Lamar rallied from two sets to none down to defeat Sam Houston in five 24-26 21-25 25-22 25-17 16-14 in the Southland Conference volleyball opener for both teams Saturday in Beaumont.

Deveney Wells-Gibson led the Bearkats with 23 kills in 69 attempts. Carling Urben added 12 kills and Shelby Genung and Brooke White posted nine apiece.

Autumn Taylor led Lamar with 17 kills. Wells-Gibson and Claire Kilpatrick led the Sam Houston defense with 27 digs apiece. Michelle Griffith assisted on 53 of the Kats' 67 kills.

Lamar appeared to take control early, building a 22-14 lead. The Kats bounced back to go on a 10-2 run to tie the game 24-24 then won the final two points for a first set win.

A 5-0 run after a 10-10 tie put the Bearkats ahead to stay in the second set. The Cardinals cut the margin to 20-19, but could come no closer.

Sam Houston never led in either the third or fourth set. The Kats tied the third set 22-22 but Lamar won three points in a row.  Up by one 16-15 in the fourth, the Cardinals won nine of the next 11 points to force a final set.

The Bearkats had one match point in the fifth at 14-13, but Lamar rallied to take the final three points and the match.

The victory upped Lamar's record to 1-12 while Sam Houston stands 7-7 for the year.

Sam Houston travels to McNeese State and Nicholls next week before returning to Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum for a Thursday, October 9 match with Incarnate Word.