Charleston, S.C. One school record was set and two players set career highs as The Citadel dropped a close 3-1 match to the Davidson Wildcats Saturday night in McAlister Field House. The Bulldogs took the first game but Davidson won the next three to clinch the match victory. Game scores were 21-30, 30-26, 30-23 and 30-19.

Sophomore Rachel Sanders broke her own school record of 56 attack attempts as she swung a record-high 58 times. Sanders led The Citadel with 17 kills in the match. Meanwhile, senior Samantha Parisi recorded a career and season high 24 digs, leading all players, as she inched closer to the coveted 1,000 career dig mark. Parisi now has 981 digs in her career and is only 19 away from becoming only the second Bulldog Spiker in school history to reach that mark. Sophomore Ashley Winter also set a career high in digs, recording 21 on the night.

Davidson was led by a powerful Liz Williamson who notched 22 kills as she hit .273 in the match. Williamson recorded a double-double as she also recorded 16 digs. Both Sanders (17 kills, 16 digs) and Parisi (11 kills, 24 digs) recorded double-doubles for The Citadel.

The Bulldogs set a season high nine total blocks in the match, including a block solo from Emily Hill, the 5'6 setter from Cypress, Texas. Senior Kim Cooper led all players with one block solo and three block assists.

The Citadel came out on all cylinders in the first game, taking home the 30-21 win. Parisi had a tremendous nine digs in the first game to go along with her four kills. Williamson recorded four kills in the first game for Davidson.

The Citadel held close with Davidson in a tough game two that saw five tie scores and two lead changes. The two teams were tied at 24 before Davidson rattled off three quick points that was capped off by a Kittery Neale kill. A Sanders kill, followed by a Davidson attack error, pulled the Bulldogs within one at the 27-26 mark, but three consecutive kills for Davidson by Neale, setter Jenna Dykstra and Emily Mims sealed the Bulldogs' fate in the second set as The Citadel fell, 30-26.

Sanders began to catch fire for The Citadel in the third game, as she led the team with five kills, but Davidson's Williamson and Katie Pierucci each put down six kills as Davidson's .302 hitting percentage in the game led them to the 30-23 victory. The Citadel swung for a .222 hitting percentage in the game.

Davidson used that momentum to jump out to a quick 16-9 lead in the fourth game before The Citadel began to fight back. However, three Pierucci kills in the final four points put Davidson over the top as the Wildcats sealed the match victory with a 30-19 game four victory.

“Tonight was a disappointing ending to a hard fought match,” said head coach Carolyn Geiger. “Game one saw what we are capable of and games two, three and four showed that we need to learn to adjust better. Everyone played with heart and desire tonight and everyone made a contribution, which is something I have been waiting for.”

The Citadel returns to action as they host Appalachian State on Sunday, Oct. 22 in McAlister Field House. First serve is set for 2 p.m. and the match will be video streamed live on the world wide web on Bulldog Insider at CitadelSports.com. For complete coverage of Bulldog Volleyball, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.