Bearkat Volleyball Advances To Semifinals In SLC Tournament
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Led by Deveney Wells-Gibson with 16 kills, Sam Houston defeated Nicholls State to advance to the semifinals of the Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament.
The tournament is being hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.
No. 2 Sam Houston defeated No. 6 Nicholls State 25-22 25-12 25-19.
The Kats will face the winner of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Oral Roberts matchup.
The Southland Player of the Year, Wells-Gibson put up a dominant performance against the Colonels with her 27th double figure kill performance of the year.
Friday’s first set had 14 ties and 10 lead changes before the Kats finished it off 25-22.
In the second set, Sam Houston led from the beginning after jumping out to an early 5-0 lead.
Nicholls found itself within four at 11-7, but the Bearkats finished the set on a 14-5 run to win the second set, 25-12.
The third set was much like the first as both teams tied 14 teams and exchanged the lead five times, but Sam Houston finished the match on a 9-3 run to win the set 25-19 and finish off the sweep. Wells-Gibson led the charge with six kills in the final set.
Kaylee Hawkins, who was named honorable mention All-Southland, added 12 kills for the Bearkats.
Second team All-Southland member, Kim Black had six kills and four blocks for the Kats.
Tayler Gray, who was the second team All-Southland setter, had 37 assists.
For Nicholls, Jennifer Brandt and Sarah Terry each led the team with six kills.
Sam Houston advances to play the winner of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Oral Roberts, which begins at 1:30 p.m. today.
The semifinal match will commence at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Farris Center and will be streamed on the Southland Digital Network.
Gray Named SLC’s “Defensive Player of The Week”
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston junior setter Tayler Gray has been named as Southland Conference volleyball “Defensive Player of the Week” after leading the first place Bearkats to a pair of home victories.
Gray produced her 19th and 20th double double of the season as Sam Houston State earned sweeps against Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State.
The junior from Huntsville, Texas (Huntsville H.S.) averaged 4.5 digs per set over the week while assisting on 71 of Sam Houston’s 90 kills.
She sits second in the Southland with 10.76 assists per set while the Bearkats are on a 13-match win streak which is the longest in Sam Houston history since it joined Division I.
Sam Houston’s Deveney Wells-Gibson took honorable mention honors for Southland “Offensive Player of the Week”.
The Bearkats have three matches remaining in the regular season with two this week at home at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Sam Houston travels to Northwestern State Tuesday night, plays host to McNeese State Thursday, and finishes the season at home against Lamar at 3 p.m.
Bearkat Volleyball Team Wins 13th Straight Game
by Cheval John
The Sam Houston State Bearkat volleyball team extends their winning streak to 13 games as they swept Nicholls State Colonels 25-21, 25-13, 25-16.
The win streak is the longest since the Bearkats moved up to the NCAA Division I in 1986.
Three Bearkats (13-2 SLC play, 18-9 overall) totaled double-digit kills; senior outside hitter Kendall Cleveland (13), senior outside hitter Kaylee Hawkins (12) and sophomore outside hitter Devene Wells-Gibson (11).
Both teams fought tooth and nail early in the first set as they were five ties and two lead changes.
With the Colonels (5-12 SLC play, 10-18 overall) leading 14-9, the Bearkats scored the next eight out of ten points to take a 17-16 lead and went on to win the first set 25-21.
It seemed as if the second set was going to be the same as both teams traded a total of six points to open it at 3.
Then the Bearkats exploded for 9 straight points to lead it 12-3 and cruised to a 25-13 win.
They kept up the momentum in the third set as they scored the first six of the seven points on a kill and three service aces by Wells-Gibson and a kill by Hawkins.
They continued to dominate the Colonels as with their defense that allowed them to extend their lead and eventually take the third set and the match.
Setter Tayler Gray had 37 assists and 20 digs.
The Bearkats go on the road on Tuesday as they face Northwestern State.
Cleveland Named SLC’s “Offensive Player of the Week”
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston senior outside hitter Kendall Cleveland has been named as Southland Conference volleyball “Offensive Player of the Week” after leading the Bearkats to a pair of road victories that landed SHSU in first place in the 2012 Southland race.
Cleveland led the team offensively as the Bearkats knocked off both Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas on the road. Central Arkansas was a perfect 11-0 at home prior to the loss.
Sam Houston extends its winning streak to 11, the longest current streak in the league this year and longest for the Bearkats as an NCAA Division I team.
The Houston, Texas (Cy Creek), native was nearly perfect in the front line with only nine hitting errors in 89 attempts.
The senior produced a career best 22 kills in the Oral Roberts victory and knocked down 14 kills in the UCA win.
Cleveland sits fifth in the Southland with 3.23 kills per set.
Sam Houston setter Tayler Gray took honorable mention honors for Southland “Defensive Player of the Week”.
The Bearkats have five matches remaining in the regular season with two this week at home at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
Sam Houston plays host to Southeastern Louisiana Thursday night at 7 p.m. and Nicholls State Saturday at 10 a.m.
Bearkat Volleyball On Fire With Eighth Straight Win
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Beaumont – A point away from being two sets to none down, the Sam Houston volleyball team rallied to chalk up its eighth consecutive victory in four sets at Lamar Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore outside hitter Deveney Wells-Gibson posted a career best 27 kills to lead the Bearkats in a 22-25 28-26 25-13 25-21 win over the Cardinals.
Perhaps the biggest point of the match for Wells-Gibson was a kill with Lamar serving for the second set at 26-25.
Kim Black picked up the kill on the next point and Wells-Gibson served an ace to win the set 28-26 and even the match at a set apiece.
From that point on, Sam Houston won 50 of the next 84 points to up its season record to 13-9 and stand 8-2 in Southland Conference action.
Lamar dropped to 9-14 for the year and 1-8 in league play.
Kendall Cleveland and Kaylee Hawkins also produced double figure kills with totals of 11 and 10, respectively.
Wells-Gibson made only seven hitting errors in her 54 attempts Saturday.
Tayler Gray assisted of 46 kills and teamed with Cleveland to lead the Bearkat defense with 12 digs apiece.
Black added five blocks on the front row for Sam Houston.
Sam Houston returns to Johnson Coliseum to play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Islanders and the Bearkats enters Thursday’s action tied for second place in league standings while Central Arkansas is currently in first place.