Two up, two down for the Kats

The Bearkat volleyball team had mixed results in the Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational this weekend. Sam Houston State opened the 2010 season at Johnson Coliseum by splitting wins and losses in a roller coaster tournament. After winning back-to-back matches in just six sets total on Friday, the Kats lost momentum, and consecutive matches, in Saturday's action.

Eastern Michigan, who swept SHSU in three sets on Saturday morning, finished the tournament undefeated at 4-0 to claim the first place trophy. Louisiana-Lafayette, who defeated the Kats in a thrilling five-set invitational finale, was named runner-up for the second year in a row.

"We beat ourselves," Head Coach Brenda Gray said. "We got frustrated in ourselves, to the point where we didn't play very well. We're going to learn from it. We can't let our mistakes effect how we continue to play."

Carli Kolbe's performance in the tournament reminded everyone why she is a presence and leader on the team. Kolbe, who led the Kats in kills with 46, along with Kaylee Hawkins, who recorded 40 kills, were selected to the all-tournament team.

Rachel Iaquaniello of the champion EMU was named tournament MVP. Grace Hill (Marist), Ashley Mason (EMU), Lesley Mirarchi (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Mandi Gavin (Louisiana-Lafayette) comprised the remainder of the all-tournament team.

"I think we fought hard throughout the tournament. We have to work on finishing," Hawkins said. "I really like this team. We have a lot of depth, and we're all pretty well-rounded.

"[Making the all-tournament team] felt pretty good but I'm more of a team person. I do it for the team."

While Kolbe and Hawkins led in kills, they were not the only players who contributed.

Kym Loving made a return to the starting lineup after missing all but nine matches last season with a knee injury. She had 14 kills total for the weekend.

Kelli Stewart, who missed most of last year with an arm injury, also played exceptionally well in her return to the starting lineup. She finished the tournament with 30 kills, third most for SHSU.

"It feels so good being able to play again. It was tough being out for so long," Stewart said. "The more I get to play with everyone and the more we all play together, we will get a lot better."

The Kats began the tournament by stomping Prairie View A&M in three sets, 25-19 25-18 25-22, starting the season on a winning note.

SHSU followed with another three-set sweep, this time over Marist. With scores of 25-18 25-14 25-16, the Bearkats stood at 2-0 with a lot of hope riding into Saturday.

In spite of a strong start to the tournament, the Kats, much like the rest of the teams in the tournament, were no match for EMU. Out of the four matches they played, the Eagles lost just one set out of 13 and swept three opponents, including SHSU, throughout the invitational. The Kats fell to EMU, 25-15 32-30 25-15, dropping to 2-1 overall.

The finale to the Comfort Suites Invitational was remnant of last season's finish. SHSU took on Louisiana-Lafayette for the runner-up trophy. Last season the two teams battled in a five-set nail-biter with the Kats coming out on top to claim the first place trophy. This year's matchup was no less exciting.

Upon losing two hard-fought sets 27-25 25-23 to the Ragin' Cajuns, SHSU looked demoralized heading into the intermission period. When they emerged from the locker room, the Kats came out with fire.

With nothing to lose, SHSU looked like the team that had swept through six sets of volleyball just the day before. They streaked easily to back-to-back set wins, 25-21 25-18, over a Louisiana-Lafayette team that looked lifeless and scared.

Heading into the fifth set, a well-known territory to SHSU, the Kats looked hungry and ready to claim victory with ease. After building a 12-7 lead on the Cajuns, it looked like the Bearkats would once again prevail over Louisiana-Lafayette. But soon things fell apart.

Error after error gave the Cajuns their confidence back, along with the drive to come back. Louisiana-Lafayette finished the set on a 9-2 run, defeating SHSU 16-14 in the final set of the tournament.

Despite a rough second day of play, the Kats are optimistic looking forward to the rest of the season.

"[The tournament] was a good learning experience for us," Kolbe said. "We beat ourselves. But we can fix that. I'd rather we beat ourselves than someone else beating on us, because we can't fix that. We have a lot to work towards, but we're excited."