CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Citadel volleyball team looked to grab its second Southern Conference victory in less than a week, but were narrowly defeated by Chattanooga in five sets 25-14, 25-16, 22-25, 20-25 and 15-10 Friday night.

"Gutsy performance by this team tonight," said head coach Craig Mosqueda. "We left The Citadel yesterday with one sick player and ended up with eight sick by match time. You could tell initially that we were struggling, but the team pulled it together during the break and played excellent volleyball."

Outside hitter Moriah Smith recorded her sixth 20 kill performance of the season, finishing with a match high 25 kills. The junior led the team with a .242 hitting percentage and 15 digs.

With the match on the line in the fifth set, the Bulldogs battled with Chattanooga for every point. The Citadel jumped out to the early 3-1 lead, but the Mocs answered back with seven of the next 10 points to take a 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides on the court at the halfway point. Later in the set, with the score tied 12-10, Chattanooga took the final three points to win the set 15-10 and take the match.

The Bulldogs played two poor sets to open the match, falling by scores of 25-14 and 25-16. After the break, however, the Bulldogs looked like a new team, grabbing victories of 25-22 and 25-20 to even the match up.

In the third set, the Bulldogs fell behind narrowly 13-11, but were able to tie the set at 15 apiece. They then continue the momentum, grabbing the next six points to take a 21-15 lead. The Bulldogs closed out the set 25-22 with a kill by Smith.

The teams again battled back and forth in the fourth set which featured eight tie scores. With the score 20-19 in favor of The Citadel, Smith closed the set out singlehandedly, recording the final five kills for the Bulldogs. In the set, Smith posted nine kills and a .533 hitting percentage to send the match to a fifth set.

Setter Priscilla Irizarry finished with a 40 assists, a career high with Bulldogs for the graduate transfer. Libero Samantha Espy led the team with 19 digs, finishing just one short of her third straight 20-dig performance.

The Bulldogs will have a quick turnaround, visiting ETSU on Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available for the match in Johnson City, Tennessee.

For more information on The Citadel volleyball follow @CitadelVB or visit CitadelSports.com.