo by: Wilf Thorne/Wilf Thorne Photography

Houston Continues Hot Start to Season in Win Over Duquesne

9/14/2018 8:53:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Cougars improve to 13-1 on the year

By: Ryan Levine

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Following its four-set victory on Friday morning, the University of Houston Volleyball team (13-1) strung together another four-set (25-13, 25-20, 18-25, 25-13) win on Friday night with its victory over Duquesne (4-7).

With the win, Houston has surpassed its win total from last season, having won five-consecutive matches, all of which being four-set contests.

HOUSTON 3, DUQUESNE 1

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
Owning one of the most dynamic offense in the country, Houston wasted no time to jump out to an early lead, as back-to-back aces from freshman middle blocker Kendall Haywood and an attack error from Duquesne put the Cougars ahead 9-2. With the help of sophomore outside hitter Gabi Zelaya, who led all players with four kills at this point, the Cougars started to pull away in the set, leading the Dukes 18-7. Houston finished out the frame with a blistering .370 hitting percentage to come out cruising to a 25-13 set victory.

Set 2
After a tightly contested start to the second set, the Cougars built themselves a four-point advantage and led 11-7. With Houston stretching its edge to 19-12, Duquesne put together a 7-2 run and cut the Cougar lead to just 21-19, but Houston scored four of the final five points to win the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 match lead at intermission.

Set 3
As neither team was unable to gain a significant edge on the other, the Dukes kept themselves within striking distance as the Cougars held an 11-9 advantage. Once Duquesne tied the score at 15, there was no looking back for the Dukes, as they pulled away late to win the third set 25-18.

Set 4
Another close set is how the final frame began, but Haywood's fourth service ace of the match put the Cougars ahead by four, forcing the Dukes to call a timeout, trailing 13-9. From there, Houston finished out the set on an 11-4 run that saw six kills from four different Cougars, helping lead Houston to the 25-13 set victory and 3-1 match win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Cougars have won five-straight contests, all of which have been four-set matches. Houston improved to 6-0 on the season in four-set matches.
Houston's high-octane offense put together another blistering start, hitting .370 in the first set. The fourth set saw the Cougars hit .234.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabi Zelaya finished the match with 10 kills and 18 digs, marking her second double-double of the year. Her 18 digs are a career-high.
Junior libero Katie Karbo finished the night with 23 digs, the seventh time this season she has reached the 20-dig plateau.
Senior Katie Krebs handed out 22 helpers in the match, marking her fifth 20-assist outing this season.
Senior middle blocker Chenelle Walker hammered home a season-high nine kills.

UP NEXT
Houston concludes its time in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Sept. 15 with a contest against tournament host Robert Morris at 9 a.m. CT.

Houston returns home for the opening of the American Athletic conference play against Temple on Friday, Sept. 21. The Cougars' match with Owls is also the "Turn it Gold" match to raise awareness for pediatric cancer.

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 –