Volleyball Welcomes Mercer and Chattanooga This Week

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford volleyball team will play host to Mercer on Thursday and Chattanooga on Friday in a pair of critical Southern Conference contests.

Both matches will start at 7:00 p.m. from the Pete Hanna Center, with Friday's matchup with the Mocs serving as the Bulldogs' "Dig Orange" match. The Dig Orange match is an annual event that honors Caroline Neisler, a former student-athlete who passed away in 2013 just weeks after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Donations for the game can be made at the following link.

Samford Volleyball picked up a pair of sweeps in Southern Conference play this past weekend, with 3-0 wins over Western Carolina and ETSU.

The Bulldogs posted a .269 hitting percentage over the weekend, highlighted by a .304 hitting percentage against ETSU, their third-best mark of the season.

Kaleigh Meritt led the attack efforts with 30 kills over two matches, including a career-best 17-kill, 10-dig effort against ETSU in which she hit .395. True freshman Ally Cordes provided a spark off the bench against Western Carolina, knocking 13 kills and hitting .429.

Senior Kayla Keshock and freshman Lexi Thatcher split the primary setting duties last week, with Keshock a team-high 43 assists over two matches. Thatcher continues to pace the squad and ranks third in the SoCon with a rate of 9.39 assists per set.

The Bulldogs have won seven of their last nine and 13 of their last 16 meetings with Mercer, including a 3-0 sweep over the Bears in the most recent match-up on Nov. 9 of the 2022 campaign.

Samford has come out on top in seven of its last 10 matches against Chattanooga, despite falling 3-0 in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Oct. 28 in the most recent contest. The Bulldogs split the 2022 season series with the Mocs, logging a 3-0 win at home on Oct. 1.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Kayla Keshock: S; 6' 1"; Senior

#4 Kaleigh Meritt: OH; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#5 Lexi Thatcher: S; 5' 11"; Freshman

#13 Ally Cordes: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Kayla Keshock
: 6' 1"; Senior
: S

#4 Kaleigh Meritt
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: OH

#5 Lexi Thatcher
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: S

#13 Ally Cordes
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH