HUNTSVILLE – After pulling off a pair of sweeps on Friday, the Sam Houston volleyball team had to dig deep for a pair of 5-set victories over San Diego State and Houston Baptist on Saturday in the final day of the Bearkat Invitational at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
 
The Kats (4-0) finished unbeaten for the weekend to take the tournament title, while Morgan Janda (MVP), Breanne Chausse and Ashley Lewis were all named to the all-tournament team.
 
Sam Houston is now 4-0 to start a season for the first time since 2014 and will look to improve on that next weekend at the Maverick Classic in Arlington with matches vs Tulsa, North Texas and UT Arlington.
 
Match 1
Sam Houston 3, San Diego State 2
Sam Houston found itself down 2-1 early in the day to the Aztecs, a team the Kats had swept on Friday night, before fighting back to take each of the final two sets of the match.
 
The Kats pulled off the win despite hitting just .179 and not having a player with more than Ashley Lewis' 13 kills. It came in large part to a strong final two sets, hitting .242 and .391 in Sets 4 and 5 to roll past SDSU.
 
Chausse also reached double figures in kills with 11 for the match, while Janda had 30 assists and 11 digs. Hannah Baker tied for match-high honors with 16 digs and De'Janae Gilmore made an impact at the net with six blocks.
 
Match 2
Sam Houston 3, Houston Baptist 2
In the nightcap the Kats were able to pull out three narrow set victories to take down the Huskies for the second time in two days. That came in large part behind Janda who set a new career high with 50 assists, along with 17 digs.
 
Her main target in the match was Chausse who was at the top of her game, connecting on 24 kills on 46 swings, hitting .304 to lead all players offensively. Lewis was not far behind with 18 kills and 17 digs, while Hannah Baker had five service aces and tied a career best with 28 digs.
 
Additionally, McKenzie Morvant totaled a team best six blocks while Madeline McKinney had 15 digs.
 
Sam Houston jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the opening set, but ended up having to fend off the Huskies for a 27-25 win. HBU responded with a solid win in Set 2, led by all-tournament selection Sara Arroyo who finished with 20 kills in the match, but again the Kats were able to outlast them for a 26-24 win in Set 3.
 
The Kats had four match-point chances in Set 4, but were unable to put away the Huskies. But despite forcing a decisive fifth set, HBU was not able to hold back the Kats as Sam Houston hit .280 in the final frame to close it out.