CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Samford Volleyball team fell 3-0 to the Chattanooga Mocs on Friday, ending its seven-match winning streak over October.
The Bulldogs' record now sits at 13-10 overall and 8-3 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improves to 13-13 overall and 7-4 in conference action.
Kenya McQuirter and Lauren Deaton both tallied double-digit kills, with McQuirter smashing a team-high 14 and Deaton recording 10. Deaton finished one dig shy of a double-double with 9.
Kate Morgan accounted for a team-high 14 digs while Gracie Lynn Butler posted nine digs to go along with seven kills. Kayla Keshock logged a team-high 23 assists while Samantha Horn added 11 assists.
The Bulldogs jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in set one, but Chattanooga fought back to tie the set at eight eventually. After a 3-0 run put Samford on top 15-10, the Bulldogs got to within three points of claiming set one with a 22-19 lead. After battling back to tie the set at 23, the Mocs and Bulldogs exchanged points until Chattanooga scored two straight late to win the first set 28-26.
The Mocs created separation in set two with a 3-0 run that put them up 11-7. The Bulldogs worked their way back to eventually trail just one point at 20-19 and then 22-21. Chattanooga closed out the set with a 3-0 run however to claim it 25-21.
The turning point in set three came on a 5-0 run by the Mocs that helped them reclaim the lead and pull ahead 15-11. From there, Chattanooga added a 3-0 run to go up 19-14 and a pair of pivotal points to go up 24-18 before giving way to the 25-20 final score.
The Bulldogs finished the contest with a .246 hitting percentage, while the Mocs hit .307 for the evening. Samford tallied 44 total kills, with Chattanooga recording 51.
"We had control of set one late and lost some critical rallies and big moments that turned the momentum," Head Coach Keylor Chan said. "From that point on, we struggled to regain our competitive composure. Defensively, we broke down along with our serve receive which had been a strength. The key will be to regroup and regain form for our match tomorrow."
The Bulldogs will return to the court on Saturday, Oct. 29 against SoCon standings leader ETSU. First serve from Johnson City, Tenn. is set for 3:00 p.m. (CST).
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