SLC play opens Thursday for Kats
9/19/2018 6:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Match 13
Thursday, Sept. 20 • 6:30 p.m. • Huntsville • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Sam Houston State (8-4, 0-0 SLC) vs McNeese (1-13, 0-0 Southland)
Live Stats • ESPN3 • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
Match 14
Saturday, Sept. 22 • 1:00 p.m. • Huntsville • Bernar G. Johnson Coliseum
Sam Houston State (8-4, 0-0 SLC) vs Lamar (3-8, 0-0 Southland)
Live Stats • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE – Riding a four-match win streak to the conclusion of non-conference play, the Sam Houston State Bearkats will be looking to carry that momentum over to Southland Conference play when it opens with a pair of matches this weekend at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
The Kats have already posted eight wins to their credit this year, but will now turn their attention to their second season with McNeese coming to Huntsville to kick off Southland play on Thursday, followed by a visit from Lamar for a matinee on Saturday.
Both games can be followed via live stats or by following @BearkatsVB on Twitter. Thursday's game can also be watched on ESPN3 and the ESPN app with Matt Pedersen on the call courtside from the Coliseum.
KATS vs McNEESE
Through the 2008 season the all-time series was nearly dead even with the Cowgirls, but over the last decade, things have been far different. Sam Houston has won 10 of its last 11 meetings with McNeese since the start of the 2009 season and lead the all-time series 31-20, with the one loss in that stretch being in five sets in Huntsville in 2015.
KATS vs LAMAR
The Bearkats and Cardinals have been foes since Bearkat volleyball records began in 1980. Sam Houston owns a 45-26 edge in the all-time series, including a 20-14 advantage in Southland Conference matches. Like the series with McNeese, the Bearkats have dominated things in the past decade, winning 12 of the last 15 meetings going back to the 2008 season. In fact, the Kats own an eight-match win streak in Huntsville over Lamar with the Cardinals last getting a win at Johnson Coliseum in in 2007.
WALLACE CLAIMS SLC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Madison Wallace was been named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, the first time she has claimed such an honor from the league. The Kats have been red hot since shifting Wallace to libero, and it showed this weekend in Arlington. The senior was named the MVP of the Maverick Invitational after averaging 6.22 digs per set in three Bearkat sweeps, running the Sam Houston win streak to four in a row to close out non-conference play. She has totaled no less than 16 digs in each of those four matches.
KATS CLAIM TITLE AT MAVERICK INVITATIONAL
Sam Houston's trip to Arlington last week proved to be a successful one as the Bearkats swept all three matches at College Park Center, getting wins over Belmont, Grand Canyon and UT Arlington. In addition to Wallace being named the tournament MVP, Taylor Cunningham and Ashley Lewis were each named to the all-tournament team.
OUTDIGGING THE COMPETITION
With Wallace leading the way, Sam Houston has been one of the top defensive teams in the nation thru four weeks of the 2018 season. As a team the Kats are averaging 17.9 digs per set, a mark which leads the Southland and also ranks 12th among all teams in the country. That high dig rate has also played a key part in Sam Houston holding its opponents to just .141 hitting, another mark that leads the SLC and ranks 13th in the nation. Only three of SHSU's 12 opponents have manage to hit above .200 against the Kats this season.
STRONG START THRU NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Currently riding a four-match win streak, the Kats picked up wins in eight of their 12 non-conference matches. 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.
CUNNINGHAM PROVING TO BE ONE OF THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE'S BEST
The Bearkats had high hopes for Taylor Cunningham in 2018, and through four weeks of the season, she is exceeding expectations, having made the all-tournament team at all four events this year. The senior is taking full advantage of playing all six rotations for the first time in her career and has already posted single-match career highs in kills and digs this season. She is currently the only player in the Southland to rank in the league's top 10 in kills per set (3rd at 3.31), attack percentage (10th at .251) and blocks per set (5th at 1.05) while just missing out on the top 10 in digs (13th at 3.21).
FRESHMAN IMPACT
Brenda Gray and her staff knew it would be imperative to add another offensive threat this year, and seem to have found just what they were looking for in freshman right side Breanne Chausse. She has quickly found a home on the Bearkat front line and is second on the team with 2.16 kills per set while hitting at a .243 clip. She was named to the all-tournament team at the Sawyer Camillo Classic in Lafayette after she twice reached double figures in kills, including a dozen scores on 32 swings (.312 attack) vs Houston.
