Sam Houston State defeated Houston Baptist in four sets on Thursday at Johnson Coliseum.
In the first set, HBU trailed the majority of the set until they tied the score at 17-17. The Bearkats then responded and took the first set 25-22.
The Huskies found control in the start of the second with a quick 0-2 lead.
The Bearkats struggled to get it together as they allowed balls to hit the floor, missed serves and had hitting errors.
HBU’s Meagan McStravick served an aggressive top spin to put the Kats on their heels. The Huskies biggest lead was 13-19 late in the game.
With scoreboard problems in the second set, SHSU managed to come back and win 25-22.
The Huskies then took complete control of the third set and never looked back.
Although HBU had back-to-back service errors to start the set, they found the Bearkats’ open spot right over the middle block and gained multiple points.
HBU had their biggest lead 12-17 after Jessica Wooten found her rhythm on the outside getting kill after kill.
The Huskies won 15-25 after Blair Gillard and Bailey Keith blocked straight down.
In the fourth set, middle blocker Shelby Genung sparked for the Bearkats. She racked up some early kills and assists.
Serving was an issue for both teams as they continuously missed serves in the fourth.
SHSU and HBU rallied back-and-forth until the Kats took the lead 16-13 coming out of a Huskie timeout.
Head Coach Brenda Gray said her team plays better when they are behind.
“I told them going into the fourth set to do what you do well,” Gray said.
The Bearkats did just that as Michelle Griffith continued to set Deveney Wells-Gibson, picking up a handful of kills to lead the Bearkats to victory over the Huskies 25-23.
The Huskies were led by Bailey Keith with 12 kills. Outside hitters Megan McStravick and Jessica Wooten totaled 11 kills respectively.
Libero Haley Hoffman led the defense with 24 digs while setter Kayla Armer had 44 assists out of the Huskies’ 49 kills.
The Bearkats were led by Wells-Gibson, finishing with 22 kills for the night. Breanna Homer added nine to the scoreboard and Jordyn Vaughn totaled seven kills for the Bearkats.
Claire Kilpatrick led the defense with only 17 digs, and Griffith had 49 assists out of 56 kills.
There were a total of 13 tied scores and four lead changes the whole match.
SHSU are now 6-4 in Southland Conference play and HBU moved down to 7-3.