Kat, Jacks ready for volleyball "Battle" Wednesday at Johnson
10/5/2010 7:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Both teams desperately need a victory as both the Lumberjacks and the Bearkats both have been struggling. The pair are tied at the bottom of the Southland Conference West Division with 1-3 league records after the first two weeks of league action.
SFA, 8-11 for the year, is on a three-match losing streak and has lost in four of its last five outings. Sam Houston, 7-12 on the season, defeated A&M-Corpus Christi in five sets a week ago at home for the Bearkats only victory in their last eight matches.
The teams appear evenly matched. Both are led by offensive leaders. Carli Kolbe of Sam Houston, a first team all-Southland selection last year, ranks fourth in the Southland in kills with 3.23 per set. Mary Bottles of SFA is sixth in the league with 3.09 per set kill average.
Junior setter Kym Loving of SHSU is fourth in the league in assists with an 8.92 average while the Lumberjacks freshman setter Allison Gideon stands seventh with an 8.70 mean.
Both have talented sophomore defensive leaders at the libero position as well. Kaylee Hawkins of Sam Houston, also a first team all-league honoree last season, ranks eighth in the Southland in digs with 3.52 per set while sophomore Madison Hanlan of SFA stands fourth with a 4.54 average.
Sam Houston has fared well in their last two meetings with the Jacks. But the Bearkats had to go five sets in each contest to win.
The Kats won 24-26 25-22 22-25 27-15 15-11 last year in Huntsville. In the first round of the Southland post-season tournament in Nacogdoches in 2008, Sam Houston also won in five, going 18-16 in the final set.
The victory at the tournament in 2008 ended a 12-match winning streak by SFA over Sam Houston that dated back to 2002.
Tickets for the volleyball match will be available at the door at Johnson Coliseum or are on sale in advance online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office in the Ron Mafrige Field Houston at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1764.
