NACOGDOCHES – The Sam Houston Bearkats took down rival Stephen F. Austin for the second time this year, 3-1, on Saturday to clinch the outright WAC Southwest Division title on Saturday afternoon at Shelton Gym.
 
The Kats (17-8, 10-3 WAC) not only clinched the outright Southwest Division title, but the No. 1 overall seed in next week's WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. They will open up the event on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 11:00 a.m. CT against No. 8 Abilene Christian.
 
The title is the first outright WAC title the Kats have won as a department in its first year in the league and the first league title of any kind for Sam Houston Volleyball since claiming the 2012 Southland Conference championship.
 
Additionally, it was the first win for Sam Houston in Nacogdoches since 2013 and the first time the Kats have swept a multi-match season series from the Ladyjacks in the regular season since 2011.
 
Senior Ashley Lewis was the star of the show in the matinee effort, finishing with a match-high 19 kills to go with 14 digs, hitting .286 in the match. Her 14 digs pushed her over 1,000 for her career, making her just the eighth Bearkat in program history to total 1,000 kill and 1,000 digs in a career.
 
She was joined by fellow outside hitters Breanne Chausse (11 kills) and Catherine Krieger (10 kills) in double figures as the Kats finished with a .222 attack percentage for the match. Much of that offensive success came in Sets 2 and 4, where the Kats hit .308 and .424, respectively.
 
Morgan Janda added a pair of kills and eight digs to her 42-assist total, while Chausse led all players with a career-high seven total blocks. The Kats finished with 11 blocks as a team with McKenzie Morvant adding five to go with three kills.
 
On the back line, Hannah Baker capped her regular season with 26 digs and a pair of aces.