Bearkat Volleyball Rolled Through UCA In Four Sets
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Conway, Ark – Kaylee Hawkins totaled 18 kills as Sam Houston State came from a set down to defeat Central Arkansas 27-29, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 in a battle for first place in the Southland Conference volleyball race.
The victory extended Sam Houston’s winning streak to 11 matches, the Bearkats’ longest since the program moved up to the NCAA Division I level.
With an 11-2 record, the Kats take a half game lead over Central Arkansas in the 2012 title race.
The Bears dropped to 11-3 in league play.
Sam Houston owns a 16-9 season record while UCA is 23-4 for the year.
Two other Bearkats totaled double figure kills as Kendall Cleveland posted 14 and Deveney Wells-Gibson had 10.
UCA overcame a 14-0 Bearkat lead to take the first set.
But, even after a demanding five-set victory over Oral Roberts Thursday night, the Bearkats charged back to win the next three sets.
“Friday morning, I don’t think we had anything left in the tank after the five-setter at ORU,” head coach Brenda Gray said. “But the girls are hitting on all cylinders now. This was a great team effort and a big win.”
Tayler Gray assisted of 45 of SHSU’s 55 kills.
Haley Neisler totaled seven blocks and Hawkins and Kim Black each had five apiece.
Bearkat Volleyball Team Set For 2012 Season
by Cheval John
The Sam Houston State Bearkat volleyball team is set to make a run towards post-season play starting tomorrow when they will host the Sam Houston Volleyball Invitational at Bernard Johnson Coliseum.
Along with the Bearkats, the teams that will participate in the tournament are the University of Colorado, Texas Southern University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Head coach Brenda Gray returns for her 29th season at the helm.
She is among the 29 active head coaches with 500 or more wins (575) at the NCAA Division I.
The Bearkats were picked to finish No.4 in the Southland Conference in pre-season coaches polls.
They finished with a conference record of 11-5 record (17-12 overall) and made the SLC Post-Season tournament, where they were knocked out by UTSA in the semifinal round of the tournament.
The Bearkats are returning nine letterman including four starters.
Three of the starters, (Kim Black, Kendall Cleveland and Kaylee Hawkins), were named to the 2012 pre-season All-Southland Conference team.
Black, a senior from Huntsville, led the team with 139 blocks last season.
It was the highest in one season since SHSU moved up to the NCAA Division I in 1986.
She is two-time All-Southland Conference Selection and is currently No.2 in career blocks at SHSU.
Cleveland, a senior from Houston, was fifth on the team with 179 kills and contributed with 45 blocks last year.
Hawkins, a senior from Dickson, is ranked No.9 in SHSU history with 1,345 career digs.
She was fourth on the team with 186 kills and is a two-time All-Southland Conference selection.
The tournament is set to begin tomorrow at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit www.gobearkats.com.