Taylor Cunningham and Brooke White combined for 21 of Sam Houston's 40 kills as the Bearkats took an hour and 13 minutes to blank Nicholls in three sets for their third consecutive Southland Conference volleyball win.

Sam Houston upped its season record to 9-8 with a 25-11 25-18 25-11 victory over Nicholls. The Colonels dropped to 5-10 for the year and 0-3 in league action.

The Bearkats trailed only once in the match. The lead change came in the second set. The score was tied four times in the third frame but the Sam Houston defense held fast.

"We're happy to 3-0 in conference and 2-0 in Southland matches at home," SHSU Head Coach Brenda Gray said. "Nicholls plays at their own pace. It's tough to have three matches in one week. We played a five-setter at Northwestern State and didn't get home until after two in the morning, so we knew this one was going to be hard. But we're accomplishing the goals we set for ourselves. Now we're focusing on McNeese Saturday." 

Cunningham's 11 kills came in 21 attempts with only three errors for a .381 hitting percentage. White scored her 10 kills in 36 attempts, also with only three miscues. Shelby Genung added eight kills. Sherman and Genung led Sam Houston with four block assists apiece.

Setter Michelle Griffith assisted on 36 kills and totaled 13 digs. Brenna Homer led the defense with 16 digs while libero Claire Kilpatrick totaled 12.

Kaci Eaton led Nicholls with nine kills. As a team, the Colonels totaled 28 kills and eight blocks.

Sam Houston returns to Southland Conference action Saturday at 11 a.m. when the Kats play host to McNeese State at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.