BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team allowed a season-high .362% attack percentage during a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-17) loss at Samford to open up Southern Conference play Wednesday night inside the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Following the loss, Chattanooga falls to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in SoCon action. Samford improves to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the league.

BOX SCORE » Samford 3, Chattanooga 0
» S1 | 25-19, SAM
» S2 | 25-13, SAM
» S3 | 25-17, SAM

Samford captured early momentum with five of the first six points of the match before Chattanooga closed the gap to one, 5-4. The Bulldogs answered with a 15-4 run to build a sizable 21-8 lead before the Mocs responded with an 11-4 charge, ultimately falling just short, 25-19.
 
The host school used another early run to create separation in the second set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead in the first eight points. Chattanooga battled back to pull within one, 8-7, before allowing a 9-2 Samford run to fall behind 17-9. Eight of the final 12 points went in favor of the Bulldogs, adding up to a 25-13 tally.
 
For the third consecutive set, Samford built a quick lead behind a 9-3 run, forcing Chattanooga into calling timeout. UTC responded out of the break to climb within four at 10-6 before the Bulldogs extended its lead to eight, 19-11, following a 9-5 spurt. The two teams would trade points down the stretch, finalizing at a 25-19 set score and 3-0 match sweep.
 
MATCH NOTABLES
- Chattanooga falls to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in the SoCon… lost last ten road matches at Samford dating back to 2011… ties season-long losing skid of four matches.
- Senior Dani Szczepanski reached 100 career aces during Wednesday's opening set… becomes just the ninth Moc to reach the milestone in program history… sits five shy of moving into a tie for eighth all-time (Bethany Herndon, 105, 2004-07).
- Team allowed a .361% attack percentage… highest of the season… second-highest to SoCon opponent since 2014.

UP NEXT
Chattanooga (5-9, 0-1 SoCon) heads into the bye week before resuming SoCon action with its 2019 home opener next Friday, October 4, against ETSU at 6 p.m. inside Maclellan Gym. UTC will then take on Western Carolina Saturday, also set for a 6 p.m. start in the Mac, to conclude weekend play.

Please follow us @GoMocsVB (Twitter) & @GoMocsVolleyball (Instagram) for all the latest information regarding Chattanooga Volleyball. GoMocs.com, the official website of Chattanooga Athletics.