It took one of the top teams in the region to snap the Houston volleyball team’s winning streak.
The Lady Tigers’ five-game winning streak ended Thursday night with a 25-18, 25-19 home loss to Liberty.
Houston (5-6, 1-1 South Central Association) lost for the first time in September. The team’s last defeat was Aug. 28 at Licking.
“You could tell we started out a little nervous and not used to the speed of the game, ” Lady Tigers coach Loran Richardson said. “Once we settled in and realized we can compete, we started to play pretty well.”
Viviana Guerra, Kelly Hubbs, Madison Barton and Tara Stanton had two kills apiece for the Lady Tigers. Kennedy Campbell had a team-best three aces. Senior Melody Buse had 11 digs.
Liberty (7-3-1, 2-0 SCA) scored eight of the matches first 10 points and eventually led 18-5. The Lady Tigers fought back into contention with a 10-1 run that forced two Liberty timeouts. Consecutive kills by Janae Huff and Kelly Hubbs made it 21-16. Houston got within four points at 22-18 before Liberty scored three consecutive points to close out the set.
Campbell had an ace as part of a 9-4 start to the second set for HHS. Liberty eventually pulled even at 10-10 and was able to close out the match.
“Liberty is a very talented team, and there is a good chance we will see them again in districts,” Richardson said. “I think it would be a different game at that point.”