Kats return home to host ACU
10/5/2018 11:22:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Match 16
Saturday, Oct. 6 • 1:00 p.m. • Huntsville • Johnson Coliseum
Sam Houston State (10-5, 2-1 SLC) vs Abilene Christian (6-9, 3-0 Southland)
Live Stats • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston State volleyball team returns to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum on Saturday afternoon and will look to defend its home floor when it hosts Abilene Christian.
The match on Thursday can be followed via live stats or by following @BearkatsVB on Twitter.
Sam Houston was riding a six-match win streak until it was halted on Saturday at Incarnate Word; however, with five of its next seven matches on their home floor, the Bearkats have an opportunity to position itself well for the remainder of the Southland season in the upcoming weeks.
KATS vs ABILENE CHRISTIAN
The Kats are 7-3 all-time against Abilene Christian, but each of ACU's three wins in the series have come in the teams' last four meetings. The Wildcats claimed five-set wins in both 2015 and 2016 before the teams split a pair of matches last season with each team winning on the road.
CUNNINGHAM JOINS 1,000-KILL CLUB
Senior Taylor Cunningham continues to turn in a huge senior year, and last week against UIW she hit a major career milestone. She finished with 15 kills on the night, but her fourth gave her 1,000 kills for her Bearkat career. She is the 23rd Bearkat in program history to reach the mark, and the third in the last two years after former teammates Jordyn Vaughn and Brooke White also hit 1,000 kills in 2017. She is seeking to become the first SLC player (at least since 2007) to rank in the top 10 in the SLC in kills, blocks and attack percentage.
DOING A BIT OF EVERYTHING
Cunningham's milestone is just part of what is quickly turning into a historic senior season. She leads the league in kills per set (3.63 kps) and also ranks third in attack percentage (.321) and sixth in blocks (1.13 bps), while also checking in at 14th in digs per set (3.18 dps). A Bearkat has led the SLC in kills for the season seven times previously, including four of the past seven seasons.
WALLACE MAKING IMPACT AT LIBERO
Since moving to libero on Sept. 8 against Chicago State, senior Madison Wallace has been one of the most important pieces to the Bearkat attack. The Kats are 6-1 since she made the switch to the off-color jersey, while Wallace is averaging 5.22 digs per set in that span and reached double-figure digs in each of those seven matches.
OUTDIGGING THE COMPETITION
With Wallace leading the way, Sam Houston has been one of the top defensive teams in the nation thru five weeks of the 2018 season. As a team the Kats are averaging 17.5 digs per set, a mark which leads the Southland and also ranks 18th among all teams in the country. That high dig rate has also played a key part in Sam Houston holding its opponents to just .151 hitting, another mark that leads the SLC and ranks 12th in the nation. Only four of SHSU's 15 opponents have manage to hit above .200 against the Kats this season.
STRONG START THRU NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Kats picked up wins in eight of their 12 non-conference matches before opening up SLC play last weekend with wins over McNeese and Lamar. The eight wins before the start of Southland Conference play is the most for the program since 1994 when they won 11 matches in non-conference play on their way to a 29-10 season, an SLC regular-season title and a berth in the NIVC.
