CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Samford University volleyball team jumped out a 2-0 lead in the match before conceding the final three to fall 3-2 to Western Carolina University on Friday, Nov. 7, inside the Ramsey Center. SU tallied 29 attack errors on the night compared to WCU's 17.

Western Carolina outside hitter Caitlin Piechota notched 20 kills on 50 attempts (.400) with zero attack errors.

The Bulldogs (16-10, 10-3 SoCon) entered the match fully aware that tonight's match wasn't going to be a walk in the park as the Catamounts (15-13, 8-6 SoCon) held a 7-1 record at home inside the Ramsey Center.

SU battled WCU in a back and forth affair where numerous ties and lead changes finally resulted in a 27-25 decision for Samford. The Bulldogs on the year entered the match with a 14-0 record after winning the initial set and that win gave SU the momentum it needed to move forward into the second set.

Junior Emily Meitz was the driving force in the first set as she tallied six kills on just 13 attempts (.462) with no errors.

The Catamounts rallied in the second set as they trailed by as many as three points but fought back to force another set into extra points. The Bulldogs continued to fight and managed to pull away with a 29-27 win to extend the lead out to 2-0 in the match.

Sophomore Erin Bognar struggled in the first set but stepped up to the challenge and tallied nine kills in the second set alone to lead Samford in the set.

WCU came out of the intermission with a purpose in the third set. The Catamounts sprinted out to a lead which the Bulldogs were not able to recover from. Western Carolina took the set 25-17 thanks to outstanding play from Caitlin Piechota.

After that the Catamounts captured the momentum and held it for the remainder of the match as they would win the fourth and fifth sets 25-21 and 15-11.

Bognar tallied a career-high 23 kills in the match and was followed by senior Michaela Reesor who notched 17. Meitz finished the night as the Bulldogs most efficient attacker with 14 kills on 33 attempts (.364) with only two errors

The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow as they travel to face East Tennessee State University at 1:50 p.m. The match can be viewed via live video stream on the SoCon Digital Network.