Broncos recover to beat Bucs
{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<div class="float"><div class="Lead"><p>Sam Houston 3 | Barbe 2 </p></div></div>” id=”7b40aa72-c58e-4f64-a803-cfc98bf42008″ style-type=”fact” title=”FINAL” type=”relcontent”}}
MOSS BLUFF — Down two sets to none for the second time this season, Sam Houston rallied to beat Barbe in five sets on Tuesday, 17-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-8.
Sam Houston committed 31 hitting or service errors in the first two sets before cleaning up its play to win the final three.
“I think that we just came out flat and didn’t expect to have to work,” Sam Houston head coach Rene Fontenot said. “With a team like Barbe, you can’t do that.
“We played flat against Westlake (at Morgan City), so we have to work at maintaining enthusiasm. We can’t just flip the switch and come to a dead stop. That is kind of what we do — we get stuck in some rotations. They are more than capable.”
Sam Houston (15-5) improved to 6-0 at home.
Sam Houston trailed 5-3 early in the fifth set after a kill by Barbe’s Grayce Guidry, but took the lead for good, 8-7, on a kill by Alaina Bartie.
The Broncos were able to pull away thanks to outside hitter Jordan Cochran, who had back-to-back kills that put Sam Houston up 12-8.
“We were not really getting good four-balls — those high outsides,” Fontenot said. “We got them going there at the end.
“Jordan does a great job on the outside. She had a phenomenal game against Breaux Bridge where she did the same thing.”
Bartie closed out the match with an ace to the back left corner.
Barbe (4-5) entered the match having won three of its last four matches, including a five-set win over Iota two weeks ago, but the Bucs couldn’t close out the sweep. The third set was the turning point when Sam Houston started out with a 5-0 lead.
“We came out in the first two games strong,” Barbe head coach Katie Franks said. “Then in the third set we just didn’t do the little things that we talked about.
“We let them come back in, get momentum and get confident.”
Barbe battled back in the third to get within 23-22 after back-to-back kills by outside hitter Carlie Harper. But Sam Houston was able to hold on and keep the match alive.
After some back-and-forth in the first set, Barbe went 7-1 stretch to pull away.
Late in the second set, Cochran attacked the net to tie it at 17-17, but Barbe’s Mallory Black found the back left corner open for a 18-17 lead.
Kayla Kusters led Barbe with 14 kills and 20 digs and Bailey Anderson added 16 assists and 15 digs.
Sam Houston’s Skylar Glover (16) and Cochran (13) combined for 29 kills and Alaina Bartie had a matchhigh 41 assists.
After traveling three consecutive weekends, Sam Houston will get a breather before a road game at Division III No. 2 Westlake on Wednesday. Barbe will play at the Ascension Episcopal tournament this weekend.