Kats sweep SLC weekly honors
10/16/2017 2:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FRISCO – The Sam Houston State Bearkats swept the Southland Conference's weekly honors on Monday with Brooke White and Taylor Cunningham each nabbing an award, according to an announcement by league officials.
White was named the league's offensive player of the week while Cunningham was named the defensive player of the week in leading the Kats to wins at Houston Baptist and over Prairie View. The victories pushed Sam Houston's win streak to eight matches, the longest for the program since a 13-match win streak in 2012.
It is the first time for each player to claim a weekly award from the league in their careers.
White was huge for the Bearkats in the two wins, and was at her best in the Kats' biggest match of the week, a 3-2 comeback win at Houston Baptist. White turned in a monster double-double that night with 26 kills and a career-high 24 digs along with a pair of blocks.
Her 26 kills were just two short of her career high set in 2016 against Rice, and she did it in efficient fashion. White hit .311 for the match with just seven errors in 61 swings and turned around two days later and helped the Kats with a quick non-conference win over Prairie View with seven kills and 13 digs in minimal court time against the Panthers.
She is currently ranking third in the SLC with 3.68 kills per set this season after averaging 4.12 kills per set on the week. In the Kats' seven league wins she is averaging 4.31 per set, which ranks second in the league.
Meanwhile, Cunningham's work at the net was a key part of the first-place Bearkats' 2-0 week as well. She had her biggest match in the Kats' biggest win, a 3-2 comeback victory at HBU on Thursday, turning in a dozen kills on the night, but also turned in a match-high 11 blocks.
That mark is two more than any SLC player has had in a match this season, and tied for the fifth most in SHSU history. The last Bearkat to total at least 11 blocks in a match was Kim Black in 2011. Cunningham then turned around and had an impact in a quick win over Prairie View on Saturday afternoon, picking up another five blocks to go along with another seven kills against the Panthers.
Cunningham is averaging 1.35 blocks per set in league play, a mark that ranks third among Southland players.
The pair and the rest of the Bearkats will put their perfect league record on the line on Thursday at home against UIW before hosting defending league champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at Johnson Coliseum.
