Texas Southern dropped a pair of volleyball matches to Houston (3-0) and Houston Christian (3-1) on Thursday in the first day of the Houston Invitational.
HOUSTON 3, TSU 0
Houston defeated Texas Southern 25-16, 25-14, 25-23 in the the tourney opener Thursday at the Fertitta Center.
The Tigers opened the match with strong offensive production from Lauren Battle and Ava Houston, but Houston established control early in the first set. The Cougars hit .447 in the opening frame and used a 13-2 run to build a 19-7 advantage before closing out the set 25-16.
Texas Southern struggled to find its rhythm offensively in the second set, hitting .032 with seven kills and six errors. Houston took advantage, hitting .242 and pulling away late for a 25-14 victory.
The Tigers responded with their best offensive effort of the afternoon in the third set. Texas Southern recorded 14 kills and hit .211, matching Houston's 14 kills. The Tigers and Cougars remained neck-and-neck for most of the set as Aaliyah Brown logged a kill for a 21-20 lead. UH would tie the set after a kill and moved ahead 23-21 following an ace and kill. Lauren Battle's kill off a block error moved TSU back to within 23-22 but UH recorded match point on the ensuing possession. Morgynne McQueen's kill once again drew TSU to within 24-23 but that would be the closest they would get as UH close doutt he match off a TSU attack error.
Battle paced the Tigers offensively with nine kills on 27 attacks, while Houston finished with six kills on 16 attacks and posted a team-best .313 hitting percentage. Ava Ray added three kills and directed the offense with 11 assists. Lacey Kusnier anchored the defensive effort with nine digs, while Ray added seven and Battle recorded six. At the net, Aliyah Spencer and Aaliyah Brown each finished with three block assists, while Keldri Young added two.
Brown also provided a spark from the service line with two aces. Kusnier and Kadence Davison added one ace apiece as the Tigers finished with five service aces.
HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 3, TSU 1
TSU returned home to the H&PE Arena Thursday evening and fought had but ultimately fell 3-1 to HCU.
The Tigers opened the match with an early response after Houston Christian scored the first point. Lacey Kusnier put Texas Southern on the board with a kill from Ava Ray, followed by an Ava Houston kill that gave the Tigers an early 2-1 advantage. The teams traded points before Houston Christian began to create separation.
Houston Christian eventually moved ahead 8-4 and later stretched its lead to 14-7. Texas Southern answered with kills from Lauren Battle, Kusnier and Aaliyah Brown before making its biggest push of the set.
With Houston Christian leading 16-10, the Tigers scored four straight points. Morgynne McQueen recorded consecutive kills, followed by another Battle kill, cutting the deficit to 16-14.
Houston Christian stopped the run and regained control, building a 23-17 advantage. Texas Southern responded again, getting kills from Kusnier and McQueen and taking advantage of Houston Christian errors to pull within 24-22. The Huskies closed the opening set on a Joya Euhus kill, 25-22.
Texas Southern came out aggressively in the second set, with Houston Christian taking a 1-0 lead before the Tigers answered behind an Ava Houston kill and a Houston Christian attack error.
After the teams traded points, Texas Southern began to establish momentum. Kadence Davison delivered a service ace to tie the set at 5-5, followed by kills from Battle and McQueen that put the Tigers ahead 7-5.
The Tigers continued to pressure Houston Christian, building an 11-8 advantage before the Huskies rallied to tie the set at 13-13.
The teams remained deadlocked at 15-15 and 16-16 before Texas Southern made its decisive push. A Gracie Lee kill tied the set at 18-18, but Texas Southern then scored three consecutive points, including kills from Aaliyah Brown, Lauren Battle and Ava Houston, to take a 22-19 lead. Battle added another kill to make it 23-20, and Houston Christian committed an attack error before another error gave the Tigers set point. Texas Southern closed out the set 25-20 to even the match at 1-1.
Houston Christian opened the third set with a 3-0 run, but Texas Southern quickly answered with an Ava Houston kill. The Huskies regained control and pushed their lead to 7-1 before Texas Southern began to chip away. Battle produced a kill, followed by a Houston Christian attack error, cutting the margin to 7-3. HCU continued to build its advantage, however, using kills from Allana Archie, Katy Barger and Sa'Myah Medford to move ahead 15-6.
Texas Southern showed fight late in the set. Kaiulani Sherrow recorded a kill, while Ray delivered a service ace and Kusnier added consecutive kills to cut the deficit to 18-10. HCU responded with another scoring burst, moving ahead 23-11. Battle and Pino produced late points for the Tigers, but the Huskies finished the set 25-12 on a Texas Southern setting error.
Lauren Battle led Texas Southern with 13 kills, while Ava Houston added eight and Lacey Kusnier finished with six. Ava Ray recorded 18 assists and 12 digs, while Lauanna Pino led the Tigers defensively with 19 digs.
Texas Southern finished with 42 kills and 61 digs. The Tigers also recorded four blocks, including two each from Houston, Aaliyah Brown and Morgynne McQueen.
TSU closes out tourney play Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Abilene Christian inside rhe H&PE Arena.
