Houston volleyball suffers reverse sweep against No. 24 Baylor

Houston volleyball once held a two-set lead over No. 24 Baylor before facing a deficit of as many as six points in the fifth set. The Bears completed the reverse sweep with a 7-1 run.

Juniors Kamille Gibson and Sydney Jones and sophomore Noemi Despaigne each recorded 16 kills, but their efforts were offset by a season-high 36 attacking errors in Houston’s (25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 19-25, 8-15) loss in Waco.

After posting a .351 attack percentage in the first set, Houston’s control declined as its per-set attack percentage hit -.25 by the match’s end.

Junior setter Kalei Edson returned from a five-match absence due to illness in the fifth set, opening with an ace. It was one of Houston’s 13 aces in the match, while Jones tied her career high with five.

Freshman setter Shannon Dworaczyk guided the offense in the first four sets, tallying 42 assists for her fourth 40+ assist performance.

The Bears took their first lead of the match early in the third set and held off Houston to avoid the sweep despite six ties. The Cougars never led in a set at any point for the remainder of the match, with the exception of a 2-1 lead in the final set.

Sophomore libero Gillian Pitts recorded a season-high 20 digs to bolster Houston’s back-row defense, while the Cougars were outblocked 15-6 at the net.

Houston now drops to 11-8 on the season and 4-4 in conference play.

Next, it will host Iowa State at home in Fertitta Center on Sunday at 1 p.m.