The Sam Houston Bearkat Volleyball team came back home with two wins over a 3-day Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. The 3-day event, called the WAC Weekend, had the Bearkats play three of their new conference rivals.
The first game for the Bearkats in the WAC Weekend began Thursday, Oct. 21, against Grand Canyon University. The Kats lost their opening game falling 3-0. Senior outside hitter Ashley Lewis led the Kats with 11 kills and 13 digs.
Freshman libero Hannah Baker also played well, tying Lewis in the game with 13 digs for the Bearkats.
The Bearkats bounced back quickly, taking the second game of WAC Weekend with a 3-1 score against New Mexico State University. Sam Houston came out striking, taking the first set with a 25-18 victory. New Mexico returned the favor, shutting down the Bearkats to only 13 points in the second set.
This was not enough to deter the Bearkats, however, as they took the next two sets with scores of 25-21, capping the game off 25-17.
Sophomore outside hitter Catherine Krieger led the Kats with 13 kills on the afternoon. Two other Bearkats hit double-digit kills with the players being junior outside hitter Breanne Chausse with 11 and Lewis with 12. Four players, including Lewis and Chausse, had double-digit digs.
To close out the weekend, the Bearkats swept Utah Valley University 3-0 to finish with a winning record.
The Bearkats were able to take care of business in the first set with a 25-20 victory. The second set, however, would not come as easy. The Bearkats won the second set of the match going into extra play with a 26-24 win. The final set would come with relative ease as the Bearkats only trailed for a short period of time, winning the final set and overall, the match 25-21.
Lewis once again led the way in kills having 12 in the game with Chausse and Krieger closely behind her with 11 apiece. Baker had her best defensive game of the weekend coming away with 20 digs in the Bearkats final game.
The Bearkats will return to Huntsville, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 28 to play the first of their final two home games against the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
