GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Samford University volleyball team advanced to the SoCon Championship semifinals after a thrilling 3-2 (25-16, 28-30, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13) victory over the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga on Saturday, Nov. 22, inside Fleming Gymnasium on the campus of UNCG. Junior middle blocker Emily Meitz willed the Bulldogs to victory with a career-high 12 blocks and 10 kills.

Senior Michaela Reesor totaled 24 kills in the match and picked up seven in the deciding fifth set to propel the Samford (18-12) to the win; SU out produced UTC 66 kills (.167) to 47 kills (.152) on the night. Reesor also picked up a double-double with 15 digs to her credit.

The Bulldogs and the Mocs (13-19) went kill for kill till the midway point of the first set. With the set tied 11-11, Meitz and sophomore Gabbi Greenwald combined forces for back-to-back blocks to give Samford the separation it needed to run away with the set 25-16.

After the team dropped an emotional second set 28-30, redshirt freshman T.J. Russell stepped up in a big way for Samford in the third set and posted four kills on five attempts (.800) which allowed the Bulldogs to rebound out of the intermission and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Russell's points came at a critical time as she sparked a 5-2 SU run where she recorded four of the five kills to extend the team's lead late in the set. Russell finished the night 10 kills on 21 attempts (.476) with no errors.

Sophomore Erin Bognar was SU's third double-double contributor of the match with her 14 kill and 16 dig effort.

Senior libero Chesli Carter flew around the court the entire match for the Bulldogs as she recorded 29 of the teams 88 digs .

Samford will face host institution UNCG on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 3:30 p.m. (CST) in Fleming Gymnasium. The match will be live video streamed via the SoCon Digital Network.