Match 15 • Abilene • Moody Coliseum
Thursday, September 22
6:00 PM at Abilene Christian
Watch on ESPN+ •
Live Stats •
Follow @BearkatsVB on Twitter
Series vs the Wildcats: Sam Houston leads 12-4
Full Series History
Match 16 • Huntsville • Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Saturday, September 24
Game Sponsor: Barefoot
1:00 PM vs Stephen F. Austin
Watch on ESPN+ •
Live Stats •
Follow @BearkatsVB on Twitter
Series vs the Ladyjacks: Series tied 39-39
Full Series History
HUNTSVILLE – With non-conference play in the rearview mirror, the Sam Houston Bearkats will begin their quest for a second straight WAC trophy this week with matches at Abilene Christian and at home against Stephen F. Austin.
Each match will be streamed on ESPN+, including Saturday's match at Johnson Coliseum with Jordan Smith on the call. Fans can also follow each match via live stats and get updates via social media by following @BearkatsVB on Twitter.
Sam Houston will enter Thursday's match with the Wildcats looking to snap an 8-match losing skid after consecutive tough weekends at both Texas State and Baylor's tournaments. The Kats will be taking on ACU at the newly-renovated Moody Coliseum after the Wildcats competed in the Teague Center each of the past two seasons.
The Kats will then host the Ladyjacks in the first of two meetings against their Piney Woods rivals this year, putting an end to a streak of 11 straight matches played away from Johnson Coliseum for Sam Houston.
Baker Enjoys Record-Setting Weekend In Waco
Libero
Hannah Baker entered the weekend of the Baylor Classic on the verge of a career milestone, needing just 20 digs to become the 19
th Bearkat in program history to reach 1,000 for a career. She took care of that quickly with 21 digs in the tournament opener vs McNeese, but then went to another level later in the weekend.
In the tournament finale, a 5-set loss to Tulsa, Baker finished with 50 digs to her credit. That mark is five more in a single match than any other player in the country this year, and makes her the first player in NCAA Division I competition since 2015 to reach 50 digs in a single match.
The 50 digs also set a new single-match school record at Sam Houston that shattered the previous record of 44 that she had tied last year, ironically enough, also in a 5-set match vs Tulsa.
Dyer Goes For 20 Kills vs Tulsa
Freshman
Madison Dyer has stood out during non-conference play, but since going for 11 kills against Texas A&M had not registered more than eight scores in the next five matches. That came to a resounding halt in the finale of the Baylor Classic when she exploded for 20 kills against the Golden Hurricane.
It was a season-high for any Bearkat this year and saw her hit at a .489 clip, misfiring only once on 39 swings. She is the first Bearkat freshman to register 20 kills in a match since Taylor Cunningham had 22 at Northwestern State in 2015.
Kats Going For Third Straight Win vs SFA
Sam Houston took down the Ladyjacks in each of their two meetings in 2021, sweeping SFA on its way to the WAC Southwest Division title. With a win on Saturday, the Kats would run their streak to three in a row over SFA, something they have not done in the series since three straight wins over the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Gray Picks Up 750th Career Win vs Prairie View
It was another milestone for 39th-year head coach
Brenda Gray on last Tuesday as she picked up her 750th career victory when the Kats swept their way past Prairie View in the 2022 home opener at Johnson Coliseum. Gray is the fourth-longest tenured current coach in Division I, and is 10th in the nation among active coaches with her 751 career victories.
