Volleyball Hosts SFA Lumberjacks Thursday
10/21/2015 3:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
In a rivalry that features the two head coaches in the Southland Conference with the most career victories, Sam Houston plays host to Stephen F. Austin Thursday night in an important league match.
The Lumberjacks, currently in third place in the league standings, bring a 14-11 overall record and a 6-3 Southland slate to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum for the 6:30 p.m. tilt. Sam Houston is tied for sixth place with a 4-4 mark in conference and stands 10-12 overall.
Sam Houston's Brenda Gray now ranks 16th among active NCAA Division I head volleyball coaches with 635 career victories. Debbie Humphreys from SFA is No. 19 with 610 wins.
Since Sam Houston ended a Jacks' 11-game series winning streak with a five-game win over SFA in the semifinals of the Southland post-season tournament in Nacogdoches in 2008, the Bearkats have won six of the last eight meetings with the Jacks.
The Kats will be out to end a three-match losing streak that has seen Sam Houston fall to Abilene Christian and Lamar in five sets on the road and to the Southland's second place team Central Arkansas last week.
Both teams bring plenty of fire power to the floor. Sam Houston's Jordyn Vaughn and Brooke White ranked second and sixth in kills per set in the Southland with averages of 3.44 and 3.21, respectively. SFA's top scorer Jacque Allen is fifth in the league in hitting percentage with a .319 mark with 237 kills in 527 attempts.
Bearkat setter Michelle Griffith ranks second in the league in assists with 843 while SFA's Shannon Connell is fourth with 683. Claire Kilpatrick paces the Bearkat defense with 338 digs this year.
The SFA match is the first of two home contests for Sam Houston this weekend. The Bearkats play host to Northwestern State at 1 p.m. on Saturday. With the top eight finishers in the final regular season standings earning a berth in the Southland post-season tournament in Conway, Ark., Northwestern State comes into the fray in ninth place needing a victory to keep pace with the league leaders.
Tickets for Sam Houston volleyball are available online at www.gobearkats.com or at the Bearkat athletic ticket office on the west side of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
