HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston took it to the wire only to fall short in a 3-1 loss to rival Stephen F. Austin to conclude the Bearkat Invitational at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearkats went 1-2 in the tournament. Sam Houston swept Prairie View A&M in the season opener on Friday morning and lost to UIW in three sets.
The Ladyjacks won the opening sets 25-22, 25-11 Saturday. That seemed to light a fire under the Bearkats.
Sam Houston came out firing in the third set. The Kats rolled to a 25-15 victory with
Alyssa Fielder's kill setting up set point, and
Lillian Hamilton nailing down the win with an ace.
The fourth set was a slugfest with neither team willing to back down. The Bearkats took a 24-23 lead with a kill by Hamilton and an error, but SFA was able to rally and hold on for a 30-28 victory to grab the win.
Fielder led Sam Houston with 18 kills, Hamilton had 10 and
Lylah Washington and
McKenzie Morvant both finished with nine. Avery Flower had 40 assists and
Hannah Baker had 23 digs.
The Bearkats are back in action at Oral Roberts on Friday at 2 p.m.
