MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford Volleyball team posted its highest hitting percentage (.529) under Head Coach Keylor Chan in a dominating 3-0 victory over Alcorn State on Saturday.
 
With the win, Samford improves to 2-1 on the season while Alcorn drops to 0-3.
 
The Bulldogs' .529 hitting percentage was just the second time they hit above .500 under Chan's tutelage, achieving the feat in a 3-0 win over North Alabama on Sept. 6 of the 2019 season. Samford hit .647 in set one, .514 in set two, and .444 in the final set.
 
Gracie Lynn Butler led the Bulldogs on offense with 16 kills and a career-best .652 hitting percentage. Greer Golden also tallied double-digit kills, finishing with 10 on a career-best .769 hitting percentage while also adding three service aces and three block assists.
 
Freshmen continued to make an impact, as Lexi Thatcher led the squad with 26 assists and Annabelle Straty logged a team-best seven digs. Kate Morgan, Amelia Johnston, and Golden all also added three digs each.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-3 lead in set one, with three aces by Golden highlighting the scoring action. Samford tallied five of the final six points in the set to claim it 25-13.
 
Samford took control of the second set with a 9-0 run, capped off by an ace from Kaleigh Meritt to put the Bulldogs up 17-7. From there, the Bulldogs were able to cruise to a 25-12 win in set two.
 
The Bulldogs created breathing room in set three with a 6-0 run, capped off by a kill from Ally Cordes to put them up 10-3. Samford put an exclamation mark on the match by scoring the final eight points to clinch the set, 25-8.

"I thought we played well today and bounced back from a challenging match Friday evening," Chan said.  "We handled the serve and pass game much better, allowing the team to find some critical connections that will pay dividends in the future."
 
The Bulldogs will return to the court on Friday, Sept. 1 when they take on the University of Evansville in their home opener. Match time from the Pete Hanna Center is set for 7:00 p.m. (CST).
 
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