GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team defeated the Bulldogs of Samford on Saturday night (30-28, 19-25, 25-18, 26-24) in Fleming Gym to close out the first round of The Southern Conference (SoCon) slate.
 
Saturday's win over Samford marks the first home SoCon win for the Spartans this season and second overall.
 
The last time UNCG defeated Samford was in the 2021 season in Greensboro with the win coming in straight sets.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set of Saturday's match was an all-out battle between both teams that featured a total of 12 ties and four lead changes throughout. With UNCG down 14-9 in the set, the squad strung together an 8-2 run to secure the 17-16 advantage. The extended first game would continue to go back-and-forth until the score was tied at 28 and kills from Allie Sweet and Madeline Timmerman finally secured the 30-28 set to the Spartans.
 
The Bulldogs got out to an early 5-2 lead over the Spartans in game two. Although UNCG remained close, Samford was able to maintain the advantage throughout the entirety of the second set to claim it, 25-19.
 
Samford went up 3-1 to start off set three before UNCG responded with a 6-1 run to take the lead and hold it for the remainder of the third game. A service error from Samford secured the final point for UNCG to claim set three, 25-18.
 
A service ace from Kendall Lanclos, followed by a kill from Sweet and an attack error from Samford put UNCG up 3-0 in the early goings of set four. UNCG held its lead until mid-game when the Bulldogs posted a 7-1 run to take an 18-13 advantage. However, the Spartans continued to chip away to get back into the set. With the score tied at 24, back-to-back kills from Sweet secured the fourth and final set for the Spartans, 26-24, for the 3-1 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Three Spartans recorded double-digit kills in the match.
• Sweet recorded her second career double-double after leading the team with 19 kills and adding a new career match high of 12 digs.
• Lanclos followed closely behind with a new match high of 16 kills.
• Cece Fitz and Madeline led the way at the net with 4.0 total blocks apiece.
• Izora Gragg led the squad as the setter with 42 assists.
• Chloe Nussbaum paced the match with a new career match high of 22 digs.
• Graylinn Serge registered a new match high of nine digs.

RECORDS
UNCG: 7-13, 2-6 SoCon
Samford: 12-6, 6-2 SoCon

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will begin their second round of SoCon play next week by visiting Furman on Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 p.m. and then returning to Greensboro to take on ETSU on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 5:00 p.m.
 
Saturday will be the team's Camper Reunion match. In addition, the first 50 fans will receive a FREE cookie from Insomnia!