Houston Cougars claim win in final match of regular season – Volleyball News
Houston University women’s volleyball squad rounded off the regular season with a spectacular win over the Owls of Rice University on Wednesday, November 23. Both teams shared the urge to end the season on a winning note.
However, Houston Cougars proved to be the better team and won the five-set battle. Cougars secured first two frames by posting 25-22 and 25-21, while Rice created the dead-lock of 2-2 by winning the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-20. The decisive final set
of the game was full of stress as both sides tried to stay on the right course. After a nail-biting competition in the golden set, Houston emerged as the winning team. They claimed final set with narrow margin of two points (16-14) and celebrated victory.
Cougars set the tone for the competition with a 16-12 lead in the first set. Rice tried to stop their opponents but they refused to step back and pushed the lead to 19-16. Owls came up with different strategies and exchanged long rallies, in order to down
the Cougars. Meanwhile, two attack errors by Houston shortened the margin of points. Houston’s mentor Alvey called the timeout and realigned the team. The formula worked out and Cougars hit the spot with 25-22 win in the opening set.
Owls responded with mighty hits in the following set and sent first three points on board. Houston was yet to break the ice but they rallied six points to knot the set at 6-all. From that point onward, Cougars remained ahead in the game and did not stop
until the final whistle of referee. They won the second set (25-21) and extended their lead to 2-0.
Owls came out firing in the third set and captured the set with fine display of attack and defence. They posted 25-21 to score a victory and very much recovered from the fear of defeat. Success restored their confidence and they showed further improvement
in fourth set. Game score tied at 2-2 as Rice bagged success in fourth set, 25-20.
Final set was the real test of skills for both teams. It was closely contested but Houston earned victory in the end, 16-14.
Molly Alvey, the Head Coach of Cougars, was indeed happy with her team’s brilliant performance. She expressed her emotions in following words: "This is an incredible win. It is a great way for the seniors to go out on a high note. It was also a win against
Rice, which is great for the athletic department and the University. Those things make a statement.”
Speaking of the opposite team, she added: "Rice played great tonight, so it was a real important win. We played a very consistent volleyball match from start to finish. We had a point run in set three that cost us that set, but we were able to pull back
together, stay in it through the end and pull out the win."
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