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HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sam Houston State picked up its first Southland Conference win, defeating Nicholls 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-18) on Thursday night at the Health & Kinesiology Center.

The Bearkats used a season-high in attack percentage (.347) and strong defensive play to improve to 7-9 overall and 1-2 in the Southland. Jordyn Vaughn posted a team-leading 15 kills, while Brooke White added 10 and Michelle Griffith tallied 41 assists. Addison Miller added 14 digs.

Sam Houston continues its three-match home stand on Saturday against McNeese. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Health & Kinesiology Center on the campus of SHSU. Admission is free to all attendees.

Set 1
In the opening set, Sam Houston rallied off nine straight points to take an early 10-2 advantage in route to a big opening-set win. The Bearkats hit .520 in the opening frame as Jordyn Vaughn notched six kills and Michelle Griffith added 12 assists. The Colonels were held to a .172 attack percentage.

Set 2
Sam Houston got off to another hot start in the second frame, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and soon thereafter ran off four straight points for an 11-4 advantage. The Bearkats offense slowed, hitting .150 in the match, as Nicholls cut the deficit to four at 16-12.

Three straight Colonels points brought the Sam Houston lead down to 23-19 but it was too late as kills from Vaughn and Taylor Cunningham closed out the frame and sent the Kats into the intermission with a 2-0 lead, limiting Nicholls to a .121 attack percentage through two sets.

Set 3
Nicholls awoke in the third set, taking a 7-4 advantage behind three straight points but Sam Houston would return the favor, tying the frame at seven a piece on a Griffith kill and took its first lead at 9-8 on a Sherman kill. The squads went back and forth before Cunningham gave Sam Houston some breathing room and a 14-12 lead with a kill.

The kill set up three straight Sam Houston points for a 16-12 advantage and pushed the momentum back into the Bearkats corner as the Kats captured 10 of 13 points for a 19-13 edge in an eventual 25-18 victory.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Jordyn Vaughn recorded a .375 attack percentage, the highest of any Bearkat this season with a minimum of 12 kills. The junior recorded her sixth match this season with 15 or more kills and first since Sept. 10 at Rice.

KEY STATS
Sam Houston spent a majority of the week focusing on blocks and the results showed. The team registered five total blocks and most importantly held the Colonels to a .168 attack percentage, the lowest mark against a Sam Houston team in six matches.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Brenda Gray on the team's win…
“I think we transferred into our match what we worked on this week in practice. We wanted to play our game and focus on blocking. We worked a lot on blocking this week. I think the last time we came in here we didn't play well. We wanted to show everyone what we work on every day.”

Michelle Griffith on the strong offensive output…
“I think our offense was really flowing tonight. I think every hitter showed up and did their job. It really opens up the floor when we have our middles involved. It makes it easier when we distribute it all over the court. It sets the tone for the defense.”

Jordyn Vaughn on the first Southland win and strong start…
“Coach was just saying that our first 10-point lead set the entire tone. It gave us a confidence boost and let us breathe. We were 0-2 and this pushes us forward.”