Kats focus on defense, health in fall camp
8/11/2016 5:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HUNTSVILLE – Through three days of practice, the Sam Houston State volleyball program has honed in on a few key points to get better for the upcoming season. The main priority, however, is making sure they enter the year in a positive spot physically.
“I think the main thing we want to focus on right now is staying healthy and being careful about how much time we're putting in at one time,” head coach Brenda Gray said. “We need to do recovery while conditioning. We do use the pool quite a bit. It's another year but it's a great group we've got.”
The Bearkats, who enter every season with a chip on their shoulder, may have extra determination this year. Sam Houston was picked fifth preseason by the Southland Conference coaches despite returning all six starters from a team that advanced to the league tournament semifinals.
“We were all very anxious to get started,” Gray said. “The last week prior to coming in we all had that itch to get back in the gym. I think we believe we have something to prove this year.”
One turnaround the Bearkats expect to see this fall will be up front. The team finished last in the league a season ago in blocks (1.43 per set) despite holding opponents to a .185 hitting percentage, the third lowest in the league.
“We took a hard look at blocking in the spring,” Gray said. “We were doing a lot more blocking drills. A lot of that had to do with making a change in the middle. We believe if we continue to move forward it will make this team that much better.”
Sam Houston went 8-2-2 during its spring slate helped by pin-point serving in closing out play at the Stephen F. Austin Tournament. The Bearkats captured victories against Louisiana, LSU and Texas Southern in Houston as part of the schedule.
“I would say this season doesn't start right here with two-a-days,” Gray said. “The minute that last (fall) match is over is when that new season starts. We had a great spring last year being able to be in the gym and being able to feed into the previous year.”
The Kats return the league's third-ranked kills leader in Jordyn Vaughn (3.51 per set) as well as Brooke White, who finished seventh (3.18). Michelle Griffith, who took second in assists per set (10.34) will be another key piece back while Claire Kilpatrick, who was fifth in digs per set (4.24) also returns.
“When I look at my middles, we've got four out there fighting to play a middle position,” Gray said. “A couple of them may have to go to right side. I think we've got two of the best outsides in the league. I would say our defense tends to be ahead of our offense, which I think is natural.”
Sam Houston opens its fall slate two weeks from Friday at the UTA Mavericks Invitational. After spending nearly its first month on the road, the team opens Southland Conference play and home action against A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 20.
Season tickets are currently on sale for $30 while individual match seats are $5 for general admission seating. A special group ticket discount of $3 is available for groups of 10 or more fans. To purchase, call the ticket office at (936) 294-1729 or visit GoBearkats.com.
“We try to get the team working together as one,” Gray said. “We only have two new players but they were here Summer 2, as the whole team was. We are trying to get a strong hold on everyone and be a cohesive unit.”
