CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – The Samford University volleyball team captured a 3-1 victory over the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga thanks to career performances and an overall total team effort on Friday, Sept. 26.

"There was a lot of resolution and mental toughness in this road win." Head Coach Derek Schroeder. "Any road win will be incredibly hard for us and this one tonight made me proud of the girls."

The Bulldogs dropped by two points early in the first set but found a groove to take a 6-3 lead over the Mocs. Junior Emily Meitz headed up the offensive effort and kept Samford out in front early.

Meitz tallied a career-high 14 kills and tied her career-high with six blocks in the match.

UTC rallied to tie the set 11-11 and eventually took a 12-11 lead but redshirt freshman T.J. Russell joined Meitz and put away the next ball to give SU back the momentum. The Bulldogs sprinted out to a 15-12 lead thanks to a pair of aces from senior Chelsi Carter.

Russell also cranked out a career-high 10 kills on 20 attempts (.400) on the night.

Chattanooga got as close as 20-19 but Samford responded with a 5-2 run to take the match lead 1-0.

The Mocs rebounded in the second set but the Bulldogs didn't just go quietly. There were 12 ties and four lead changes.

Samford pushed Chattanooga to a 20-20 tie in the second set before the Mocs put the set away with a 5-3 run to take it 25-23.

The Bulldogs and the Mocs went back-and-forth early in the third set but Samford rallied on a 9-1 run to take a 14-6 lead that it'd never relinquish.

Chattanooga however mounted an impressive comeback and closed down the Samford lead to 21-19 before they eventually dropped the set 25-22.

SU closed out the match in the fourth set from outstanding play by the entire squad. The Bulldogs hit an impressive .419 as a team in the set to claim the 25-23 win in the set.

Sophomore setter Erika Pifer also had a career-high six kills in the match. The team tallied 10 service aces and 8 total team blocks in the effort.

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Sept. 30, when the squad plays host to UAB inside the Pete Hanna Center at 6 p.m.