GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Samford Volleyball Team (17-12) booked a trip to the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Championship with a 3-2 win over no. 7 seed The Citadel (11-19) on Friday.
 
Gracie Lynn Butler led the Bulldogs on offense with a career-high 21 kills and a .452 hitting percentage. The sophomore outside hitter also recorded 17 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
 
Kenya McQuirter posted 18 kills while Greer Golden accounted for 11 kills and four blocks.
 
Lauren Deaton finished just two kills shy of a double-double, logging a team-high 18 digs with eight kills. Kate Morgan also tallied double-digit digs, finishing the night with 16.
 
Kayla Keshock accounted for a team-high 34 assists while Samantha Horn added 25.
 
A back-and-forth first set saw 17 ties and 10 lead changes. The Citadel looked primed to capture the set after taking a 22-20 lead, but Samford was able to rally following a timeout and scored five of the next six points to claim set one 25-23.
 
The Bulldogs took a 12-7 lead in set two courtesy of a 5-1 run, but the Citadel fought back to even the score at 14-all. Samford took the momentum of the set by orchestrating a 4-0 run to go up 22-17, which eventually led to a 25-19 set-two victory.
 
Set three followed a similar plot to the first, with a block solo from Kate Wonus evening knotting up the score at 16. The Citadel grabbed two crucial consecutive points late to take a 23-20 lead that would ultimately result in a 25-22 set win.
 
In set four, The Citadel used a late 4-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. Samford fought back to trail just 24-22 but The Citadel thwarted a Wonus attack at the night to get the final point and force a fifth set.
 
The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in set five and went up again by three after a 3-0 run gave them a 7-4 lead. The Citadel went on to cut Samford's lead to just 8-7. But a timely 5-1 run by the Bulldogs gave them all the momentum needed to hold off the Citadel's late push and take set five 15-9.
 
Thursday's win marked the third fifth-set match of the season for the Bulldogs, improving their record to 2-1 this season in matches decided by five sets.
 
The Bulldogs set a new season high with 11 total blocks in the match while their 67 kills and 64 assists both marked the second-most in a contest this season.
 
The Bulldogs' semifinal match takes place on Saturday, Nov. 19 against no. 3-seed Western Carolina. First serve from Timmons Arena is set for 6:30 p.m. (CST).


 
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