CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Samford Volleyball team opened up its 2022 Southern Conference slate with a 3-1 setback at Western Carolina on Friday.

With the loss, the Bulldogs' record slips to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action. Western Carolina improves to 8-5 on the season with a 1-0 conference record.

Gracie Lynn Butler and Kayla Keshock both logged double-doubles for the Bulldogs, with Butler smashing a team-high 14 kills with 11 digs. Keshock registered team-highs with both her 33 assists and 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Lauren Deaton and Kenya McQuirter each recorded 11 kills, with Deaton also accounting for seven digs and McQuirter finishing with a team-high three block assists.

The Bulldogs took advantage of both a 5-1 and a 4-0 run in set one to create separation and go up 19-12. From there, Samford would close out the set by outscoring the Catamounts 6-3 to claim it.

In set two the Bulldogs rattled off a 5-0 run to go up 16-11, but their lead would be short-lived as The Catamounts would come charging back to even the score at 20-all. WCU rode the momentum of its comeback to tally the final five points of the set to win it 25-20.

The turning point in set three came on a 3-0 run by the Catamounts that put them on top 17-11 and grew into a 19-12 lead. The Bulldogs battled back to cut their deficit to 23-20 but WCU would go on to prevail in the set, 25-21.

WCU cashed in on a critical 5-0 run in the fourth set to take an 18-13 lead. After a Deaton Kill cut the Bulldog's deficit to 20-17, the Catamounts scored five of the final six points of the match to seal the deal.

"Western Carolina is a very good team and after set one we did not take on the adjustments needed as a team," Head Coach Keylor Chan said. "Hopefully we learn from this experience and continue to improve some critical components of decision making and defensive connections."

The Bulldogs face a quick turnaround, with a 4:00 p.m. (CST) SoCon contest at UNC Greensboro on Saturday up next.

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