Cougars Use Strong Defensive Effort to Sweep Texas Tech

Sunday, October 18

Houston, Texas

1 p.m.

University of Houston

11-7,4-3Big 12

Texas Tech

8-11,0-7Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Texas Tech	17	9	23	0
Houston	25	25	25	3

Cougars Use Strong Defensive Effort to Sweep Texas Tech

10/18/2026 3:53:00 PM | Volleyball

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Houston took down Texas Tech to close out three-game home slate

By: Elisha Qazi

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Volleyball team (11-7, 4-3) defeated Texas Tech (8-11, 0-7) in straight sets inside the Fertitta Center on Sunday afternoon. The win marks its third straight against the Red Raiders, moving Houston to 4-3 in conference play.

Sophomore Noemi Despaigne paced the Cougar offense with 17 kills, followed by junior Sydney Jones' 13 kills. Junior Kamille Gibson also played a huge role on both sides of the game with 6 aces, 7 kills and 7 digs. Sophomore Gillian Pitts led the defense with 13 digs. Houston held Texas Tech to a .034 hitting percentage, the second lowest percentage of the season.

Jones' six kills gave the Cougars what was needed to claim the first set, 25-17. The set started back and forth until a Cougars 7-0 run flipped the score from 10-11 to 17-11. Houston kept its foot on the gas ending the set on a 5-1 run, winning 25-17.

Houston kept the momentum, securing the second set 25-9. The Cougars tallied eight serve aces, six of them from Gibson. With the Cougars leading 4-2, ten unanswered points extended the lead to 14-2. Despaigne's six kills helped the Cougars maintain their lead. Houston jumped into its largest lead of the afternoon on the back of a 4-0 run, making the score 18-3. A Texas Tech attack error ended the set 25-9.

Despaigne's seven kills and a pair of 4-0 runs aided the Cougars in fending off the Red Raiders, winning the final set 25-23. The Cougars edged a 15-10 lead into the media timeout. Following the break, Texas Tech narrowed the lead down to two with the score, 20-18. The teams would exchange points with the Red Raiders coming within one with the score at 22-21, but Houston closed the set 25-23, sweeping Texas Tech.

STANDOUT COUGARS

Noemi Despaigne: 17 kills, .297 hit %,
Kamille Gibson: 6 service aces, 7 kills, 7 digs
Shannon Dworaczyk: 35 assists, 8 digs

UP NEXT
Houston travels to Waco to take on Baylor inside the Ferrell Center at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23^rd.

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