LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Sam Houston Bearkats shook off a slow start to sweep its way past Abilene Christian on Thursday morning in the first round of the WAC Tournament at the Pan Am Center.
The top-seeded Bearkats (18-8) had fallen to the Wildcats (9-15) in four sets just two weeks prior to Thursday's match, but avenged that loss behind 13 kills from
Catherine Krieger and a dozen from
Ashley Lewis.
Sam Houston now awaits the winner of No. 4 Grand Canyon and No. 5 UTRGV in tomorrow's semifinal, a match set for 5:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+ with a berth to the WAC Tournament championship match on the line.
The Kats hit just .186 as a team for the match, but dominated the service line and got 33 of its 40 kills from the outside-hitting trio of Krieger, Lewis and
Breanne Chausse. In all, Sam Houston finished with a 7-0 advantage in service aces, topped by three from
Madeline McKinney.
Krieger, meanwhile, led all players with her 13 kills, doing so on 25 swings without an error (.520) in an effective showing. Lewis posted her 12
th straight double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Chausse tallied eight kills and 12 digs with six scores coming in the second set.
Morgan Janda added 32 assists and
Hannah Baker had a match-high 15 digs. Additionally, Sam Houston finished with a 10-8 advantage at the net, led by six total blocks from
McKenzie Morvant.
De'Janae Gilmore and Chausse also added four each.
The Kats were outstanding late in sets throughout the match, a theme that showed up early in Set 1 when SHSU and ACU were tied at 17-17 before the Kats reeled off an 8-2 run to finish things off.
Sam Houston scored five of the final six points of Set 2 to run away from the Wildcats despite it being just a 1-point set at 20-19, but it was the final run in Set 3 that defined the morning. The Kats trailed 19-17 before a kill from Krieger got the Kats going, sparking an 8-0 run to end the match.
