Sept. 20, 2008

Final Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team swept Alabama A&M (25-9, 25-14, 25-14) Saturday afternoon in the final match of the UAB-Samford Invitational series hosted at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs out-blocked (9-2) and out-hit Alabama A&M to win and move to 11-2 while the A&M Bulldogs fall to 3-10.

Ashley Adams led the Bulldogs again in hitting with a .529 percentage and nine kills while grabbing nine digs, two block assists and one ace. Kirstein Sosnowki followed right behind with a .600 hitting percentage and five kills. Sosnowski also added three block assists and one dig. Freshman Katie Weber led the Bulldogs in blocks against A&M, tying a career-high three block assists and grabbing her first block solo. Weber also knocked down three kills for the Bulldogs.

Rachel Gadberry scored on all four of her attempts against A&M and grabbed one block assist while Samantha Bland led in digs with 12 and added four kills and one block assist. Hillary Fountain posted 35 assists while grabbing two kills, two digs, one block assist and one ace. Sheriden Stangohr contributed five kills, three block assists and one dig while Sara Sears added four kills and one block assist. Courtney Gay posted six digs and one assist while Sarah Gardner had one assist and one ace. Katie Luckman grabbed one dig and freshman Shelby Brandon grabbed two kills and two block assists in her first collegiate appearance. One of her kills solidified the win for the Bulldogs.

Samford will begin the conference season next weekend, Sept. 27-28, as they head out on the road to take on Davidson on Saturday and Georgia Southern on Sunday.

Samford 3, Alabama A&M 0

Samford took a quick two-point lead in the first set as Adams knocked down a kill and Alabama A&M committed an error. The Bulldogs then went on a 9-2 run to take a nine-point lead before the A&M Bulldogs called for a timeout. A&M came out of the break and grabbed two consecutive points but Samford would only allow A&M to score five more points as the Bulldogs of Samford charged ahead, winning set one, 25-9.

The Samford Bulldogs took another quick lead in set two as Alabama A&M committed an error bookended by kills from Sosnowski and Weber. A&M finally got on the board and then tie the score, keeping it a close game for a while. The Bulldogs of Samford pulled ahead by two but A&M climbed back in and tied the score again. A&M then took their first lead and only lead of the match (11-10), but it was short-lived as the Bulldogs forged ahead, leaving A&M behind and winning the second set, 25-14.

In the third set, Samford took a quick 4-0 lead on back-to-back kills by Adams and Weber, an A&M error and an ace by Fountain. Alabama A&M got on the board with three consecutive points but Samford charged ahead to lead by five. A&M climbed back within two but Samford was not ready to give up. The Samford Bulldogs maintained control and extended their lead to 10 and then to 11, winning the third set on a kill by freshman Brandon, 25-14.