HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Northwestern State couldn't find the rhythm on offense to combat the sluggers on the opposite side of the net Thursday night, falling to Sam Houston in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-13) sweep to open conference play.
The Lady Demons (2-1, 0-1 SLC) ended the night with the same number of kills as errors, 23, while Sam Houston hit better than .320 in two of the three sets and dominated the net with nine team blocks.
"We didn't pass well which allowed us to be predictable for their block," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "Some early errors by us turned into easy swings that were simple to defend which became transition points for them.
"Sam didn't look good Tuesday night which I'm sure they were upset about. They came out tonight and cleaned up a lot of mistakes they made in that first match."
The night started on a sour note for the Lady Demons falling behind 5-0 to the Bearkats (1-1, 0-1 SLC) after two early errors. A service error later in the set and three straight kills from Sam extended the lead and started an 8-2 stretch that pushed the lead into double figures at 17-7.
A pair of late kills from Audrey Quesnel were not enough to overcome the six attack errors in the opening set and Sam closed with a quick three-point run to take it 25-13.
An ace from Ragan Ward, kill from Addison McDermott and back-to-back points from Breanna Burrell gave NSU the early 4-1 lead in the second. Sam evened the set at five with a matching run, aided by a block and NSU error.
The turning point came near the midway point of the set with the Lady Demons trailing by one. A 7-1 Sam run, punctuated but three straight blocks, turned the frame into a near runaway at 16-9. NSU fought back to within four, and got with three after a Quesnel, Burrell block and Sam error that made it 19-16.
Two more blocks in the final points from the Bearkats fueled the 6-1 run that finished off the 25-17 set win.
Riding the momentum from two solid set wins with NSU still unable to right the offensive ship, Sam Houston controlled the final set from start to finish.
An early 6-1 run gave them the lead after NSU took the first two points on a kill from McDermott and a rare Bearkat attack error. Five kills and an ace in their 7-0 run moments later pushed the lead to 13-5, and a 7-2 stretch with four NSU errors all but sealed the match.
At 8-7 the third set was the only time the Lady Demons had more kills than errors in the match. Sam Houston had two players hit over .350 on the night led by Ashley Lewis' 17 kills and .359 hitting percentage.
