Bulldogs Sweep Redhawks in Season Opener

Friday, August 25

Memphis, TN

10:00 AM

Samford University

1-0,0-0SoCon

Miami (OH)

0-1,0-0MAC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Samford	25	25	26	3
Miami (OH)	20	19	24	0

Photo by: Keeling Kenedy | Samford Athletics

8.25.23 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford Volleyball team opened its 2023 campaign by sweeping the Miami University Redhawks 3-0 on Friday morning in game one of the Tiger Brawl.

Gracie Lynn Butler led the Bulldogs on the attacking side with 21 of the Bulldogs 48 total kills. The junior outside hitter also finished just two digs shy of a double-double with eight on the day.

Sophomore Kaleigh Meritt hit .455 with 13 kills while Kate Wonus tallied six kills and a pair of block assists. Freshman setter Lexi Thatcher totaled a team-high 30 assists in her Bulldog debut.

Kate Morgan led Samford with 16 digs and a pair of service aces. Freshman Annabelle Straty posted seven digs while Amelia Johnston added six digs.

The Redhawks jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set one but the Bulldogs fought their way back, using a 5-0 run capped off by a Meritt kill to take a 12-11 lead. The two teams battled to 17-17 and 20-20 tied scores before a late 5-0 run by Samford clinched the set.

Miami again held an early advantage over the Bulldogs, going up 10-6 to begin set two. Samford fought back to tie the match at 16, however and later took a 21-18 lead on a kill by Wonus. The Bulldogs pulled away late once again, scoring the set's final four points to take it 25-19.

Set three saw the score read 14-13 in favor of the Redhawks before the Bulldogs rattled off three straight to go up 16-14. The two teams battled back-and-forth down the stretch, with the score tying four times before eventually reading 24-all. Butler secured the final two points for Samford with her 21st kill of the day, followed by an ace to clinch the match.

The Bulldogs posted a .290 hitting percentage for the day, highlighted by a mark of .359 in set one and .321 in set two. Samford held the Redhawks to just a .110 hitting percentage for the contest.

"Miami of Ohio has a long tradition of success and to come out with the win is a blessing," Head Coach Keylor Chan said. "The team handled the end of sets really well, and that helped us control the rallies. The team found some good footing to move forward."

The Bulldogs will continue play in the Tiger Brawl when they square off with host institution Memphis tonight at 7:00 p.m. (CST).

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