HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats entered Thursday night looking for payback and got just that with a 3-1 win over UTRGV at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 
The Kats (14-7, 7-2 WAC) were the final team in the WAC to have a loss on their ledger after the Vaqueros (14-8, 5-3 WAC) had handed them a 3-2 defeat less than two weeks ago in Edinburg, but Sam Houston handled business in near dominant fashion in the rematch.
 
Ashley Lewis landed 17 kills with 11 digs, and Breanne Chausse added 14 scores and five blocks to lead the way on a night the Kats hit .252 as a team. Moreso, the Bearkat defense held UTRGV to just .118 hitting for the match and bottled up the bulk of the Vaquero offense, aside from leading hitter Sarah Cruz who led all players with 23 kills.
 
The Kats defense was good on both the back line and at the net, finishing with 13 blocks for the match, led by seven each from both McKenzie Morvant and De'Janae Gilmore. Additionally, five players finished in double-figure digs, including Hannah Baker's team-high 18.
 
Chausse (10 digs) and Lewis (11 digs) each finished with double-doubles, as did setter Morgan Janda who had 17 digs to go with 40 assists and three kills. Madeline McKinney also finished with 17 digs on the back row.
 
Sam Houston hit at least .225 in each of the first three sets, winning Sets 1 and 3 by 25-15 and 25-16 scores, while UTRGV picked up Set 2 by fighting off a set-point try for a 26-24 win. But ultimately the Kats were able to close it out in Set 4, taking a 5-4 lead early on and never giving it back, forcing 11 UTRGV errors in the final set en route to a 25-15 win.
 
The win keeps the Kats in sole possession of first place in the WAC and the Southwest Division with just four matches remaining in the regular season. They will close out the home portion of their schedule on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. against Lamar in a match that will serve as Senior Day for both Ashley Lewis and Breanne Chausse.
 
The game will be aired on the WAC Digital Network.