Led by Kendall Cleveland and Deveney Wells-Gibson, both with 11 kills, Sam Houston State extended its winning streak to 12 matches with a 25-10 25-16 25-13 Southland volleyball victory over Southeastern Louisiana Thursday night.
The Bearkats outpointed the Lions 52 to 27 as Sam Houston upped its season mark to 17-9 and now stand 12-2 in league action. The 12-match winning streak is the longest for the Bearkats since the volleyball program moved up to the Southland Conference and NCAA Division I level in 1986.
"Our main focus was to come out strong and stay disciplined," outside hitter Kaylee Hawkins said. "We don't want to let up because we have a really big target on our back. We want to come out really strong and stay focused on everything."
Shelby Devlin and Courtney Donald led the Lions each with six kills. Southeastern Louisiana falls to 10-16 for the year and 5-11 in Southland play.
Sam Houston jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and never looked back. The Lions led only once in the match, taking the first point in the third set.
The Bearkats totaled 39 kills with setter Tayler Gray assisting on 34. Libero Camille Alfaro led the defense with 17 digs. The Kats are unbeaten since Alfaro took over the libero role.
"We really focus on coming out strong," Cleveland said. "We want to keep pushing like we do in the very beginning. We think the beginning is the one of the most important parts of the match. We really strive to start strong with no missed serves and lots of momemtum."
Kim Black totaled four blocks. Sam Houston will play host to Nicholls Saturday at 10 a.m.
