Central Arkansas has won its last seven matches and 22 of its last 23 to claim a share of the East Division title for the second consecutive season.

UCA needs to win one of their remaining four matches or have Stephen F. Austin lose once in order to claim the East outright.

Central Arkansas is the only unbeaten team in conference play with a 12-0 mark against league opponents marking the best start by the Sugar Bears as a member of the Southland.

During conference play the Sugar Bears have outscored league members by a combined 36-11 with four sweeps.

Senior Evaree Franklin ranks third in hitting percentage (.347), junior Chloe Smith ranks second with 195 kills and first with 4.15 kills per set.

Senior Robyn Smith ranks second with 513 assists and first with 10.91 per set in league action. Sophomore Cristin Curl ranks second with 229 digs and 4.87 per set.

Against conference opponents, UCA ranks third with a .231 team hitting percentage, second with 557 assists and third with 605 kills.


Sam Houston State Win Streak at 11 Matches
Sam Houston State owns the Southland's longest current win streak at 11 matches, its best stretch since the 1993 league champion Bearkat squad won 14 in a row. The 11-1 conference record is the best start for Sam Houston State since joining the Southland in 1986.

Sam Houston, the West Division leader, has outscored its opponents 33-15 in the previous 11 matches including three sweeps with the previous four matches all going to five sets.

Sophomore Carli Kolbe, the current Southland kills leader (408), is the only player in the league with over 400 kills this season. Freshman Michelle Miller ranks second in the league with 896 assists and is tied for second with 9.74 per set.

Senior Anna Ferguson is currently third with 386 kills, ranks fourth with 3.45 kills per set and her .285 hitting percentage ranks ninth.

Freshman Kaylee Hawkins ranks third with 429 digs and is one of five league players with over 4.0 digs per set.

Kolbe leads the league with 17 double-doubles including a league-best nine double-double performances against league opponents.


Bearkats Record Seventh Player of the Week Award
Sam Houston State senior Anna Ferguson and freshman Kaylee Hawkins were named the offensive and defensive players of the week respectively by vote of the league's sports information directors. The sweep gives the Bearkats their third of the season and is the first Southland team since Stephen F. Austin in 2005 to sweep the player of the week awards with the same duo in consecutive weeks.

The Bearkats, winners of their last 11 matches, swept the weekly awards previously on October 5 and again on the 26th giving Sam Houston four straight awards and seven of the last 10, the most awards by a Sam Houston State squad since the 1990 season. Ferguson and Hawkins each receives their third award of the season and are the first Bearkats to win three player of the week awards since former Bearkat standout Sarah Womble in 1992.


Carli Kolbe Leads Southland With 17 Double-doubles
Sam Houston State sophomore Carli Kolbe leads the Southland with 17 double-doubles. The league's current kills leader (408), Kolbe has recorded a double-double against 13 different opponents this season with two coming against Lamar, McNeese State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in conference play. In those 17 matches, Kolbe has 26943 kills and 223 digs for a 15.82 kills and 13.11 digs average. Kolbe's 28 kills vs. Texas State are the most by a player in a conference match this season.


Anna Ferguson Records 1,000 Career Kills
Ferguson, a native of Dallas, Texas, led Sam Houston as the Bearkats extended their winning streak to 11 matches with victories over UTSA and A&M-Corpus Christi. The 11 consecutive wins is the Kat's longest stretch since the 1994 Southland championship season.

Ferguson picked up her 1,000th career kill in the A&M-Corpus Christi match Saturday to move into the top-10 all-time at SHSU in career kills. Ferguson currently ranks third in the league in overall kills (386) and in kills per set (3.45). Both wins over the Roadrunners and Islanders went five sets, giving Kats 10-2 record in five-set matches this year.


Robyn Smith on Verge of Southland Record
Central Arkansas senior Robyn Smith is the current league leader in assists with 971 and in per set at 11.16 and is now the new school career-leader with 4,985 career assists.

Smith has led the Southland in assists in each of the last two seasons with 1,387 (12.50) in 2007 and 1,255 (11.11) in 2008, receiving setter of the year honors last season.

If Smith continues on her current pace she will be the first player in Southland history to lead the league in assists for three consecutive seasons.