BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team opened up Southern Conference play with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-19) victory over rival Chattanooga on Friday, Sept. 23, inside the Pete Hanna Center. The win was the first SoCon victory of the season for the Bulldogs and head coach Keylor Chan.

The Bulldogs (10-6, 1-0 SoCon) jumped out in front early in all three sets against the Mocs (7-7, 0-1 SoCon) which forced Chattanooga to play from behind the entire match.

That success came from good fortune that Samford had at the service stripe where the team posted six service aces. The tough serving stayed consistent through the match and it payed off, Samford limited its mistakes to only a pair of service errors. Freshman libero Grace Tiesman led the team with four total on the match.

The consistency at the service stripe translated to the rest of the Bulldogs game, both offensively and defensively. Gabbi Greenwald had a stellar night on the opposite side for Samford as she posted 12 kills on 26 swings with only a trio of attack errors and led the team with a .346 attack percentage. Greenwald also contributed three block assists.

Only one tie and one lead change each through the first two sets is what set the Bulldogs apart from the Mocs tonight. The second set particularly was when Samford showed that it had grasped the entire momentum of the match.

The Bulldogs hit an incredible .414 with a sideout rate of 76% (10-13) to take the set 25-13. Chattanooga posted its worst attack percentage of the night (-0.290) where the team only recorded seven kills and eight errors.

After the intermission, the Mocs, down 6-1, bounced back after a timeout to rally for a 7-1 run and take the lead 8-7 over the Bulldogs. The two teams battled between five ties and three lead changes until Samford pulled away 15-13 thanks to a pair of kills from Kiahna Wicks.

Tiesman led the Bulldogs defense with 14 digs while redshirt junior T.J. Russell notched six blocks on the night while the team posted nine total. Senior Erika Pifer distributed the ball evenly from her setter spot for 29 assists over the three-set sweep.

The Bulldogs return to Southern Conference action tomorrow when the team faces ETSU inside the Pete Hanna Center at 7 p.m.