Kats set for BYU Doterra Classic
9/4/2019 2:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Matches 4-6 • BYU Doterra Classic
Thursday, September 5 • 5:00 p.m. CT • Provo, Utah • Smith Fieldhouse
Sam Houston State (1-2, 0-0 Southland) vs Weber State (2-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Live Stats • WCC Network • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
Friday, September 6 • 8:00 p.m. CT • Provo, Utah • Smith Fieldhouse
Sam Houston State (1-2, 0-0 Southland) vs No. 13 BYU (2-1, 0-0 West Coast)
Live Stats • WCC Network • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
Saturday, September 7 • 12:00 p.m. CT • Provo, Utah • Smith Fieldhouse
Sam Houston State (1-2, 0-0 Southland) vs LIU (0-3, 0-0 Northeast)
Live Stats • WCC Network • @BearkatsVB on Twitter
HUNTSVILLE – The first road trip of the season is on the docket for the Sam Houston State Bearkats as they travel west to take part in the inaugural BYU Doterra Classic, beginning Thursday in Provo.
The Kats will open up the weekend on Thursday vs Weber State before taking on No. 13 BYU on Friday night, a team that occupied the No. 1 spot in the poll for the majority of 2018 before advancing to the Final Four. SHSU will close out the weekend with a Saturday tournament finale vs LIU.
Fans can follow along all weekend by following @BearkatsVB on Twitter and Instagram or via live stats Each match will be shown live on the WCC Network.
Sam Houston went 1-2 in a historic opening weekend to kick off the 2019 season last week, getting its lone win on opening night vs Prairie View. That win was the 700th in the career of head coach Brenda Gray, making her the 26th coach in NCAA history to reach that mark.
The Kats' match vs BYU will be the first time SHSU has faced off against a ranked opponent since falling to No. 24 USC in 2016 in Housto. It will be the just the second meeting since 1980 with the Cougars, who are 2-1 after a pair of wins last week before falling to now No. 11 Marquette.
Meanwhile, Weber State picked up a pair of wins on their opening weekend while LIU dropped each of its three matches in its first competition as a unified school after the merging of LIU-Brooklyn and LIU-Post for the 2019-20 athletic year.
Despite picking up just the one win over the weekend, the Kats displayed a potent offense by hitting at a .256 clip while also delivering 1.6 blocks per set as a team. Breanne Chausse was named to the all-tournament team at the end of the weekend after averaging 3.29 kills per set and swinging at a .435 mark, while Ashley Lewis led all Bearkats with 3.64 kills per set in the three matches.
The trip to Provo marks the beginning of 11 consecutive matches away from home for SHSU. They will not play on the Johnson Coliseum floor again until October 3 when they host New Orleans.
