Visit to SFA tips off Southland action Friday
9/15/2011 8:44:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
But the rivalry is just as intense and important as Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin open Southland Conference action Friday at 7 p.m. in a match that also is part of an intercollegiate tournament hosted by the Lumberjacks.
The Sam Houston vs. SFA matchup tips off the SFA Invitational. The Bearkats also will play Rice at 10 a.m. and North Dakota at 5 p.m. Saturday. But the emphasis this weekend is on Stephen F. Austin.
"It's SFA and it's the opening match of Southland Conference play for us," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Gray said. "Both teams will be eager to get off to a good start."
In a rivalry dominated by Stephen F. Austin since 2002, the Bearkats have experienced recent success against the Lumberjacks. SFA won 12 straight from SHSU from 2002 to 2008, a streak ended when Sam Houston downed the Jacks in five games to knock SFA out of the Southland post-season tournament on the Jacks' home floor in the first round of the event in 2008.
Sam Houstno won their next meeting in Huntsville in five sets in 2009 and split last year, winning in five at home in Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum and falling in four sets in Nacogdoches.
"It's always a war when we play SFA. Three of the last four times we've played, it's gone five," senior setter Kym Loving said. "We know we're going to have to play our best to beat them."
Both teams enter the contest with 6-5 records. Sam Houston leads the Southland Conference in total blocks (88) and service aces (70). Loving is third in the Southland in aces (20) and four in assists (385). She recently became only the seventh setter in Bearkat volleyball history to roll up more than 3,000 career assists.
Senior middle blocker Kim Black ranks second in the Southland in total blocks with 47. Team leaders for SFA are Katzy Randall with 127 kills and Mary Bottles with 87. Bottles was a preseason All-Southland Conference first team selection.
Both teams started the season with tournament victories as Sam Houston won its own invitational tournament and rolled off five straight wins for its best start since 1982. The Jacks opened the season with an undefeated run through the Georgia Southern Tournament .
Rice brings a 3-5 record into the event. The Owls are picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA preseason coaches pol. North Dakata brings a 7-3 season mark into the tournament and is the preseason favorite to win the Great West Conference title.
The Rice and North Dakota matches will complete Sam Houston's non-conference schedule for 2011. Sam Houston returns home for the first time since August 27 to play host to defending Southland Conference champion Central Arkansas Thursday Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
Tickets for all Sam Houston home volleyball matches are available online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at 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.
