HUNTSVILLE - Anna Ferguson led Sam Houston with 19 kills as the Bearkats rolled up their third consecutive victory with a four-set win over UT-Arlington Saturday night.
The Bearkats won 20-25 25-14 25-18 25-23 to up their season record to 11-10 and remain in first place in the Southland Conference West Division with a 3-1 league mark.
Coming into the week, Texas State and UT-Arlington were tied for the West Division lead, but the Bearkats knocked off both in successive home matches Thursday and Saturday. UTA dropped to 6-10 for the year and 2-2 in league action.
Carli Kolbe added 14 kills and Camille Alfaro totaled 12 as the Bearkats produced 55 kills in the match to UTA's total of 44. Tara Frantz led the Mavericks with 16 kills. Kaylee Hawkins had 27 digs for Sam Houston State.
"We seem to be able to find ways to win," Ferguson said. "Matches like these are big confidence builders. We started out a little slow but we started playing as a team in the second through fourth sets. We're out to a great start so far."
The first set was tied 10 times, the last at 15-all. UTA closed out the set winning 10 of the next 15 points.
Sam Houston bounced back, taking a 12-2 lead in the second set and coasting to a 25-14 margin.
The third set was tied six times, the last at 12-12. But Sam Houston again rallied to win 13 of the final 19 points of the frame.
Sam Houston looked headed for an easy fourth set win, jumping out toa 9-1 lead. But UTA fought back for ties at 14-14 and 23-23 before the Bearkats finally clinched the victory.
"I'm really proud of our girls," SHSU head coach Brenda Gray said. "They came out and played well. It's nice to be playing so well at the start of conference, but we have to remember its not a sprint. We're gradually getting better. We just have to take it one match at a time."
Sam Houston State takes its winning streak on the road next week, playing on Thursday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Saturday afternoon at UTSA.
