LOVB Houston rallies late to beat LOVB Austin in four sets
Up 13-19 against home team LOVB Houston in the fourth set, LOVB Austin was in a prime spot to win the frame and force a fifth-set Saturday night.
Houston did not allow that to happen, ending the match on a 12-3 run to win 27-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22.
After Jess Mruzik earned a Houston sideout with a kill, Key Alves came in to serve. Alves served up one ace and forced two negative passes while leading a 6-0 run that tied the set at 19-all. Austin scored twice in a row for another lead, but two errors from the visitors tied the set at 21. Molly McCage once again gave Austin a lead, but Houston responded with four consecutive kills of their own to end the match.
Mruzik earned player of the match honors after tallying 14 kills, four in the final frame. Opposite hitter Jordan Thompson led Houston with 19 kills and 22 total points, while outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel added 11 points and 13 digs.
Houston libero Anna Pogany led all players with 16 digs.
Austin rookie Madisen Skinner paced the visitors with 23 kills and 25 total points. Molly McCage scored 14 times, pairing seven kills with a match-high seven blocks. Logan Eggleston and Chiaka Ogbogu each added 12 points, and Alessia Gennari, in her first start since January 9, tallied seven kills, two blocks, an ace and 13 digs.
With the win, Houston moved to 8-5 on the year and pulled within two games of league-leading LOVB Atlanta. Both teams have just three matches left in the regular season, including a March 27 showdown against each other.
Austin, 4-7, is tied for fifth place with LOVB Omaha. Those two squads face each other Friday, March 21.
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