CONWAY, Ark. – Jordyn Vaughn and Michelle Griffith each turned in double-doubles, but the Sam Houston State Bearkats saw their four-match win streak come to an end with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20) loss at Central Arkansas on Thursday at the Prince Center.
Despite the loss, the Kats (15-13, 9-6 SLC) can still clinch the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament with a win on Saturday at Northwestern State and a loss by Houston Baptist to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Set 1
Despite six kills from Brooke White and hitting .244 as a team, the Kats could not stop a late UCA (14-13, 8-7 SLC) push as the Sugar Bears staked themselves to a 1-0 lead. Sam Houston found itself up a point as late as 18-17 on a kill from White, but Megan Nash tied it up one point later and sparked a 6-1 UCA spurt that pushed them to a 23-19 advantage late in the set. Sam cut it back to a one-point deficit at 23-22 on a service ace from Claire Kilpatrick, but could cut it no closer as the Sugar Bears took the last two points on their way to hitting .333 for the set.
Set 2
UCA amped up its offense in the second set, getting five kills apiece from Nash and Haley Tippett in hitting .382 to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Vaughn picked up five of Sam Houston's 12 kills in the set, only misfiring once on 10 tries while Taylor Cunningham successfully connected on four of her five swings. The Sugar Bears reeled off five straight points after Cunningham had tied things up in the early going at 7-7 and they saw the lead grow to as much as eight, scoring four of the final six points of the set.
Set 3
The third set saw the Bearkat defense come alive, picking up four blocks and holding UCA to their worst hitting set of the match at .079. Amanda Gooch was the hot hand in the frame, picking up five kills on nine swings with no errors and also getting her hand on a pair of blocks. Vaughn added four scores in the set and Cunningham three, while three players picked up at least five digs. Despite the defensive increase, it still took a late rally for the Kats to claw back to 2-1 in the match. Sam Houston found itself staring at a 22-19 deficit before a kill from Cunningham sparked a 6-0 run that finished when Addison Miller found Vaughn for the clinching score.
Set 4
But the defensive tables turned in the fourth set for the Bearkats, despite six kills from White. UCA forced a dozen Sam Houston attack errors in the set, picking up 9.5 blocks on the way, including six from Nash and five from Tippett. The Kats held a 9-6 lead before the Sugar Bears scored on blocks on three of the next four points to surge ahead 10-9. Still, Sam was able to retake the lead at 18-16 on three straight points from White and Vaughn before UCA caught fire again late in the set, racing to the finish line on a 9-2 run.
Players of the Match
Vaughn delivered 15 kills and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the year, while Griffith picked up her 15th with 46 assists and 14 digs. Sarah Sherman led the Kats with six blocks while Cunnnigham added four to go with her 11 kills and .450 hitting percentage for the match. White also added 14 kills while Kilpatrick led Sam with 15 digs.
Key Stat
The Kats finished with more kills and digs than the Sugar Bears, but UCA dominated the net with a 17.5-8.0 edge in blocks as the Sugar Bears held Sam Houston to just .164 hitting for the night.
Up Next
The Bearkats will close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon when they battle Northwestern State at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches. They will then turn their attention to the Southland Conference Tournament, which is set to start Nov. 18 in Conway, Ark.
