Bearkat volleyball topples Tulane in New Orleans

Sam Houston finished with a losing record of 1-2 at last weekend’s Sugar Bowl Volleyball Classic at the Hertz Center in New Orleans, La. The Bearkats went 0-2 on Friday, losing to Mississippi State in three sets and Pittsburgh in four. They ended their tournament play with a three set win over Tulane on Saturday.

The team wrapped up their tournament play with a solid victory over Tulane. Sophomore Deveney Wells-Gibson, who was recently named Student Athlete of the week, led the charge with 15 kills and 14 digs. The Bearkats overpowered the Green Wave 25-19, 27-25, 25-19.

In the team’s loss to Mississippi State, senior Kendall Cleveland led the team with 12 kills. The Bearkats did not go down without a fight in all three sets of the match (25-22, 25-17, 25-16). Sam Houston took early leads in each set and rallied from a 21-15 deficit to finish 25-22 in the first set.  

The team tasted defeat again Friday evening, this time at the hands of Pittsburgh (25-13, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21). Pittsburgh never relinquished the lead in the first two sets, winning handily. In the third set, SHSU fought its way back. After being tied at 16, Sam Houston went on a 9-2 run for the win and forced a fourth set. In the final set, Pittsburgh once again took the lead and never gave it up. Senior Kaylee Hawkins was the Bearkats' leader in kills with 16 and Junior Tayler Gray recorded an impressive 45 assists in the game. 

Gray was chosen as one of six players on the all-tournament team after racking up 113 assists in the tournament.

The Sugar Bowl Volleyball Classic concluded pre-conference games for the season. The Bearkats start conference play at home against new Southland Conference opponent Oral Roberts this Thursday at 7 p.m.