CHATTANOOGA -- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team dropped the first match of a three-match homestand 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-19) on Wednesday night in Maclellan Gymnasium.

The Mocs jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first 15 points of the match before extending that lead to 20-11. The Bulldogs scored nine of the next ten points to make the match 21-20 and eventually outscored UTC over the next ten points to earn a 26-24 victory. In set number two, Samford took a 1-0 lead and did not trail for the entire set, allowing only 13 points from Chattanooga and notched a 25-13 set win. The third set featured three lead changes and seven ties as both teams were all square at 13-13 through the first 26 points. The Bulldogs took a 14-13 lead and didn't look back, scoring 11 of the next 17 points to win the set 25-19, and the match 3-0.

The loss knocks the Mocs to 11-10 overall and an even 4-4 record in the SoCon. It was the first conference loss in Maclellan Gym for UTC since Nov. 15, 2014. Samford improves to 13-10 on the season and matches Chattanooga with a 4-4 mark in the conference.

UTC was limited to a .178 hitting percentage in comparison to Samford's .271 percentage. The Bulldogs forced 18 Chattanooga errors at the net while only committing 12. They also out-killed the Mocs 44-37 during the match while defensive play at the net was locked up at 7.0 blocks for both teams.

On the attack, Miranda Elpers (Louisville, Ky.) led Chattanooga with nine kills (.138) while Emily Plumlee (Chesapeake, Va.) added seven kills at a team-best .538 attacking clip. Seniors Kirsty Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) and Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) both finished with six kills each as Wieser hit at an efficient .308 percentage. Dani Szczepanski (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in with five kills and Eden Murray (Hoschton, Ga.) with four.

The Chattanooga setting combo recorded double-digit assists as Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) led the team with 18 and Madison Bergren (Muncie, Ind.) followed behind with 12 assists of her own.

Defensively, Rachel Petkosh (Merritt Island, Fla.) posted a match-high 17 digs while Davenport totaled 12 digs in the match. Szczepanski and Plumlee again came up with big blocks at the net as both finished the match with 3.0 total blocks each. It's the 14^th straight match with recording at least one block for Plumlee and the ninth-straight for Szczepanski.

Chattanooga will be back on the court for the second-leg of its' three-match home tour as they face The Citadel for the first time this season on Friday at 6 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available and the links can be found under the schedule tab on GoMocs.com.