Sam Houston Volleyball Team Looking To Finish Strong
Sam Houston State Bearkats’ volleyball team are
looking to finish the regular season on a high note as they head on
the road to face Lamar Cardinals on Thursday and the McNeese State
Cowgirls on Saturday.
The Bearkats are 9-5 in the Southland
Conference and 15-12 overall. With wins against University of Texas
at San Antonio Roadrunners and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Islanders, they have clinched a spot in the Southland Conference
Post-Season Tournament that will be held in Conway, Arkansas from
November 18-20.
Though they have clinched a spot, they
are more focused than ever as they will be facing a Lamar team that
are on a three-game winning streak with wins against Nicholls State,
Northwestern State and Central Arkansas and are 8-6 in the East
Division of the Southland Conference and 10-19 overall. The last win
helped them clinched a spot in the tournament.
Lamar totals 1,242 kills for the
season, with sophomore outside hitter Sierra Whittacker leading them
with 318 kills. Four other players on the Cardinals have 100 or more
kills.
The Kats will also face McNeese State
Cowgirls on Saturday. The Cowgirls are 5-9
in conference play and 10-18 overall, with a current three-game
winning streak.
Senior middle blocker Nicole Bowden
lead the Cowgirls with 368 kills, averaging 3.38 per set. Five other
players on the team have 100 or more kills.
On the defensive side, the Cowgirls is
leading the conference with a total of 1,817 digs, averaging 16.7 per
set. They are tied for third in the East Division of the Southland
Conference and will try to hang on to it as they bid for a position
in the tournament.
Heading into the games, the Bearkats
totals 1,303 kills, with senior outside hitter Carli Kolbe leading
them with 334 kills and was named Southland Conference “Offensive
Player of the Week.”
“We need to focus on us and just play
our game,” Kolbe said.
Senior middle blocker Kim Black is
second on the team with 229 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Haley
Neisler, who was named “Defensive Player of the Week” by the
Southland Conference, is third with 188 kills. Three other players
have 100 or more kills while senior setter Kym Loving have 1,053
assists for the season.
“We need to get to where we are on
top of game before the conference tournament begins,” Loving said.
The Bearkats will face Lamar Cardinals
on Thursday night at 7 p.m and McNeese State Cowgirls on Saturday at
2 p.m. For more information on the team, visit gobearkats.com.