Volleyball To Open SLC Tournament On Friday
11/17/2016 12:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Southland Conference Tournament • Nov. 18 – Nov. 20 • Conway, Ark. • Farris Center
Round 1: Friday, Nov. 18 • 1:30 p.m. CT
No. 3 Sam Houston State (16-13, 10-6 SLC) vs No. 6 Northwestern State (12-19, 7-9 SLC)
Tournament Central • Live Stats • Watch Live • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
CONWAY, Ark. – Sam Houston State finished off the regular season last weekend as one of the hottest teams in the Southland Conference and will now look to carry that momentum into the Southland Conference Tournament this weekend in Conway, Ark.
The Bearkats surged at the right time late in the year, winning seven of their final 10 matches of the year and claimed the tournament's No. 3 seed with a 3-1 win at Northwestern State on Saturday.
They will now get their second consecutive look at the Demons when they take on No. 6 Northwestern State in the 1:30 p.m. match of Day 1 of the tournament on Friday. Sam also owns a 3-2 win over the Demons on Oct. 20 in Huntsville.
A win would advance Sam Houston into the tournament semifinals to face the winner of No. 2 Stephen F. Austin and No. 7 Southeastern Louisiana at noon on Saturday. The other side of the bracket includes No. 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs No. 8 McNeese and No. 4 Houston Baptist vs No. 5 Central Arkansas.
The tournament finals are set for 3:05 p.m. on Sunday and will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Sam Houston State will be looking to keep their offensive momentum going, with a front line that ranks second in the Southland in hitting percentage (.219) and average kills per set (13.89). Junior Jordyn Vaughn ranks fifth in conference play with 3.33 kills per set (203 total) while sophomore Amanda Gooch is hitting .330 against Southland teams.
Senior Michelle Griffith orchestrates a well-rounded Bearkat offense with a league-leading 11.03 assists per set (651 total).
Vaughn, along with Brooke White were each named to the all-Southland Conference first team on Monday while sophomore Taylor Cunningham was named to the second team. The three selections was tied with Houston Baptist for the second most selections of any league school behind only Southland champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
SAM HOUSTON IN THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Sam Houston will be going after its third Southland Conference Tournament title this weekend in Conway, having previously won the tournament in 1993 and 1996. The Kats are making their 21st appearance in the tournament and enter with a 16-19 all-time record in the event.
It is the fourth time the Bearkats have entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and holds a 4-4 all-time tournament record in that seeding slot.
Last season the seventh-seeded Bearkats provided the biggest upset of the tournament, sweeping the host, No. 2 Central Arkansas, in the opening round before falling to Houston Baptist in the semifinals.
