EDINBURG – The Sam Houston volleyball team rallied to stretch things to a decisive fifth set, but UTRGV had too much on its home court on Saturday afternoon, handing the Bearkats their first loss in WAC play, 3-2, at UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The Kats (11-6, 4-1 WAC) were the lone team remaining with an unblemished record, but dropped Sets 1 and 3 and did not lead down the stretch in Set 5 as UTRGV (12-6, 4-1 WAC) moved into a tie with Sam Houston atop the league's Southwest Division.
 
Breanne Chausse finished with 19 kills and Hannah Baker had 30 digs, but the Vaqueros' Sarah Cruz led all players with 20 kills while both Luisa Silva Dos Santos and Maria Eduarda Rodrigues each had seven blocks.
 
The teams finished with an equal number of kills (56), but UTRGV finished with a .207 attack percentage while the Kats hit just .096. That was in large part due to the Vaqueros' play at the net where they finished with 15.0 blocks, including 6.0 in the opening set.
 
Sam Houston evened things up with a strong Set 2 before dropping Set 3 and was on the ropes late in Set 4 before fighting off four match-point tries to force things to a decisive fifth set; however, UTRGV was able to land 11 of its 24 swings to get to the finish line, its highest single-set attack percentage of the afternoon.
 
Ashley Lewis joined Chausse in double figures with 15 kills and 19 digs, and Catherine Krieger had 13 kills. Morgan Janda finished with 38 assists, while McKenzie Morvant tied Chausse with a team-best four blocks.
 
The Kats will hit the road again next weekend for crossover play against the West Division. Play will be in Phoenix, Ariz., on the campus of Grand Canyon. Sam Houston will take on the Lopes on Thursday before battling New Mexico State on Friday and Utah Valley on Saturday.