EDINBURG, Texas – Washington State volleyball continued to roll this season, as the Cougars downed Houston Baptist 3-0 Friday morning in a neutral site contest.

Set scores from the match were: 25-18, 25-13, and 25-22 in favor of WSU (9-1).

The Huskies of HBU (5-7) began this nonconference match out in front of the Cougars, after a 4-0 run gave Houston Baptist the 4-1 advantage. Washington State quickly returned fire offensively to tie the set back up at 4-4 overall, aided by kills from Jocelyn Urias, and Pia Timmer. Small lead changes and multiple ties continued through the early stages of the opening set, until the Cougars surged ahead with a 6-0 scoring run to hold a 13-9 lead. Multiple errors from the Huskies provided WSU with an opening to jump ahead in this set, along with a kill from Magda Jehlarova, and an ace by Hannah Pukis. The set victory was sealed with two additional small runs from the Cougars, including a barrage of kills from Alexcis Lusby, Jehlarova, and Timmer, and an ace added by Penny Tusa for the 25-18 win.

Set number two was all Washington State as the Cougars caught fire early with a 7-0 run against HBU. WSU continued to dominate midway through this set with an additional 4-0 scoring run fueled by a Reagan Cooper kill and a block from Pukis and Jehlarova. Multiple small scoring runs continued for Washington State the remainder of the set, as Magda recorded several blocks to anchor the defensive front, and Lusby provided the spark on offense to see WSU claim the 25-13 set victory.

Houston Baptist came out swinging in set three, holding down the 6-4 lead early over Washington State. The Cougars shifted that momentum back in their favor as a 6-0 scoring run put WSU back in control with a 10-6 advantage. Lusby was involved in four consecutive points during the run, with one block assist, followed by three straight kills. HBU found some rhythm midway through the contest however, as a 5-0 Husky scoring run tied everything up at 13-13. Set three featured a back-and-forth battle as four total lead changes occurred late in the set, and it was not until the Cougars were able to generate a 4-1 run, that WSU was able to put away Houston Baptist. The block game for Washington State was crucial down the stretch as Jehlarova, Cooper, Timmer, and Urias helped seal the sweep victory for the Cougars at 25-22 in set three.

STAT OF THE MATCH
Alexcis Lusby led the offense in this opening match of the UTRGV Tournament, totaling 11 kills, and providing five block assists as well.
 
INTO THE TWITTER-VERSE

S2 | WSU makes quick work of Houston Baptist in set two!#GoCougs | #CougsVsEverybody pic.twitter.com/tFYJp3Of0K

— Cougar Volleyball (@WSUCougarVB) September 20, 2019

S3 | @Reagan_Coop ties up set three with the KILL!

16-16#GoCougs | #CougsVsEverybody pic.twitter.com/ND2NGIa4AK

— Cougar Volleyball (@WSUCougarVB) September 20, 2019

MATCH NOTES

• Timmer and Jehlarova provided the offensive spark behind Lusby as Pia totaled nine kills, and Magda added five.
• Hannah Pukis continued to anchor the setter position as she totaled 28 assists, and added two block assists to her state line.
• The Cougars totaled 10.0 blocks in this match, compared to that of 5.0 from HBU which certainly played a key role in the WSU victory.
• WSU returns to action today, Friday, Sept. 20 in a nonconference match against tournament host UTRGV, set for 5 p.m. (PT).