LEXINGTON — The George Rogers Clark High School volleyball team kept rallying and kept coming back Monday night, but the Cardinals couldn’t conjure up a final rally to come away with the win.

Sayre survived with a 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12) victory.

The Cardinals dropped the first set but bounced back to win a tight, back-and-forth second set, 25-23.

The third set was also tight, but the Cardinals were able to get some separation with a 7-2 run for an 18-12 advantage. They cruised to a 25-18 victory to go up by one set.

In the fourth set, GRC trailed 9-4, but rode a 10-2 run to seemingly take control.

But the Spartans battled back late to win 25-23 and force a deciding fifth set.

GRC started strong in the final set, opening with a 5-0 lead, but Sayre scored 12 of the final 14 points to claim the victory.

The Cardinals fall to12-13 on the season, but will have the chance to get right back to .500 when they travel to Wolfe County tonight.

After facing Wolfe, the Cardinals will have a week off to prepare to battle Bourbon County with the top seed in the 40th District on the line.

That game will also be GRC’s annual Dig Pink game, a yearly event to benefit the fight against breast cancer.

GRC is also set to host both the district tournament and the 10th Region Tournament. The Cardinals were ranked No. 5 in the latest region coaches poll.