LAS CRUCES, N.M. – For the second straight day the Sam Houston volleyball team was not able to win the race to 15 in the fifth set as NM State rallied back for a 3-2 win in the weekend finale at the Pan American Center.
Hailey Heider led the Bearkats (7-22, 1-15 Conference USA) with 13 kills and McKenzie Morvant had 10; however, after the Kats scored 27 kills in the first two frames to build a 2-0 lead, they were only able to find the floor 14 times over the final three set as NM State (17-9, 9-5 Conference USA) was able to come all the way back.
The Kats finished with just a .072 attack percentage for the match compared to a .230 mark for the Aggies.
Avery Fowler had 20 assists and Camryn Weldon had 15 for the match, while Hannah Baker led the back line with 20 digs. Heider added 10 digs for a double-double, her fifth of the year and third in as many matches.
Sam Houston rolled to a 25-18 win in Set 1 and fought off three straight set points as part of a 5-0 run late in Set 2 before eventually scoring three of the final four points to take the set and a commanding 2-0 lead into the half.
But Set 3 was all Aggies as the home team outkilled SHSU 14-2 en route to a 25-10 win to get back in the match, and one set later closed strong with the final seven points of the frame to get to a fifth-set tiebreaker.
The Kats looked to be in great shape with an 11-7 lead in Set 5, but again it was all NM State to close as they finished out the match on an 8-1 run.
UP NEXT
The loss puts an end to the regular season for the Kats, but they will now await their fate for a berth in the Conference USA Tournament as the remainder of the league will square off next week.
The series to keep an eye on will be on Thursday and Friday in Ruston, La., where Louisiana Tech will host Jacksonville State. A single win by LA Tech would eliminate the Kats from tourney contention, but should the Gamecocks sweep the Bulldogs, Sam Houston and LA Tech would finish the regular season in a tie for the final CUSA Tournament berth.
Due to the team's having split their own regular-season series, the determination of the final spot would be based on the team's RPI ranking at the conclusion of the regular season.
