A dramatic come-from-behind victory following by a convincing one gave the Houston volleyball team its first winning streak of the season.
The Lady Tigers won their second straight match last Thursday by downing Conway 25-21, 25-13 inside Hiett Gymnasium.
Two days earlier HHS three times survived match points in the second set and finished strong in the third for a 14-25, 27-25, 25-20 victory against Plato.
With its third win of the season, Houston has already matched its win total from last season.
“We are capable of doing some really good things this year, but the girls have to believe it and fight for it,” Houston coach Loran Richardson said after the Plato win. “Hopefully this win gives us some confidence to know that we can do it.”
Against Plato, Junior Kennedy Campbell had a career-best 11 kills. Janae Huff and Alexis Choate had 13 assists apiece.
Melody Buseled Houston with 15 digs.
Chloe Hunninghake added 13 digs and two aces.
HHS quickly fell behind in the opening set and trailed 24-22 in the second when Madison Barton was placed into the match for the first time to serve. The Lady Tigers pulled even at 24-all and won the set to force their first third set of the season.
“The first set was rough,” Richardson said. “We missed serve after serve, which kills momentum. They just looked defeated. I was very proud of the way they turned it around in the second set. We could have easily laid down and given up, but they continued to fight.”
The Lady Tigers raced ahead 5-0 in the third set behind a pair of Hunninghake aces kills from Campbell and Brooke McCown. Plato pulled even at 8-all to set up a close finish.
HHS had an 18-17 advantage when McCown put down a kill. Campbell made it a three-point lead with her final kill of the night at 22-19. The Lady Tigers scored three of the next four points to close out the match.
“We finally had some girls step up and have the games they are capable of having,” Richardson said. “Kennedy Campbell has been capable of that all year, and she finally showed it tonight.”
In the win against Conway, Campbell had eight kills to lead the Lady Tigers. Choate and Buse had three aces apiece. Choate had nine assists.
Rowland had a team-best eight digs.
On Saturday, the winning streak ended with four losses in the West Plains Showdown. The Lady Tigers lost their matches to West Plains, Poplar Bluff, Rolla and Mountain Home, Ark.
Campbell had 11 kills in tournament play and Tara Stanton had seven. Huff led Houston with 14 assists and Choate had 13.
Buse had 34 digs for Houston. Rowland had four aces.
JUNIOR VARSITY: The JV Lady Tigers had 16 kills and 15 aces as a team to beat Plato 25-15, 25-14 last Tuesday night. It was the team’s first win of the season.