FORT COLLINS, Co. – The Samford University volleyball team capped off the weekend with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) loss to Wichita State University on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State University.

The Bulldogs (6-5) started off each set strong before the Shockers (5-3) broke through with long rallies that Samford could not recover from. Senior Erin Bognar paced the Samford offense with 16 kills (.371) and only three attack errors.

Freshman libero Grace Tiesman and senior defensive specialist Mattie Newson ripped up eight digs a piece defensively to lead the Bulldogs in the effort.

The Shockers had a duo reach double-digit kills in the match as Abbie Lehman notched 11 kills (.667) and Jody Larson produced 10 kills (.400) in the match.

Set 1 | Wichita State, 25-19

Wichita State opened up the contest hitting .600 half way through the first set which allowed the Shockers to open up an 18-11 lead over Samford.

The Bulldogs didn't back down though as the team rallied for a 7-2 that ate into the Shockers lead. Taylor Anderton capped off the run with Samford's first service ace of the match which closed down the lead to 20-18 and prompted a Wichita State timeout.

However, the Shockers made adjustments out of the timeout to close out the set on a 5-1 run.

Set 2 | Wichita State, 25-16
After falling behind 3-0, Samford picked up the pace offensively to start the second set of the match. The Bulldogs and the Shockers went back-and-forth with ties in the set and briefly took the lead 10-9 on a block by T.J. Russell and Gabbi Greenwald.

From that moment Wichita State took control of the match behind the serve of Hanna Shelton. The Shockers went on a 10-0 run to open up a 19-10 lead which they would not relinquish.

The Bulldogs rallied to go point-for-point with the Shockers but couldn't manage the comeback late in the set.

Set 3 | Wichita State, 25-15

Samford opened up the set going point for point early on with Wichita State but fell behind midway through thanks to an 11-2 run by the Shockers that opened up a 17-9 lead.

Wichita State who hit .406 and .464 in the previous two sets stayed consistent as they capped off the match with a .417 hitting percentage in the final set while Samford hit .000 and .152 overall.

Next Up

The Bulldogs will travel to Arlington, Texas to participate at the UTA Invitational hosted by the University of Texas – Arlington on Sept. 16 – 17.