Tucson, Ariz. - The University of Nevada (2-4) volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Houston (1-6) by scores of 25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21 and 15-9 at the Wildcat Classic by Marriott University Park being played at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. today. The win snaps a four-match losing skid for the Wolf Pack as they improve to 2-4 on the season while the Cougars fell to 1-6 on the year. The Pack went 1-2 on the weekend.
After winning set four 25-21 to force the deciding fifth set, Nevada scored the first six points of the final set and UH was unable to recover as the Pack won 15-9 to take the match 3-2. Sophomore Erin Garvey ended the match with her ninth kill of the day off an assist from setter Sonnie Sei. In the final set the Pack hit .160 and defensively held the Cougars to a negative .190 attack percentage.
Nevada jumped to a 12-4 advantage in set one and cruised to the 25-16 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Sophomore Garvey collected the final three kills of the set off assists by Sei. The Pack hit .250 in the first set and UH .083.
There were 17 ties and four lead changes in set two before the Cougars escaped with the 25-23 victory. Nevada led 23-21 but UH closed the set with a 4-0 run. The Cougars hit .229 in the set compared to .200 for the Wolf Pack.
Set three also went back forth with 11 ties and three lead changes but UH again scored a 25-23 win to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. Just as in set two the Pack led 23-21 only to have the Cougars score the final four points to win the set. Nevada struggled hitting just .163 while UH hit .225.
Just as the previous two the fourth set went back and forth with nine ties and five lead changes before the Pack won 25-21 to force the deciding fifth set which they won 15-9. Nevada broke an 18-18 tie scoring the next four points as part of a 7-3 run to close out the set. The Pack produced its best hitting set of the match at .353 and UH hit .235.
Junior Kylie Harrington led the Pack with a match and career tying 21 kills while fellow junior Lindsay Baldwin totaled 19 kills. Harrington totaled 15 digs to record her first double-double of the season while junior libero Nicole Link finished with a match-high 20. Nevada's two setters Tatiana Santiago and Sei totaled 25 and 24 assists respectively.
Kinsley Cave and Amanda Carson had 17 and 11 kills respectively for the Cougars. Carson posted a double-double as she tallied at team-high 18 digs in the match and was one of five Cougars to reach double digits in digs. Setter Tara Roenicke dished out a match-high 40 assists.
For the match the Wolf Pack hit .224 and UH .149. The Cougars held a slim 6-5 advantage in blocking. Baldwin topped the Pack with four blocks while Ingrida Zauere had three for UH.
Nevada returns home to host the Circus Circus Invitational next week hosting UC Davis, Portland State and Sam Houston State. The Pack takes on UC Davis on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Saturday Nevada plays Sam Houston State at noon and Portland State at 7:00 p.m.
Notes: Nevada junior Kylie Harrington was named to the Wildcat Classic by Marriott Tucson University Park All-Tournament team. Harrington averaged 3.00 kills, 2.08 digs and 3.50 points while hitting .162 as the Pack went 1-2 on the weekend.
Wildcat Classic by Marriott Tucson University Park All Tournament Selections
MVP - Paige Weber (Arizona)
All Tournament - Whitney Dosty, Jacy Norton (Arizona)
All Tournament - Ashley Hamilton, Chenoa Coviare (Eastern Washington)
All Tournament - Kylie Harrington (Nevada)
All Tournament - Kinsey Cave (Houston)
