Published: October 29, 2009 11:41 pm      

Bearkats win another thriller for 10th straight

Sam Houston defeats Roadrunners, clinches spot in SLC tourney

Sam Houston State volleyball coach Brenda Gray turned, pumped her first and said, “Yes,” as the Bearkats celebrated their latest victory Thursday night at Johnson Coliseum.

It wasn’t pretty. In fact, the match went five sets for the 11th time this season. But Gray was excited because the Bearkats once again found a way to win, rallying from a 10-5 deficit in the final frame to seal a 17-25, 25-17, 25-21, 26-28 and 15-13 victory over Texas-San Antonio.

Sam Houston State (18-10 overall) has now won 10 matches in a row and stayed atop the Southland Conference West Division with a 10-1 mark. The victory also clinched the Bearkats a spot in the SLC tournament, which will be held in San Antonio on Nov. 20-22.

“We should have won that one in the fourth,” Gray said. “We got a little relaxed in the fourth, and sometimes when you get a lead, you get away from what is working. But UTSA has a good team and I don’t know how we have beaten them twice. They are big and athletic, and I think we are a little bit better defensively.

“We were down in the fifth set, and I told them that we are never out of it. I told them to bring everything they had, and they did.”

The Bearkats had a chance to put away the Roadrunners (4-6 in SLC, 9-15 overall) in the fourth set after Sam Houston took a two games to one lead when freshman Camille Alfaro knocked down two straight spikes to close out game three.

UTSA was up 23-20 following an attack error in the fourth game, but sophomore Kim Black notched a kill and sophomore Carli Kolbe had an ace to cut the lead to one.

The Bearkats finally took the lead at 26-25 thanks to a net violation and a ball handling error. The Roadrunners fought off match point and tied things up at two games apiece on a pair of attack errors.

Sam Houston came out sluggish in the final game as UTSA built a 10-5 advantage. But the Bearkats didn’t panic.

Sophomore Courtney Laskowski came off the bench to serve and sparked a four-point run. She had two aces in a row, which caused the Roadrunners to committ a rotation error for another ace to cut the lead to 10-9.

Black tied the set at 13 with a kill, freshman setter Michelle Miller had another ace and a ball handling error gave the Kats the victory.

“We know that once we get to the fifth game it is our game,” said Alfaro, who had 13 kills and 12 digs. “We know that we can step it up. Nobody is going to beat us in the fifth game. That is our goal, to not let anybody beat us in five.”

The fifth game has been the charm for Sam Houston State this season. In the 11 five-set matches the Bearkats have had, they have won nine, including three in a row.

Black finished with a team-high 14 kills and senior Anna Ferguson chipped in 13. Kolbe had 13 spikes and 14 digs, while Miller added 47 assists and 15 digs.

“Kim Black had a monster match for us tonight,” Gray added. “I also thought that those three aces Courtney had in the fifth game were huge for us. Camille was good tonight, and Anna and Carli, even when they aren’t great, are as good as anybody out there.

“This team is beginning to rise. We are having other people step up and that has been the reason for our success.”

The Bearkats have one final home match on Saturday when they face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m.