One night after dropping its opening two sets at the UTA Mavericks Classic only to storm back and force a decisive fifth set, the Sam Houston State volleyball program found itself in similar territory.

The Bearkats rallied on Saturday against Sacramento State to edge out two-point wins in the third and fourth set before falling 3-2 (18-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 9-15) in the first of two matches in Arlington.

Sam Houston (0-2) was led by Brooke White's 14 kills but struggled offensively, particularly in the fifth set, being held to a .000 attack percentage. The Kats return to play at 4:30 p.m. against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Sam Houston's finale at the tournament.

After the Kats jumped out to a 20-16 advantage in a must-win third set, Sacramento State (2-0) rallied back, scoring six of the next seven points to take a 23-21 edge and force a Sam Houston timeout. Then, the tide turned as the Kats scored fourth straight and closed out the set with a Taylor Cunningham and Jordyn Vaughn block.

In the fourth, Sam Houston leapt out to an early 4-0 lead but the two squads exchanged blows and sat locked at 19-all. The Bearkats reached set point at 24-20 before Sacramento State scored three straight to come within 24-23. After a Sam Houston timeout, Vaughn registered the set-winning kill.

A back-and-forth final set saw the scored locked at 8-8 and Sam Houston poised for its first victory but Sacramento State notched seven of the final eight points for the 15-9 win.

Claire Kilpatrick registered 24 digs while Michelle Griffith logged 26 assists. As a squad, Sam Houston posted nine blocks including a team-leading three from Amanda Gooch, who along with Taylor Cunningham finished with nine kills.