Box Score

HUNTSVILLE – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs volleyball team fell to the Sam Houston State University Bearkats 3-2 to close out the Sam Houston Invitational on Saturday at Johnson Coliseum.
 
The Broncs (0-3) became the first team to take the Bearkats (4-0) to a fifth set this season, winning the first set 25-23 before dropping the second and third sets 17-25 and 14-25, respectively. The Broncs came back to win the fourth set 25-19, but lost the fifth set 6-15.
 
Junior Haley Durham earned All-Tournament Team honors after leading the Broncs with 25 kills (2.08 per set) and 16 blocks (1.33 per set).
 
Sophomore Alisha Watson led the Broncs against the Bearkats with 12 kills and four blocks. Freshman Mary Kate Clark had 25 assists while junior Maisy Munson had 17. Three Broncs reached double-figures in digs, led by senior Nausheen Merchant, who had 20. Redshirt junior Macey Singleton posted 11 digs while sophomore Anjané Janda had a career-high 10 digs to go with eight kills. Redshirt senior Maria Kliefoth led the Broncs with five blocks.
 
Devene Wells-Gibson led the Bearkats with 22 kills, seven digs and two aces. Brooke White recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Three other Bearkats reached double-figures in digs, led by Claire Kilpatrick, who had 21. Michelle Griffith had 16 digs to go with her match-high 46 assists. Breanna Homer added 15 digs.
 
The Broncs made just two attack errors while hitting .367 and holding the Bearkats to .194 hitting in the opening set. The Broncs trailed 5-0 out of the gate and were down 18-12, but kills by Janda and Kliefoth and an ace by Watson brought the Broncs within three. Down 20-17 a little later, freshman Kyra Hill came up with a kill to spark a 4-0 run that saw the Broncs take their first lead at 21-20. The Broncs trailed 23-22 before an attack error led to a kill and a block by Watson to end the set.
 
The Bearkats jumped out to a 12-7 second set lead and maintained their advantage throughout. The Broncs got as close as 15-13 on a block by Durham and Watson, but the Bearkats closed the set on a 10-4 run to tie the match.
 
The Broncs struck first in the third set, using a kill by Durham and an attack error by Kilpatrick to go up 2-0. The Broncs led 5-3 after a pair of Kliefoth kills, but the Bearkats scored the next three points and the Broncs never led again.
 
The fourth set was tight early, but with the Broncs down 5-4, Hill came up with three kills to power a 9-1 run as the Broncs took a 13-6 lead. The Bearkats got as close as two at 20-18, but a kill by Janda and two by Watson kicked off a 5-1 run to end the set, tying the match at 2-2.
 
The Broncs were within 3-2 at the start of the fifth set, but Wells-Gibson recorded four kills in the set as the Bearkats went up 8-2 and never looked back.
 
The Broncs host the UTPA Tournament with matches involving Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Lamar, Texas Tech and Northern Arizona Thursday through Saturday at the UTPA Fieldhouse. The action starts on Thursday at 6 p.m. when the Broncs face the Islanders. Doors open at 5.

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