Bearkat Invitational opens Friday
8/25/2011 8:58:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
A&M-Corpus Christi, Louisiana Tech, Rutgers and Texas-Pan American join Sam Houston in the five-team field. The Bearkats will open tournament action with an 11:30 a.m. match vs. the UTPA Broncs Friday. Sam Houston also takes on Rutgers at 7 p.m. during the first day's action.
The Bearkats finished third in last year's SHSU Invitational after winning the title in 2009. With head coach Brenda Gray welcoming back 11 letter winners including all six starters from last year's squad that finished fourth in the Southland West Division, Gray believes her 2011 squad is set to compete for a title this year.
"I really like this team. They've been a lot of fun to work with during preseason camp," Gray said.
The head coach enters her 28th season at the helm of the Bearkat program, ranked 16th among active NCAA Division I volleyball head coaches with her 557 career coaching victories. Her 2011 Sam Houston team is evenly divided with a roster made up of four seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen.
"We have a good group of returning players plus some young newcomers we're eager to see in action," Gray said. "This team will have strong senior leadership from some ladies who are hungry for a title."
Any assessment of the 2011 Bearkat squad starts with senior outside hitter Carli Kolbe, a two-time first team All-Southland Conference selection.
Kolbe begins her senior season ranked No. 18 in Sam Houston career kills (1,169). She finished third in the Southland in 2010 in kills (424) and kills per set (3.69), becoming the first Bearkat to post more than 400 kills in back-to-back seasons since 2005.
Junior Kaylee Hawkins is another Kat who demands opponent's attention. She also is a two-time All-Southland Conference selection, earning first team honors as a libero in 2009 and honorable mention as both a defensive specialist and outside hitter in 2010.
Hometown Huntsville product senior middle blocker Kim Black also will be a force for the 2011 Kats. An All-Southland honorable mention selection as a junior, Black ranked second in the league in total blocks. Her season total of 139 blocks is the highest by a Bearkat since the program moved up to the NCAA level in 1984.
Another leader for the Kats will be senior setter Kym Loving who begins her senior season ranked No. 8 in Sam Houston career assists (2,646).
Other top players who saw action as starters last year include sophomores Haley Neisler and Kelli Stewart. Senior Courtney Laskowski, juniors Camille Alfaro and Jamie Haas and sophomores Tayler Gray and Lauren Bohlen are key returnees who bring a spark both offensively and defensively.
Kendall Cleveland, a transfer from the University of Arkansas, and freshmen Cherise Coleman, Amy Jones, Courtney Kimutis and Deveney Wells-Gibson all bring special talents to the squad as newcomers.
Schedule for the tournament Friday pits Sam Houston and UTPA at 11:30 a.m., Rutgers vs. A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m.; UTPA vs. La. Tech at 4:30 p.m. and Sam Houston vs. Rutgers at 7 p.m.
Saturday starts with A&M-Corpus Christi vs. UTPA at 9 a.m.; Rutgers vs. La. Tech at 11:30 a.m.; Sam Houston vs. A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m.; Rutgers vs. UTPA at 4:30 p.m. and Sam Houston vs. La. Tech at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the tournament and for all other Bearkat home volleyball matches are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the Sam Houston State ticket office.
The ticket office is located inside the Ron Mafrige Field House in the south end zone of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
