MOSS BLUFF — The regular season is winding down, but the Sam Houston High School volleyball team is not slowing down in its hunt for a top-four seed in the playoffs.

The Broncos beat Division I, District 3 rival Barbe in four sets, 25-8, 25-14, 22-25, 25-13, at home Tuesday to win for the 12th time in 14 matches.

Sam Houston (23-7, 3-0) entered the match ranked fifth in the most recent Louisiana High School Athletic Association Division I power ratings.

“We have to continue to play hard no matter who is across the net from us,” Sam Houston head coach Rene Fontenot said. “If we can, we stay where we are.

“It has been a very long time since that has happened. We have been 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 in there a lot. We are holding our own and continuing to win ball games.”

Sam Houston mixed in its inside game with its outside game. Middle hitters Ava Henry (10 kills, 7 blocks) and Mallory Wills (11 kills, 2 blocks) combined for 21 kills, while outside hitter Carolina Eidson added nine kills and 10 digs.

“There was so much at the net,” Fontenot said. “Some of it shouldn’t have happened, and some of it just did, so it was nice to see.

“They weren’t under the net coming on top of each other. We are doing better incorporating the middle, which is something that we have been addressing for the last week and a half. We had 11 kills with Mallory and 10 kills with Ava, so that has not happened until tonight. We have been trying to establish that. I am really glad to see that.”

Kat Manuel had 36 assists for the Broncos, Bailey Foolkes added 22 digs and Anna Claire Norris had a match-high 10 aces.

Sam Houston cruised in the first two sets and was three points away from a sweep before the Bucs (10-16, 1-2) rallied in the third set. Bailey Helms started the rally with a kill to tie the score at 22-22.

“Our energy came up in the third set,” Barbe head coach Katie Franks said. “We started playing with more confidence. We were able to get some good swings and put the ball away, and our defense was keeping the ball in play.

“We just have to continue to work on our confidence and playing to win. We did a good job of fighting back tonight being down 0-2. That takes a lot to not roll over.”

Ariel Williams led Barbe with nine kills and five blocks. Ann Kat Barrett made 16 digs, and Madilyn Areno finished with 13 assists.

Fontenot said she was pleased with how the Broncos regrouped after the third-set loss. Barbe led 4-2 early in the fourth set, but Sam Houston took control with an 11-0 run that included two of Norris’ aces and two kills from Henry.