Hurricanes Sweep Past Sam Houston State, 3-0
Sept. 3, 2005
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>HOUSTON, Texas. – The University of Miami volleyball team swept past Sam Houston State, 3-0 (30-28, 30-15, 30-21), in its second match of the Houston Invitational Saturday afternoon in Houston’s Athletics/Alumni Center. With the win, the Hurricanes improve to 2-0 on the season while the Bearkats fall to 1-2 overall. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
“We hung tight in a tight first game and then made the match our own the rest of the way,” said head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch. “As a team we improved defensively, which was important because we needed to make that change.”
The quick match that lasted only one hour and 21 minutes saw senior outside hitter Karla Johnson once again lead all players with 16 kills. The Houston native’s .429 attacking percentage was also the best of the match.
“We also saw the continued great play of Karla who is really putting the ball away all over the court,” said Lantagne Welch.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Francheska Savage was the only other player to record a double digit kill effort, posting 13 kills to go along with her match-high four block assists. Junior outside hitter Sara Duncan also contributed nine kills while redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ciara Michel went a perfect 3-for-3 with no attacking errors. Junior libero Ann Gallo tallied a match-high 17 digs.
“It was nice to see Ciara and Sara improve their game,” added Lantagne Welch. “Ann also had a very nice match both passing and defensively.”
After falling behind 6-3 early in game one, the Bearkats matched the Hurricanes point for point until they took a 20-16 lead. The Hurricanes were not deterred, however, battling back to the lead after a service ace by Savage. Savage then set up a Duncan kill to eventually give the Hurricanes a 30-28 victory.
Game two was all Miami as the Hurricanes led by as many as 15 points. Miami jumped to an early 11-1 lead aided by two service aces from senior Kaitlin Kozak and a combined five kills from Johnson, Savage and Duncan. Miami forced the Bearkats, who never led in the game, to hit -.059 as the Hurricanes cruised to a 30-15 win.
The Hurricanes trailed early in the third game, 8-6, before four back-to-back Bearkat errors gave Miami the lead for good, eventually claiming a 30-21 win and the match victory. Miami once again held SamHoustonState to a below .100 attacking percentage, forcing the Bearkats to hit .077 after committing seven errors.
Miami returns to the Athletics/Alumni Center for their final match of the Houston Invitational against tournament host Houston at 8:00 p.m. (CST).
