Boxscore
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? Freshman setter Hillary Fountain recorded a game-high 60 assists to lead Samford (1-2) to a 3-1 victory over Chattanooga (0-1) Wednesday evening at Maclellan Gym. The Bulldogs won 21-30, 30-24, 30-26 and 30-24 to collect their first victory of the season.
UTC jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead in the first game before Samford rallied to close to 19-16. The Lady Mocs then closed out the match with an 11-5 run, registering six kills in the process, to take the game 30-21.
Chattanooga jumped out to a quick advantage at the start of the second game as well, taking a 10-4 lead in the early going before a 6-1 Bulldog run closed the score to 11-10. The teams battled to a 15-15 tie before Samford jumped ahead 19-15 with four straight points. They would extend that lead to 24-18 and would not allow the Lady Mocs any closer than four points the rest of the game as they tied the match with a 30-24 victory.
Once again, the Lady Mocs got off to a fast start with an 7-3 lead in the third game before a 10-2 run, fueled by three kills from junior outside hitter Sara Sears and seven assists from Fountain, gave them the lead 13-9. That lead would eventually grow to 20-13 before Chattanooga mounted an 8-3 run to close to 23-21. Samford's lead fluctuated between one and two points for several rallies before sophomore outside hitter Katie Luckman pushed the margin to 27-24 with a kill and helped send the Bulldogs onto a 30-26 victory and 2-1 match lead.
The fourth game featured a tight contest that would see the score tied eight times and the two teams separated by no more than two points until Samford pulled ahead 17-14. The Lady Mocs kept the score close and battled back to within two points four times before the Bulldogs pulled ahead 25-20. From there, Samford closed out the game, and the match, with a hard-fought 30-24 victory.
In addition to Fountain's 60 assists, the Bulldogs were led by Sears and senior middle blocker Angela Dempski with 16 kills apiece and junior libero Courtney Gay added 42 digs on the evening. Sears also added 12 digs and five service aces while freshman outside hitter Samantha Bland and sophomore libero Sarah Gardner posted 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Freshman Sheridan Stangohr finished the night with 12 kills.
For the Lady Mocs, senior setter Bethany Herndon (Richmond, Texas) posted a team-high 42 assists and added 10 digs while junior libero Lara Newberry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) posted 38 digs. Senior middle blocker Leslee Ball (Sycamore, Ill.) led the attack with a team-high 15 kills and was joined by senior outside hitter Kelsey Amundson (Houston, Texas) with 11 kills and 21 digs, and senior middle blocker Julianna Martinez (Austin, Texas) with 10 kills. Junior setter Michaela Huff (Dallas, Texas) rounded out the Lady Mocs top performers with 14 digs.
Following an eight-day layoff, the Lady Mocs will resume play when they host the Country Inns & Suites Challenge at Maclellan Gym Sept. 7-8. The tournament will feature Tennessee Tech, UNC Asheville and 2006 NCAA Tournament team, Missouri State.
