Samford continued its dominance in the Southern Conference Wednesday night as the Chattanooga Mocs suffered a heartbreaking 3-0 loss to the Bulldogs, falling to the Birmingham, Ala., institution for the second time this season.
"I was really happy with the way we come out and competed," Head Coach Travis Filarsaid. "It was a tough match and hard fought, but we look forward to getting back on the road and continuting our path to the tournament."
Chattanooga dropped the match 25-22, 25-19 and 25-17, as Samford slid by the Mocs at Pete Hanna Center. UTC was held to a .170 hitting percentage while the Bulldogs hit .344 in the contest. The Mocs top hitter was Lauren Gainer (Boca Raton, Fla) as the junior recorded a .667 hitting percentage with six kills on nine attacking attempts. Sophomore Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) took 20 swings and connected for seven kills while junior Briana redi (Houston, Texas) totaled six kills on 22 attempts.
The defense collected four blocks with Gainer leading the way with three assisted blocks. Sumida accounted for two assisted blocks while Reid was responsible for the sixth blocking assist. Junior Catherine Chason (Alpharetta, Ga.) led the defensive rotation with 10 digs.
The first set came down to the Mocs and Bulldogs tied 18-18. Samford gained two points to take a 20-18 leafe, but UTC kept the frame close as Wieser and junior Julimar Alvarado (San Juan, Puerto Rico) each tallied kills to keep the Mocs within one point of Samford. However, with the score 23-22 in favor of the home team, a kills and attacking error gave Samford a 1-0 lead after one stanza.
The Bulldog defense kept Chattanooga to a .129 hitting percentage in the second, its worst in the match, while UTC was able to manage 10 kills in the set. With the fame tied 18-18 late, Samford went on to piece together a seven-point rally with the Mocs scoring just one point in the streak.
The third and deciding set was the largest loss of the night for the Mocs as UTC fell 25-17. Chattanooga managed 10 kills and a .143 hitting percentage, but it was not enough to overcome a .345, 12 kill performance from the Bulldogs.
The Mocs return to play Friday and Saturday night with both matches beginning at 7 p.m. as Chattanooga visits both Western Carolina and East Tennessee. The WCU match is available with both live stats and video from the SoCon Digital Network, whileSaturday’s game is only available with live stats.