Bearkat Invitational • Huntsville • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
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MATCH 1 vs Houston Baptist
Friday, August 27 • 11:00 AM
 
MATCH 2 vs San Diego State
Friday, August 27 • 6:30 PM
 
MATCH 3 vs San Diego State
Saturday, August 28 • 11:00 AM

MATCH 4 vs Houston Baptist
Saturday, August 28 • 4:00 PM
 
HUNTSVILLE – After a strong spring season, the Sam Houston volleyball team will kick off a full schedule in its first season as part of the WAC on Friday and Saturday when it hosts the Bearkat Invitational at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 
Each match of the Bearkat Invitational can be viewed free of charge on the WAC Digital Network, which is available on both desktop and mobile/tablet devices. Additionally, it is available over-the-top (OTT) platforms including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV 4^th Gen.
 
The official web site of the WAC Digital network is http://wacdigitalnetwork.com, while the WAC Digital Network app is available for iOS in the App Store and Android on Google Play.
 
The Kats were scheduled to see a pair of familiar foes in former Southland Conference rivals Houston Baptist and Central Arkansas, in addition to San Diego State from the Mountain West Conference; however, due to contact tracing, UCA was forced to withdraw from the tournament on Wednesday, forcing a revamped schedule for the weekend.
 
Sam Houston won its only match vs HBU a year ago in Southland play, while this will be the second meeting ever for the Kats vs SDSU, with Sam Houston having fallen 3-1 in San Diego in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
 
Coach Brenda Gray will enter her 38^th season at the helm of the Kats and brings back the nucleus of a roster that went 11-3 last season and advanced to the finals of the Southland Tournament, falling just one set away from its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 1996.
 
That roster is headlined by super senior Ashley Lewis, who is returning for her fifth season with the Kats. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year in the spring, along with a plethora of honors, after ranking in the top 25 in the nation with 4.36 kills per set, along with 3.54 digs per set.
 
She was named to the preseason all-WAC squad last week and was joined there by teammate Morgan Janda, a super sophomore setter from Katy. She was also an all-Southland choice in the spring and averaged 7.34 assists per set in 14 matches, finishing with 10 double-doubles.
 
Along with Lewis, the Kats return their top six leaders in kills from the spring, including outside hitters Breanne Chausse (2.61 kps) and Catherine Krieger (2.18 kps). Samantha Rodgers (1.61 kps) could also be in position for a bigger role, while middle blocker McKenzie Morvant is back after ranking second in the Southland last year with 1.16 blocks per set.
 
The Kats will also have high expectations for Willis native De'Janae Gilmore after she started the final 13 matches of the spring, finishing with a strong showing at the Southland Tournament that saw her hit .500 and average 2.11 kills per set in matches vs Central Arkansas and A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
On the back row, Hannah Baker is back after a breakout first season that saw her average 4.75 digs per set, including a season-high 28 in the championship of the Southland Tournament. She will be joined on the back row by HBU transfer Madeline McKinney after she averaged 2.54 digs per set as a true freshman for the Huskies a year ago.
 
Along with McKinney, the Kats also welcome a large freshman class that includes nine from the high school ranks. Among them is 5-11 outside hitter and Huntsville native Alyssa Fielder who joins the squad after setting numerous records on the local scene at HHS.
 
Other freshman additions on the pins include Kenedi Miller (Friendswood), Marina Ognibene (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Abbi Lemmond (Cedar Park) while Mekayla Koger (Mansfield), Elizabeth See (Caldwell) and Abby Clayton (Brenham) should give the Kats plenty of depth at the net.