HOUSTON – Houston Christian had three players register nine kills Saturday afternoon as the homestanding Huskies took down Bethune-Cookman 3-0 in a volleyball match inside Sharp Gym as part of the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament hosted by HCU in Houston, Texas. The Huskies took the match with a straight-set line score of 25-19, 25-17, 25-18.
 
The first set saw Houston Christian (1-5) take an early lead, with Allana Archie and Joya Euhus leading the offensive charge. Taylor Bonner-Williams had three kills in the opener as the hosts rallied from a 5-4 deficit to stake a 14-7 lead behind kills from Euhus and Bonner-Williams. Later fueled by two service aces from Bianca Byerly, HCU increased its lead at 14-7 midway through the set. Bethune-Cookman (2-4) attempted to mount a comeback, reducing the deficit to four points at 19-5 with help from a Melissa Gonzalez service aces, as well as a Tiyanna Preston kill.
 
However, the Huskies held off the Wildcats for the 25-19 set win as another Byerly service ace late-on added to 10 total for the Huskies in the match.
 
Houston Christian quickly established control in the second set with a 7-4 lead after consecutive attack errors by B-CU. The Wildcats hit at a negative clip (-.024) in the frame with 10 kills on 11 errors. But the 10 kills would be the most in a single set for the Maroon and Gold on the afternoon.
 
The Huskies would use a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 17-11, with Redrow kills and consecutive attack errors from the visitors. The Huskies never relinquished their lead, with Redrow amassing four kills in the set, followed closely by Euhus' three, pushing HCU to a 25-17 victory in the frame.
 
The third and final set was all Houston Christian from the start. The Huskies jumped out to a huge 9-2 lead, forcing an early Bethune-Cookman timeout. HCU maintained its momentum, with multiple kills from Archie – finishing with seven in the third set alone, and a service ace from Peyton Fadal down the stretch. The Huskies closed out the set 25-18 to complete the sweep, despite three kills from B-CU sophomore Amya Jennings, as well as three blocks (assisted) from Maryland native Kaleigh Williams.
 
HCU received nine kills from Archie, Euhus and Redrow, as setter Fadal supplied a match-high 36 assists to engineer the offense. Anna Melgren recorded 13 digs to top the defensive efforts.
 
Sas for Bethune-Cookman, it was Preston and Ariel Simmons credited with six kills apiece, as Simmons also notched an assisted block in the contest. Nola Hemphill had 12 assists, and Gonzalez finished with seven assists and a match-high tying three service aces. Williams turned in four assisted blocks, while graduate Sthefany Carvalho collected a match-high 15 digs from her libero position.
 
The Wildcats return to action next weekend when hosting the Bash at the Beach inside Richard V. Moore Gymnasium. The four-team invitational will also feature squads from Charleston Southern, Jacksonville and South Carolina State. The event begins on Friday, September 12.
 
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