After the first day's action in the Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational, only two volleyball teams remain unbeaten.
Sam Houston and Eastern Michigan both won their two matches Friday. The Bearkats defeated Prairie View and Marist in straight sets while Eastern Michigan topped the Panthers in three and went four in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Eagles and the Bearkats will meet at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Sam Houston also will play Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m.
Carli Kolbe and Kaylee Hawkins produced 13 kills apiece to lead Sam Houston in the victory over Prairie View A&M. The contest was the season opener for Sam Houston.
After an error on the first point, the Kats rolled off seven straight kills to go up 7-1 in the first set and roll to a 25-19 margin in the first frame.
The Kats never trailed in the second set, winning 25-18. Against SHSU roared out to a quick 5-1 start.
Bu, with several reserves taking over in the third set, the contest became a fight. Prairie View won the opening five points and kept the lead until Hawkins tied the score 15-15 with a kill.
The Panthers continue to roar, building a 21-18 lead before Sam Houston took over on Hawkins serve. Kim Black, Camille Alfaro and Courtney Laskowski each had kills and Hawkins served an ace to bring up match point. Laskowski aced the Panthers to earn the victory.
Kolbi was the kill leader for Sam Houston in the victory over Marist with 11. Kelli Stewart and Hawkins each added nine kills.
Sam Houston led most of the match with only nine ties and four lead changes coming in the match. Three of the lead changes were in the second set.
The Bearkat front line totaled 12 blocks with Hawkins leading the way having a hand in six of the blocks.
In earlier action Friday
MATCH ONE
EASTERN MICHIGAN def. PRAIRIE VIEW 25-15 25-17 25-8
Rachel Iaquaniello totaled 14 kills and added two blocks to lead the Eagles to a three-set victory over Prairie View A&M in the first match of the Comfort Suites SHSU Invitational.
Sharonda Marshall led the Panthers with five kills. Paige Roback added seven kills for EMU. The Eagles front line combined to block 11 Prairie View shots. Kristen Baker participated in five of those blocks
MATCH TWO
LA-LAFAYETTE def. MARIST 25-20 25-16 21-25 25-21
Lesley Mirarchi totaled 15 kills and Taylor Meade added 14 more to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to a four-set victory over Marist in the second match of the tournament.
Grace Hill blasted 15 kills to led the Red Foxes.
Louisiana-Lafayette never trailed in the first set and was behind only twice in the second. But the third was a back-and-forth battle with four ties and four lead changes before Marist closed it out by hitting .370 with 14 kills in 27 attempts.
The Cajuns jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set and never trailed on the way to their victory.
MATCH FOUR
EASTERN MICHIGAN def. LA-LAFAYETTE 25-18 25-14 21-25 25-20
Four Eagles totaled double figure kills as the Eagles remained undefeated in the Comfort Suites Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
Rachel Iaquaniello and Kristen Baker each posted 11 kills while Paige Roback and Jennifer Swartz had 10.
Carolina Dufrene led the Ragin' Cajuns with 11 kills.
Saturday's schedule calls for Prairie View vs. Marist at 9 a.m., Eastern Michigan against host Sam Houston at 11:30 a.m., the Ragin' Cajuns against the Panthers at 2 p.m., Eastern Michigan vs. Marist at 4:30 p.m. and SHSU against Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m.
The complete Comfort Suites SHSU Volleyball Invitational schedule:
| Friday Aug. 27 |
|
|
| 9 a.m. |
Eastern Mich. 3 |
Prairie View 0 |
| 11:30 a.m. |
La-Lafayette 3 |
Marist 1 |
| 2 p.m. |
Sam Houston 3 |
Prairie View 0 |
| 4:30 p.m. |
Eastern Michigan 3 |
vs. La-Lafayette 1 |
| 7 p.m. |
Sam Houston 3 |
Marist 0 |
Saturday, Aug. 28 |
|
|
| 9 a.m. |
Prairie View |
vs. Marist |
| 11:30 a.m. |
Eastern Michigan |
vs. Sam Houston |
| 2 p.m. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
vs. Prairie View |
| 4:30 p.m. |
Eastern Michigan |
vs. Marist |
| 7 p.m. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
vs. Sam Houston |
All 10 matches of the Comfort Suites SHSU Invitational will be streamed live on www.gobearkats.com. You must purchase the monthly video subscription for $7.95 to watch.
Tickets to Sam Houston volleyball matches at Johnson Coliseum at $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Sam Houston students are admitted free with presentation of their Bearkat One card.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.gobearkats.com or fans may visit the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located 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 number is (936) 294-1729.
