The Sam Houston volleyball team defeated the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals 3-1.
This victory was their seventh straight win in the Southland Conference last night, taking their overall record to 7-1.
Senior outside hitter Ashley Lewis, coming off her first SLC player of the week award this season, would pick up 15 kills and 14 digs on the game, leading the way in kills.
“I think we all play together really well,” Lewis said. “We are not really one dimensional and I really think that spreading our offensive helps us be successful.”
Sam Houston would finish the first set with an impressive 10-point lead having them win 25-15. The rest of the sets would not be taken so easily. The Cardinals would win the second set 25-22. The Bearkats then would go on to win the third and fourth set 25-20 and 25-18 respectively.
“We started off on fire,” head coach Brenda Gray said following the victory. “We were really aggressive in everything we did; serving, blocking, even hitting. I thought all of our points were on point.”
The two following Lewis in double-digit kills were junior outside hitter Breanne Chausse with 11 kills and sophomore middle blocker De’Janae Gilmore would have a big game with 10 kills.
The Bearkats as a team would have almost twice as many kills as the Cardinals. The Bearkats would lead with a total of 63 kills, with the Cardinals only earning 39 kills. Sam Houston would shine at the net with 23 blocks leaving UIW with only a .113 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Morgan Janda had an excellent game with 34 assists and 13 digs. Senior setter Madilyn Miles added 11 digs and four kills, along with nine assists to add to the team’s total.
Freshman libero Hannah Baker stood out again as she led the team with an impressive 18 digs.
“We bring freshman in every year,” Gray said. “They aren’t just freshman; they are a part of our team. They came in the fall and worked. They were right with us early on. I can’t say enough about them, I’m just glad they play for me.”
The Bearkats will get to rest up and have time to prepare for the next opponent on March 18 at McNeese State University.
