Carli Kolbe seeking to hit 1,000 kill plateau
10/9/2010 6:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
When Kolbe takes the floor Saturday in a 2 p.m. Southland Conference match against Nicholls, she stands 19 spikes away from becoming the 20th Sam Houston player to produce 1,000 career kills. The first team All-Southland Conference selection from College Station has totaled 981 kills in her 88 matches since joining the program in 2008.
In Wednesday's five-set victory over Stephen F. Austin, she posted more than 20 kills in one match for the third time in her career. Kolbe's all-time intercollegiate high marks include 28 kills against Texas State last year and 26-kill performances in victories over SFA each of the past two years.
"The win Wednesday night was huge," Kolbe said. "It was an emotional match and we seem to play better with emotion."
Kolbe totaled double figure kills in 53 matches as a Bearkat. That includes 14 double-figure performances in 20 matches this season. Kolbe ranks third in the Southland Conference with a 3.37 kill average per set this season.
"Statistics aren't that big a deal. When I make a big kill, I'm doing it for the team," Kolbe said. "Anything we accomplish as individuals is because of the teammates around us. Kym Loving, our setter, does a great job of distributing the ball for the hitters. And players like Kaylee Hawkins get down on the floor and keep the ball in play so we have a chance to score."
Karen Zoch, NCAA Division II All-America selection for the Bearkats in 1984-87, holds the career record for kills at Sam Houston with 2,028. The most recent new member of the 1,000 career kills club at Sam Houston was All-Southland Conference Anna Ferguson who ended her four-year career at SHSU with 1,070 career kills.
Saturday's 2 p.m. contest with Nicholls is an important one for Sam Houston State.
The contest completes a four-match home stand for the Bearkats. The next two weeks Sam Houston will play four consecutive road matches.
Nicholls enters Saturday's match with a 10-7 mark. The Colonels stand third in the Southland East Division standings with a 3-2 league record. Sam Houston is 2-3 in league action, good enough for fourth place in the Southland West. The Bearkats are 8-12 for the year.
Tickets for Sam Houston home volleyball matches are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Tickets are onsale in now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the Bearkat athletic ticket office in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium.
Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is 936 294-1729.
The complete list of the top 20 Bearkats in school career kill annals:
| Player | Years | Sets | Kills | Avg. | |
| 1 | Karen Zoch | 1984-87 | 605 | 2,028 | 3.35 |
| 2 | Tracie Bendele | 1996-99 | 480 | 1,824 | 3.80 |
| 3 | Jana Harless | 1991-94 | 483 | 1,674 | 3.47 |
| 4 | Carrie Sartain | 2000-03 | 456 | 1,547 | 3.39 |
| 5 | Bonnie Beard | 1984-85 | 311 | 1,528 | 4.91 |
| 6 | Jennifer Cron | 1993-95 | 485 | 1,504 | 3.10 |
| 7 | Sarah Womble | 1988-92 | 500 | 1,489 | 2.98 |
| 8 | Katherine Charles | 1983-85 | 446 | 1,479 | 3.32 |
| 9 | Chrissy Engle | 2002-05 | 464 | 1,390 | 3.00 |
| 10 | Denise Meyer | 1986-89 | 548 | 1,288 | 2.35 |
| 11 | Gwen Gilder | 1983-87 | 579 | 1,226 | 2.12 |
| 12 | Monica Barajas | 1992-95 | 349 | 1,207 | 3.46 |
| 13 | Kelly Jajovsky | 1996-99 | 481 | 1,232 | 2.56 |
| 14 | Alisha Fowler | 2002-05 | 356 | 1,223 | 3.44 |
| 15 | Cynthia Yarotsky | 2004-07 | 403 | 1,209 | 3.00 |
| 16 | Christi Dreier | 1991-93 | 373 | 1,179 | 3.16 |
| Yolanda Royston | 1988-91 | 472 | 1,179 | 2.50 | |
| 18 | Anna Ferguson | 2005-09 | 374 | 1,070 | 2.86 |
| 19 | Laura Hart Hodges | 1987-90 | 409 | 1,061 | 2.59 |
| 20 | Carli Kolbe | 2008-10 | 323 | 981 | 3.04 |
