Volleyball Drops Five-Set Thriller at Samford
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller (25-20, 17-25, 26-24, 19-25, 14-16) at Samford on Friday night at Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
Allie Sweet recorded her fourth career double-double after leading the match with 23 kills and adding 16 digs. Izora Gragg posted her 10th double-double of the season and her career with 44 assists and 14 digs.
Three Spartans reached double-digit kills, while four reached double-digit digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday night's match started off as a back-and-forth battle in the early goings of set one with a total of eight ties and five lead changes. With the Bulldogs up, 8-7, UNCG notched a 6-0 run to take the 13-8 lead. The Spartans were able to maintain the lead, closing out set one, 25-20, with a final kill from Cece Fitz.
After the second set stayed close early on, Samford found its stride. With the Spartans up 9-8, the Bulldogs recorded six consecutive points, taking the 14-9 lead. Samford continued to control the rest of game to claim it, 25-17.
The third set was an all-out battle between both teams with Pete Hanna Center seeing a total of 10 ties and four lead changes. Game three came all the way down to the wire. However, with the scored tied at 24, kills from Madeline Timmerman and Sweet secured the Spartans set three, 26-24, for the 2-1 lead.
With UNCG up, 7-4, in the fourth set, Samford notched a 6-1 run to take the 10-8 lead. Although the game remained close throughout, the Bulldogs were able to maintain their lead for the rest of the frame, securing it 25-19, to push a fifth set.
The final set was no different than the rest with both teams battling it out. However, with the Spartans controlling the 14-11 lead, the Bulldogs recorded five points to earn the fifth stanza, 16-14, for the 3-2 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Fitz led the game with a new career-best of 11.0 total blocks.
- McKenna Timmerman and Madeline followed behind Sweet with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
- Sweet's 16 digs were a new career-high for the freshman.
- Sweet added another career-best of five total blocks.
- Chloe Nussbaum paced the squad as the libero with 24 digs.
- UNCG outmatched Samford in blocks, 15-9.
RECORDS
UNCG: 7-20, 2-13 SoCon
Samford: 14-11, 8-7 SoCon
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UP NEXT
The Spartans will conclude the 2024 regular season at Mercer on Saturday in Macon, Georgia, at 6:00 p.m.
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