Houston’s Kate Georgiades (17) walks back to prepare to serve to A&M Commerce during the first half of an NCAA college women’s volleyball match, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Houston, Texas. | The Cougar/Oscar Herrera
Houston volleyball fell victim to No. 13 Arizona State’s 12th sweep on Oct. 16, but not without putting up a fight.
The Cougars battled throughout the first set showing prowess in the early going.
The team met at 17 before the Sun Devil took a three-point lead. A kill from senior outside hitter Katie Corelli and a bad set from Arizona State’s redshirt freshman setter Brynn Covell put Houston within one.
The Sun Devils again went up three before Houston took back-to-back kills by graduate outside hitter Angela Grieve and redshirt junior middle blocker Barakat Rahmon.
The Cougars evened it out at 23 due to an Arizona State miscue. Grieve took one more stand with a kill that made it 24 all before the Sun Devils took the next two and the set.
The team’s tight battle carried over to the second set. The Sun Devils began to take control going up 13-8, but Houston did not go away quietly. A kill from freshman middle blocker Addisyn Pohl put Houston within two, but they began to slip away.
A much-needed kill and strong defensive effort from Rahmon gave the Cougars back-to-back points and put them within three, but they could not gain enough momentum to take the lead.
An attack error by Savannah Kjolhede put the Cougars within two, but consecutive points for the Sun Devils brought up a set point and propelled them to a 25-21 victory.
Houston faced a daunting task in the third set as the Sun Devils began to play their best brand of volleyball.
Arizona put up triple kills and capped off a 6-1 run with an ace to make it 17-9.
The Sun Devils kept climbing and reached set point on a Houston service error.
Two kills from Rahmon and one from Grieve prolonged the match, but another service error wrapped up the night.
The match showcased a battle between the Big 12 conference dig leaders. Graduate liberos, Mary Shroll of Arizona State, who ranks first in digs came up with 16, and Kate Georgiades of Houston tallied 17.
The match marked the 20th straight in which Georgiades recorded double-digit kills.
Grieve led the way with 16 kills, and redshirt sophomore Ella Wendel tallied four blocks.
Graduate setter Annie Cooke recorded 17 assists, while, redshirt senior setter Rebecca Rocassin reached 2,500 career assists with 13 in the match.
The loss put the team at 8-8 on the year and 3-3 in the conference.
sports@thedailycougar.com
—
“Houston’s battle with No. 13 Arizona State results in a 0-3 loss.” was originally posted on The Cougar