Bulldogs Best UNCG 3-1 in SoCon Opener

Friday, September 22

Birmingham, AL

7:00 PM

Samford University

6-7,1-0SoCon

UNCG

1-11,0-1SoCon

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UNC Greensboro	25	19	17	14	1
Samford	22	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Keeling Kenedy | Samford Athletics

9.22.23 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Volleyball Team knocked off UNC Greensboro 3-1 in its Southern Conference opener on Friday evening in front of a packed house at the Pete Hanna Center.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-7 overall and 1-0 in league play. UNCG falls to 1-11 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

Gracie Lynn Butler enjoyed a career night on the attacking side, finishing with a career-best 26 kills while posting a .434 hitting percentage and adding seven digs.

Kaleigh Meritt tallied 10 kills and hit .391 while Sophia Plasman notched eight kills in her first collegiate start and led the Bulldogs with six block assists. Greer Golden added seven kills and five block assists on the evening.

Lexi Thatcher led Samford with 47 digs while Kate Morgan amassed a team-high 11 digs. Thatcher, Butler, and Meritt all also logged seven assists each.

UNCG jumped out to 15-8 lead in set one, but the Bulldogs fought back to trim their deficit to 18-16 following a kill by Greer Golden. From there, The Spartans scored four of the next six points to grab a 22-18 lead. A Morgan ace made it a 23-22 score in favor of UNCG, but the Spartans found the final two points needed to claim the set.

The Bulldogs took control of the second set with a 6-0 run that put them up 16-9 following an ace from Morgan. UNCG cut its deficit to 16-13, but Samford continued to press onward by scoring four of the next six points to go up 20-15 and eventually take the set 25-19.

Samford set the tone in set three by going up 16-8 before eventually taking a 24-14 lead following a kill from Sophia Plasman. The Bulldogs took advantage of 5-0, 4-0, and 3-0 runs in the set to cruise their way to going up 2-1 in the match.

The Bulldogs created separation in set four with a 3-0 run that put them up 10-5, followed by a 4-0 run that gave them a 14-6 lead. A late 3-0 put Samford ahead 21-10 and served as the dagger, with the Bulldogs working their way to a 25-14 win in set four.

Samford's .365 hitting percentage on the night marked its second-highest tally on the season. The Bulldogs never hit below .300 in a single set while posting a .500 hitting percentage in set four.

The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 23 when they host The Citadel at 7:00 p.m. from the Pete Hanna Center.

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