SPARTANBURG, S.C. – #5 The Citadel volleyball team won a five-set thriller (25-16, 27-25, 17-25, 25-21, 22-20) over the #4 Samford Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Southern Conference Volleyball Championships.
Jaelynn Elgert broke the single-match record for digs with 46.
Score: #5 The Citadel 3, #4 Samford 2
Records: The Citadel (15-13, 8-8), Samford (15-12, 9-7)
Location: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (Spartanburg, South Carolina)
Key Plays & Stats
- The Citadel opened up the first on a 4-0 scoring run sparked by an Ali Ruffin kill.
- The Bulldogs jumped to a 12-5 lead with kills from Mackenzie Martin, Belle Hogan, and Ruffin.
- Three errors in a row committed by Samford gave the Bulldogs a seven-point lead at 22-15.
- A service ace from Sophie Childs gave the Bulldogs the first set at 25-16.
- The second set started with both teams exchanging points to gain an advantage. However, a kill from Ruffin and a service ace gave the Bulldogs a 12-8 lead.
- Samford took a late lead at 24-21, but the Bulldogs battled back with a 6-1 run that would allow the Bulldogs to take the second set and gain a 2-0 advantage over Samford in the match.
- Samford forced a fourth set after taking the third set from The Citadel at 25-17.
- The Citadel cut down Samford's lead to 9-8 after a 3-0 run from two errors from Samford and a kill from Ruffin.
- Belle Hogan served an ace that narrowed the lead to 23-20, but Samford closed the set with two points to force the fifth set.
- The Bulldogs jumped to a 6-1 lead in the fifth set off a kill from Peri Hoshock.
- Samford gained the lead off a 5-0 scoring run at 12-9.
- The Bulldogs were down at 14-12, but an attack error from Samford led to The Citadel scoring three in a row to regain the lead 15-14.
- The Citadel faced seven match points until kills from Childs and Ruffin ended the set and the match at 22-20.
- The Citadel set a program record of 146 digs in a match, breaking the previous record of 137 digs in 2008.
- Jaelynn Elgert broke the single-match record for digs with 46, breaking Mackenzie Martin's record of 42 that she set earlier in the season.
- Ali Ruffin led the Bulldogs with 18 kills and posted 30 digs.
- Sophie Childs was second on the team with 14 kills.
- Belle Hogan recorded 46 assists and 20 digs.
Up Next
The Citadel will play #1 Mercer in the semifinals of the 2024 Southern Conference Volleyball Championships tomorrow at 4 p.m.