Deveney Wells-Gibson totaled 22 kills in 57 attempts to lead Sam Houston to a four-set victory over Houston Baptist in a battle for third place in the Southland Conference volleyball standings.

The Bearkats' 25-22 25-22 15-25 25-23 victory upped the SHSU women's record to 14-9 for the season and 7-3 in Southland Conference. The Kats remain unbeaten, 8-0, on their home floor at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum this fall.

Bailey Keith led a determined HBU squad with 12 kills. Three other Huskies posted double figure kills as Jessica Wooten and Megan McStravick each totaled 11 and Allison Doerpinghaus added 10.

Sam Houston opened the match with a 7-2 lead but HBU fought back to tie the score 17-17. Back-to-back kills by Breana Homer put SHSU up 20-17 as the Kats won eight of the final 13 points.

Houston Baptist started the second set strong, racing out to a 20-14 lead. But the Bearkats went on an 11-2 run to go up two sets to none.

“We seem to play better when we're down,” SHSU head coach Brenda Gray said. “We tend to fight harder then.”

Houston Baptist came from behind to win the third set by 10 points.

“We knew Houston Baptist was a good team coming in here. We just made too many mistakes in the third set,” Gray said. “Nobody is going to hand you anything. We have to get back out there and fight.”

The Bearkats listened as Sam Houston jumped out to a 7-4 lead and never trailed in the fourth. HBU rallied to tie the match twice and were still within one point late, but the Huskies could never get over the hump.

Setter Michelle Griffith assisted on 49 of Sam Houston 56 kills. Claire Kilpatrick led the Bearkat defense with 17 digs. Griffith added 13 and Homer 12.

Sam Houston State plays host to A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Kats continue their five-match home stand.