Led by Jordyn Vaughn, Brooke White and Taylor Cunningham, No. 7 seed Sam Houston knocked off No. 2 seed and event host Central Arkansas in three quick sets 25-18 25-21 25-22 to advance to the semifinals of the Southland Conference volleyball tournament Saturday night.

The Bearkats took just an hour and 38 minutes to dispatch the Bears, a team that beat Sam Houston in Conway less than a month ago in three. Vaughn led the Kats with 14 kills, White added 13 and Cunningham put away 12.

Sam Houston now plays No. 5 seeded Houston Baptist Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the second semifinal. The Huskies knocked off No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin in four sets in the contest preceding the Kats.

“We felt very good coming in,” Sam Houston head coach Brenda Gray said. “With everything we've been through this year, getting a lot of subs in and finding what works for us and finally getting everybody healthy, we felt really good about ourselves.”

The Bearkats totaled 47 kills in 118 attempts with setter Michelle Griffith assisting on 37 of the points. Libero Claire Kilpatrick and Griffith led the Kat defense with dig totals of 18 and 11, respectively.

The first set started with four ties, the last at 8-8 before Cunningham started a 6-1 run to put the Kats in charge 14-9. The Bears cut the lead to two once, at 16-14. Three kills by Vaughn and two more by Cunningham powered a 9-4 run to close out the opening stanza 25-18.

Sam Houston came on even stronger in the second set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead after a kill by White. UCA fought back to within three points, 18-15. Vaughn rose to the occasion with another slam as the Kats closed out the second period with a 7-6 run to go up two seconds to none.

Early in the third set, the Bears looked like they were going to claw their way back into the contest as they took a 7-4 lead. The Kats stopped UCA short, winning nine of the next 11 points to go up 13-9 on a kill by Cunningham. Down 21-16, Central Arkansas made one final charge with four consecutive points to cut the SHSU margin to 21-20. Three final kills by Vaughn ended the rally and put Sam Houston in the semifinals.

“It was crucial for us to win that third set and not let them get any momentum,” Sam Houston setter Michelle Griffith said. “We're all excited, but we know we can only celebrate for a little while. We have another big match against Houston Baptist at 2:30 tomorrow and we have to be ready.”

Sam Houston has not reached the semifinals since the last time the Southland event was held in Conway in 2012. The Kats lost in the opening round in Corpus Christi in 2013 and in Natchitoches in 2014.

“We spent a lot of time looking at Central this week and felt really prepared. Playing Central Arkansas presents a challenge but this isn't their home floor,” Gray said. “They played in a much more enclosed gym across the street. Our team loves playing in this arena. It so much more open and like Johnson Coliseum at home. We like playing here. The fans could have gotten more involved but we did a good job of keeping them out of it.”

Southland Conference Tournament Results  / Schedule:

Friday, November 20
A&M-Corpus Christi (#1) def. Southeastern Louisiana 3-0
McNeese State (#4) def. New Orleans 3-1
Houston Baptist (#6) def. Stephen F. Austin (#3) 3-1
Sam Houston (#7) def. Central Arkansas (#2) 3-0

Saturday, November 21
12 noon – Semifinal #1 – A&M-Corpus Christi vs. McNeese State
2:30 p.m. – Semifinal #2 – Sam Houston vs. Houston Baptist

Sunday, November 22
3 p.m. - Championship final on ESPN3