Volleyball to face Nicholls in SLC first round
11/17/2009 11:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Rolling up its best overall season record since 1996, the Sam Houston State volleyball team will be the No. 2 seed at the 28th annual Southland Conference post-season volleyball tournament to be hosted by UTSA Friday Nov. 20 through Sunday Nov. 22 in San Antonio.
This will be the Bearkats' 15th appearance in the Southland Conference post-season tournament which decides the league's representative for the NCAA national tournament.
Sam Houston State won the Southland tournament championship in 1993 and 1996 and was the runner-up in 1987 and 1994. Last year, the Bearkats upset tournament host Stephen F. Austin in five sets in the first round before falling to No. 1 seed Texas State in the semifinals.
Predicted to finish fourth in the Southland West Division and earning the fifth most votes in the head coaches' preseason poll, the Sam Houston team has produced a remarkable record in 2009.
In back-to-back matches on Sept. 8 and Sept. 11, the Kats lost two starters to season ending injuries - setter Kym Loving (knee) and outside hitter Kelli Stewart (wrist). After dropping all three matches at the Nevada tournament, the Bearkats regrouped to open Southland Conference play with a victory over Lamar and won 14 of their next 17 matches.
The Bearkats put together an 11-match winning streak, the longest since for Sam Houston since they won 14 in a row in 1993. Ten of Sam Houston State's 20 victories have come in five-set encounters. The Bearkats are 10-2 in five setters this year.
"This team has been such a pleasure to coach," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Gray said. "It seems like every time we needed somebody to step up, they did. The great thing about this group is the way they listen in the huddle and go out and get it done."
Offensively, Sam Houston has been led by senior middle blocker Anna Ferguson of Dallas / Lake Highlands and sophomore outside hitter Carli Kolbe of College Station / A&M Consolidated.
Ferguson has become the 18th player in Sam Houston volleyball history to total more than 1,000 kills. With 434 kills this season (3.5 per set) her career total stands at 1,069 coming into the tournament. Ferguson stands No. 7 all-time in career blocks at SHSU with 316.
Kolbe leads the Southland Conference in matches with both double figure kills and digs (17). She has recorded those totals against 13 opponents. Kolbe has totaled 444 kills and 315 digs this year. Kolbe and Ferguson rank No. 3 and 4, respectively in the Southland in total kills.
Freshman setter Michelle Miller of Round Rock stepped in for the injured Phillips and ended the regular season ranked No. 2 in the Southland in assists with 9.7 per set. Another freshman, Kaylee Hawkins of Dickinson, has asserted herself at libero. Hawkins ranks No. 3 in the league in digs with 4.28 per set.
Rounding out the starting lineup for Sam Houston are senior outside hitter Katie Phillips of Spring, sophomore middle blocker Kim Black of Huntsville and freshman outside hitter Camille Alfaro of San Antonio Marshall.
Sam Houston's 20-13 overall record in 2009 is the team's best since the 1996 Bearkats went 25-15 on their way to a Southland tournament title and the NCAA playoffs.
All six quarterfinal and semi-final matches will be streamed live on SLC Now available at www.Southland.org. Sunday's finals will be televised live to a regional cable audience on the Southland TV Network.
The complete Southland Conference volleyball post-season tournament schedule:
Friday, Nov. 20
11 a.m. - Match 1 - #1 Texas St. vs. #8 Southeastern LA
1:30 p.m. - Match 2 -#4 Lamar vs. #5 UT-Arlington
4 p.m. - Match 3 - #2 Sam Houston vs. #7 Nicholls
6:30 p.m. - Match 4 - #3 Stephen F. Austin vs. #6 UTSA
Saturday, Nov. 21
1 p.m. - Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
4 p.m. - Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Sunday, Nov. 22
2 p.m. - Championship Match
