I had to go to the Sam Houston volleyball game against the Mustangs of Texas-Arlington alone because my roommates are losers tied down to their girlfriends, and I am girl crazy. I noticed that the Ladykats have a great chance of representing Sam in the Southland Conference playoffs. I do sports radio on 90.5 The Kat Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 5 p.m. (do u like the plug?) and I am always saying the names of Liz Dahlstrom, Carrie Sartain, Karlee Butler, and Dana Jefferson. I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the free game and to see what I am actually talking about instead of just getting the stats off of the Internet. I found my seat 15 minutes before the match in the last row of the chairbacks in section ‘E’, right in the middle. I watched the Ladykats playing tug-of-war with a big red rubber band and Texas-Arlington Mustangs were running through their routines at a quick pace. Toss, set, kill! Carol Bozikis of the Mustangs just blasted a ball into the right corner. This girl has an extreme vertical. Now UTA is leaving and the Ladykats step onto the court. They quickly set up in three lines and Coach Gray throws ball after ball into the air intended for her team, with no breaks in between. Coach Gray demands precision and concentration. The Ladykats look much better during warm-ups than the Mustangs. There is more discipline and better form when setting and killing, each player aggressively charges the net, jumps and jams the ball into the corner pocket.The team bounces around the court for a while with no break in between the toss, set, kill! Still MORE setting and killing! Coach Gray, they get the picture! This kind of workout would make Lance Armstrong pull over to the side of the road and take a breather. The game’s intro was one for the ages. A mumbled run through of who is playing for the Mustangs followed by the “Lets get ready to rumble!” song that brought all attention to the Ladykats. First up is Karlee Butler, who takes a small replica volleyball from behind her back and sails it into the audience. It is coming right at me! I am going to get a free souvenir on my first visit to watch a Sam Houston volleyball game! Oh no, a couple behind me snatched it away. On closer inspection I saw it had the girls signatures on it. But on further inspection no phone numbers. Darn it. What a great game! I can see why Liz Dahlstrom was last year’s team MVP. The baseline of the volleyball court is at the free throw line on the basketball court. Liz serves so hard that she serves from the baseline of the basketball court, eight feet away. On defense she also roams the back of the court looking to make a dig, then passes to the setter and sprints to the net to make a kill. No wonder she is second on the team with 267 kills.Carrie Sartain, Karlee Butler and Dana Jefferson make a great team. Carrie Sartain has got mad defense with 273 digs to help the team. Dana Jefferson’s 5′ 11 frame makes her the ideal middle blocker. If ever in need of some assistance ask Karlee Butler, she has totaled 1,011 assists this freshman year while starting every game. She just has an amazing ability to pass. She made a diving dig and passed it to Dana Jefferson while flying out of bounds. I have to go to another volleyball game. There was so much excitement at the end of the third game as the Ladykats are down two games to none. The end of the third game is drawing near, the Sam Houston crowd gets behind their Ladykats and help them rally to tie it up at 28. 30 is the usual limit for a match but this game the Ladykats push it to 31 to get the win. They ended up losing to the Mustangs of Texas-Arlington in four games but the whole game kept my interest. I need to bring my friends and not come back alone. This team has the talent and the coach to get to the playoffs. What they are missing is their home court advantage. I would say going to the game and watching the Ladykat loss to UTA was more entertaining than staying home in my boxers watching Temptation Island 2. The game was fast paced, had great fans, and the chicks are cuter.
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