ARLINGTON – The Sam Houston volleyball team went to five sets twice, splitting a pair of matches with Tulsa and North Texas on Friday at the Maverick Classic at the College Park Center.
 
Hannah Baker tied a Sam Houston single-match record with 44 digs in the win over Tulsa, but the Kats were not able to keep their early season win streak alive in the second match when the Mean Green were able to outlast them in five sets. Ashley Lewis also became the newest member of the 1,000-kill club at Sam Houston with 47 kills over the two matches, giving her 1,001 for her career.
 
Sam Houston will close out the Maverick Classic on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. when they take on host UT Arlington. The match will be aired on ESPN+.
 
MATCH 1
Sam Houston 3, Tulsa 2
For the third straight match the Bearkats were stretched to the full five sets, and for the third straight match the Kats were able to pull out a win when they needed it.
 
After dropping Sets 2 and 3, the Kats rallied for a dominant 25-16 win in Set 4 and then hit .381 in Set 5 to blow past the Golden Hurricane to move to 5-0 on the season for the first time since 2011.
 
Baker stole the show with her back-row performance, finishing with 44 digs to tie the SHSU single-match school record set by Kaylee Hawkins in 2009.
 
She was not the only Bearkat to turn in a big stat day as four players finished in double-figure kills, led by Ashley Lewis' 20-kill, 19-dig double-double. Breanne Chausse followed up her 24-kill outing vs HBU with 17 more scores and a .341 attack percentage in the win, while McKenzie Morvant had a career-high 12 kills to go with six blocks, and Catherine Krieger finished with 10 kills.
 
Morgan Janda put up 48 assists and 15 digs, directing the Kats to a .208 attack percentage for the match.
 
MATCH 2
North Texas 3, Sam Houston 2
The Kats could not keep luck in their corner in the second match of the day, despite forcing a fifth set once again against UNT.
 
The Mean Green took consecutive 25-17 wins in Sets 2 and 3 and then held a 23-21 late in Set 4 before the Kats rallied back for a 27-25 win that forced a decisive stanza.
 
The team's stat lines were almost identical, but UNT had four players between 16 and 11 kills, while the Kats had just two in double figures. Lewis was the primary hand in the match for Sam Houston, tying her career high with 27 kills on 73 swings while also keeping alive 14 digs.
 
Breanne Chausse picked up a double-double as well with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Baker picked up 23 digs. Janda had 38 assists and 11 digs, while De'Janae Gilmore had a hand in four of the Kats' seven blocks.