WACO – Libero
Hannah Baker surpassed 1,0000 career digs and the Sam Houston Bearkats erased a 2-0 deficit before falling 3-2 to McNeese on Thursday afternoon in the opener of the Baylor Classic at the Ferrell Center.
Baker entered the match needing 21 digs to become the 19
th player in Bearkat history to reach the millennium mark and got there in the decisive fifth set; however, the Kats ran out of offensive gas in dropping their sixth match in a row.
Catherine Krieger led the Bearkats with her fourth career double-double, finishing with 14 kills and setting a new career high with 14 digs.
Alyssa Fielder also had 11 kills.
Meanwhile,
McKenzie Morvant had a huge day at the net, finishing with 11 total blocks and four solos. The 11 total blocks is tied for the fifth most in a single match in Bearkat history and the four solos is tied for sixth. She is also the first Bearkat since 2017 with 11 total blocks in a match and the first since 2005 with four solo rejections in a single match.
The Kats dropped each of the first two sets before hitting .409 in Set 3 with only one attack error in the frame, staying alive with the win. They then outlasted McNeese 27-25 in Set 4, but the Cowgirls used a 4-0 spurt early in Set 5 to break a 4-4 tie on their way to winning the race to 15.
Kendall Glueck led the Cowgirls with a match-high 22 kills.
The Kats will now take on a pair of opponents on Thursday, starting with No. 14 Baylor at noon before squaring off with Tulsa in the tournament finale at 5:00 p.m.
