Volleyball Falls in Five-Set Thriller at Memphis

Friday, August 25

Memphis, TN

7:00 PM

Samford University

1-1,0-0SoCon

Memphis

2-0,0-0AAC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Samford	25	16	21	25	10	2
Memphis	21	25	25	16	15	3

Photo by: Parker Freedman | Samford Athletics

Volleyball Falls in Five-Set Thriller at Memphis

8.25.23 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford Volleyball team fought hard but ultimately fell in five sets to the University of Memphis on Friday evening.

With the loss, the Bulldogs drop to 1-1 while Memphis improves to 2-0.

Gracie Lynn Butler led a quartet of Bulldogs that recorded double-digit kills, finishing the night with 18. Kaleigh Meritt (14), Kayla Keshock (11), and Kate Wonus (10) all eclipsed the double-digit mark in kills, with Keshock (.364) and Wonus (.381) both posting a hitting percentage over .300.

Freshman setter Lexi Thatcher posted a game-high 49 assists while also adding five digs. Kate Morgan logged a team-high 15 digs while Annabelle Straty (8) and Amelia Johnston (7) combined for 15 digs.

The Bulldogs did not trail in set one, using a 4-0 run to go up 11-7 and a 3-0 run later on to go up 17-11. Memphis fought back to trim Samford's lead to 21-18, but the Bulldogs countered each remaining point from the Tigers to take the opening set, 25-21.

Memphis set the tone in set two by scoring the first five points unanswered. The Bulldogs got back into it with a 4-0 run to make it 9-7, but The Tigers took control of the set with a pair of crucial 4-0 runs to take a 24-14 lead and eventually even the match at one.

The Bulldogs trailed just 9-8 in set three following a kill by Butler, but the Tigers created separation with a pair of 3-0 runs to go up 17-11. A service ace by Morgan capped off a 4-0 run by Samford to trim its deficit to 21-20, but The Tigers scored the next three points to go up 24-20 before claiming the set, 25-21.

Samford came out swinging in set four, posting a .536 hitting percentage. A 3-0 run by the Bulldogs, capped off by a powerful kill from Wonus, gave them a 13-9 lead. The Bulldogs took control of the set by scoring four unanswered points to take a 21-14 lead, getting a pair of kills from Meritt and one from Greer Golden, before winning the set 25-16.

The Bulldogs took an 8-7 lead in the fifth set on a kill by Butler, but Memphis stopped Samford's momentum in its tracks with a 3-0 run, followed by a 4-0 run to go up 14-9 and eventually take the decisive set, 15-10.

"Memphis is a good team that can put pressure on you at all three positions on the net," Head Coach Keylor Chan said. "Ultimately, it came down to the service and pass game. However, I liked how we continued to move forward and work to create situations to win the match."

The Bulldogs will play their third and final game of the Tiger Brawl on Saturday, Aug. 26 against Alcorn State. First serve from Memphis, Tenn. is slated for 10:00 a.m.

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