HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Tarleton volleyball was unable to come away with a win on the road as they fell to Sam Houston in five sets (25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 14-16) at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum on Thursday evening.
 
The Texans (12-15, 4-8 WAC) looked to be in complete control of the match as they built a 2-0 lead after winning both set one and two by a score of 25-21. The Bearkats (7-20, 4-9 WAC) flipped the script, reeling off three straight set wins to secure the victory and stun Tarleton. With the win, Sam Houston broke out of an eight-game losing streak.
 
Each team had three players finish with double-digit kills. Grayson Schirpik led the Texans in both kills and digs, landing 17 kills to go with 20 digs. It was her fourth double-double of the season and first time reaching 20 digs this season. Megan Haynes followed with 16 kills of her own and Ailie Hair added 14 kills on .346 hitting, two service aces and four blocks.
 
Sam Houston out hit the Texans .234 to .186 with their two kills leaders, Madison Dyer (18) and Mckenzie Morvant, (16) hitting .353 and .382 respectively.
 
In the decisive fifth set the Texans pounced quickly, getting out to a 7-2 lead with a service ace by Hair and kill from Haynes making it 7-2. Tarleton pushed the lead to 9-4 and later 10-6, but the Kats kept responding and reeled off four straight points with Tarleton leading 12-8 to knot it up at 12. Sam Houston would score four of the last six points, including two straight after a kill from Hair made it 14-14 to take the match in dramatic fashion.
 
Tarleton was extremely close to winning the match in set four. They traded leads with the Kats all the way down to the wire. As Tarleton was down 22-20, a Bearkat attack error and service ace from Schirpik brought the match back to a tie at 22. Sam Houston followed that with two straight points of its own off a Texan attack error and kill from Dyer to take the lead back 24-22. Haynes landed a kill to bring the Kat lead to within a point, but a Morvant kill on the next play gave Sam Houston the 25-23 win.
 
The Texans hit a match-high .364 in set one. Both set one and two saw Tarleton take hold towards the end, fending off the Kats. Megan Hodges finished with 27 assists and 14 digs, her fourth double-double this season. Ana Costas led with 16 digs. Emma Burke led the way at the net with five total blocks to pair with six kills on .400 hitting.
 
Tarleton returns to action Thursday when they play NM State in Las Cruces. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT and the match will be streamed on WAC International.