BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct 5, 2024) – East Tennessee State University volleyball fell 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 20-25) to Samford in Birmingham on Saturday.

The Bucs (9-6, 1-2 SoCon) were led by freshman outside hitter Makayla Bays, who tallied a career high 11 kills on .417 hitting with six digs. Senior outside hitter Amanda Lowe added nine kills on .474 hitting and four blocks (one solo) for ETSU.

Samford (9-5, 3-1 SoCon) capitalized on a slow start from the Bucs to take the first set. Kaleigh Merritt notched five kills and the Bucs had seven service errors in the frame. The Bulldogs won the set 25-19.

The Bulldogs continued their momentum in the second set. Samford opened on a 4-0 run and led throughout the entire set. ETSU drew within a point twice at 18-19 and 19-20, but Samford held on for the 25-20 set win. Bays tallied seven of her kills in the set, and Ally Cordes posted six kills in the set for Samford.

Samford concluded its sweep with a 25-20 win in the third set. The Bucs flipped the script in the first half of the set, getting out to their only lead of the match behind three of Lowe's kills until a 14-14 tie. The two squads went back and forth to a tie at 17 before a kill from Cordes gave the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish. Samford then went on a 6-3 run to win the set and match 25-20.

Next, ETSU returns home to face The Citadel (7-8, 1-3 SoCon) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Brooks Gymnasium. For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, follow @ETSUVolleyball on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.