University of Houston
SEC/C-USA Challenge - LSU
Dews Leads Houston To Victory
11/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 28, 2004
BATON ROUGE, La. - For the second time in as many days, the Houston volleyball team came out victorious in a five-game thriller at the SEC/C-USA Challenge in Baton Rouge, La., this time downing host institution LSU, on Saturday night.
The win gives the Cougars an 11-21 overall mark on the 2004 season, after defeating Alabama 3-2 on Friday night, and the Tigers finish at 17-12 after defeating Tulane the day before.
Tournament MVP Loure Dews, who had a career-high 13 blocks in the match, and racked up 17 kills on the evening to finish the tournament with 39 kills, lead Houston for the second straight night.
Junior libero Jaci Gonzalez, who was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, garnered the Libero of the Tournament honors with her 39 digs against the Tigers and her career-high 43 against the Crimson Tide.
Sophomore Kelly McAnelly, juniors Jennifer Hohl and Kariny Ritter, and senior Mirela Vasconcellos each turned in double-double performances against LSU on Saturday.
McAnelly finished with 17 kills and 10 digs, Hohl finished two kills short of a triple-double with eight kills, 20 assists and 12 digs, Ritter had 16 spikes and 22 digs, while Vasconcellos turned in 41 handouts and 13 digs.
In the first game, the Tigers used a 5-1 run over the final six points to put away Houston, 30-24. The Cougars responded in Game 2 by rallying from a seven-point deficit midway though the game to tie it up at 27 apiece. Houston then scored the final three points of the game to even the match, 30-27.
Coming out the break, Houston jumped out on the Tigers early, but LSU came back from a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 17 all. After four ties, the Tigers took advantage of a 3-0 run to take the lead on their way to taking the game, 30-28.
Facing defeat in Game 4, Houston gained a 29-20 lead but allowed the Tigers to fight back into the game by running off eight points before Houston closed out the game with a 30-28 win.
Houston made quick work of the Tigers in Game 5, winning 15-11 and refusing to allow LSU a chance to get close.
