No. 7 Sam Houston State Sweeps No. 2 Central Arkansas
Southland Conference
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CONWAY, Ark. – No. 7 Sam Houston State swept No. 2 Central Arkansas (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) Friday in the fourth match of the 2015 Southland Conference Tournament on the campus of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark.
Sam Houston State came out firing on all cylinders. Led by junior defensive specialist Claire Kilpatrick, the Bearkats totaled 17 digs holding the Sugar Bears to a .030 hitting percentage. An 8-2 Bearkat run ended the first set 25-18.
In the second set sophomore right side Megan Nash led the charge for the Sugar Bears, recording five kills, two blocks and a block solo as they narrowed their 12-18 deficit to 21-24. The comeback was cut short by a full-team effort from the Bearkats. Sam Houston State totaled 16 kills, 14 assists and 20 digs as they kept the Sugar Bears under a .200 hitting percentage for the second straight set.
The Sugar Bears got out to an early lead, but fell behind after a kill by freshman outside hitter/middle blocker Taylor Cunningham. That kill led to an 11-6 run led by sophomore outside hitter Brooke White with six kills. Down 20-15, the Sugar Bears mounted one last comeback with a 5-1 run narrowing the Bearkat lead to one. The Bearkats called a crucial timeout which led to sophomore outside hitter Jordyn Vaughn’s three consecutive kills ending the final set of the night.
Vaughn, Cunningham, and White led the Bearkat offense with a combined 39 kills. Junior setter Michelle Griffith totaled 37 assists while contributing 11 digs on defense, second only to Kilpatrick’s 18 digs.
The Bearkats will advance to the Southland Volleyball Tournament semifinals Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2:30 p.m. and will take on No. 6 Houston Baptist.
The first two rounds of the tournament will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, including
Southland.org/watch and the league’s mobile and tablet apps. The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, available via
WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
Sam Houston State Head Coach Brenda Gray
On playing host Central Arkansas
We felt very good coming in. With everything we’ve been through this year, getting a lot of subs in and finding what works for us and finally getting everybody healthy, we felt really good about ourselves. We spent a lot of time looking at Central this week and felt really prepared. Playing Central Arkansas presents a challenge but this isn’t their home floor. They played in a much more enclosed gym across the street. Our team loves playing in this arena. It so much more open and like Johnson Coliseum at home. We like playing here. The fans could have gotten more involved but we did a good job of keeping them out of it.
Sam Houston State Freshman Outside Hitter Taylor Cunningham
This is so exciting. Everyone played so well. It was really important for us to come back and win it in three and keeping them from getting some momentum. The coaches did a great job in getting us prepared and it paid off
Central Arkansas Head Coach Jeni Jones
On Sam Houston
Sam Houston came in and took this match. They were extremely aggressive, super high energy. They brought it. We came in very flat; I’m not sure why that was. We prepared just as we normally do but as a coaching staff and as a program we’re going to have to look back and reflect on that so we can change that.