Houston Falls to Sam Houston State in Postseason NIVC

ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of Houston Volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Thursday, as the Cougars fell to Sam Houston State in four sets (25-16, 22-25, 22-25, 21-25) in the opening round of the Postseason National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

The Cougars conclude their season with a 16-17 record and a 10-6 mark in American Athletic Conference play, the most league wins since 2013. Houston's appearance in the NIVC was the program's first appearance in a postseason tournament beyond a conference tournament since 2000.

Against the Bearkats (19-13, 12-4 Southland), the Cougars saw three different players reach the double-digit kill mark, with senior outside hitter Megan Duncan leading the way with 12. She was joined by freshman outside hitter Abbie Jackson (11) and sophomore middle blocker Isabel Theut (10) as those with 10 or more kills in the contest.

Commanding the offense was sophomore setter Kelsey Childers, who led all players with 35 assists, her seventh match in a row with 30 or more helpers.

Senior libero Katie Karbo ended the night with a team-high 15 digs, bringing her career total to 2,430. Not only does she finish her career with the conference record for all-time digs, she completes her tenure leading all Division I active players in career digs.

Sam Houston State 3, Houston 1
Set 1
After a block at the net from Duncan and freshman middle blocker Rachel Tullos put the Cougars ahead by a score, Theut won a joust at the net to give Houston a 13-10 lead and force a timeout from SHSU. Theut continued to find seams in the Bearkat block, as her fifth kill of the set gave the Cougars their largest lead of the frame at 18-13. Once a solo stop at the net from Tullos put the Cougars in front by seven, there was no looking back, as Houston took the first set 25-16.

Set 2
Both teams battled it out to start the second, as neither side was able to gain an edge on the other. After Houston broke open a three-point lead, Sam Houston State responded with four unanswered points of their own to take an 11-10 edge. Once Duncan tied the score again at 14, the Bearkats managed to build themselves a four-point lead, but the Cougars climbed their way back to pull within one at 20-19, thanks to the 60^th solo block on the year from Tullos. From there, SHSU found one last rebuttal and scored five of the final eight points of the set to win the frame 25-22 and tie the match at one.

Set 3
Duncan got things going for Houston, as a kill, followed by a service ace, gave the Cougars a two-point edge. SHSU found a way bounce back though, as a 7-2 run from the Bearkats put them out in front 12-10. With SHSU beginning to stretch its advantage, Houston never backed down, continuing to stay within arm's reach, as Theut's eighth kill of the night cut the deficit to just three. The Cougars kept themselves within striking distance and eventually tied the score at 21, courtesy of a solo block from sophomore right side hitter Kendall Haywood, but the Bearkats closed out the set on a 4-1 run to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4
With the Cougars trailing by four midway through the set, Tullos slammed her fourth kill of the match to pull Houston within three at 14-11. From there, the Bearkats strung together a 5-1 run to extend the lead to seven, which proved to be the difference, as they held off a late push from the Cougars to win the frame 25-21 and claim the 3-1 match victory.

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