Oct. 10, 2009

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. ---- The Samford University volleyball team grabbed its first Southern Conference road win of the season over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-21). The Bulldogs improve to 11-7, 5-0 SoCon while the Catamounts fall to 3-17, 0-6 SoCon.

"This was our first road challenge and I think we responded very well to a Western Carolina team that played well," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We focused on battling for every point and not getting caught up in the crowd or our emotions."

The Bulldogs were led by Sheriden Stangohr who hit .440, knocking down 13 kills on 25 attempts with only two errors. She also served up two aces while posting two block solos and six block assists. She had a team-high 20 points. Rachel Gadberry hit .333, posting seven kills on 12 attempts while adding one block assist. Allie Bettinger grabbed nine kills, three digs and three block assists while Elizabeth Neisler had six kills and one block assist.

Hillary Fountain dished out 32 assists while also grabbing four block assists, two digs and one kill. Alexis Bauer and Samantha Bland led the back row defense with six digs each while Bland also added two aces. Casey Garvey served up three aces and had three digs while Shelby Brandon added three kills, one assist and one block solo.

Kara Lynzee Brooks led Western Carolina as she hit .312, knocking down six kills on 16 attempts with one error. She also added four block assists. Katie Hennessey dished out 17 assists while Liz Rondone led in digs with 12.

Samford out-blocked the Catamounts 11-5, and held Western Carolina to a collective .000 hitting percentage through three sets.

Samford will be back in action Sunday as the Bulldogs take on Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., at 2 p.m. Fans can follow all the action via live stats at www.goasu.com. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.

Samford 3, Western Carolina 0

Western Carolina opened up the first set with three consecutive kills to take the early lead. Samford answered right back and went on a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead on a kill by Stangohr, back-to-back blocks by Stangohr, Fountain and Neisler, an ace by Garvey and a few Catamount errors. WCU cut the lead to two on a block by Abbey Scroggins and Brooks, but the Bulldogs put together another run, a 4-1 run, to stretch their lead to four.

Soon, Samford extended the lead to six points, but the Catamounts roared back to tie the score at 19 on a 7-2 run of their own. Western Carolina took the lead back on an error by Bettinger, but Bettinger answered back with a kill to tie the score at 20. Samford took over the lead on a Catamount error, but WCU tied the score at 21 and took a two-point lead. However, Samford put together a 4-0 run to win the first set, 25-23.

Samford jumped out to an early five-point lead in set two on two kills and two blocks by Fountain and Stangohr and an ace by Garvey. Soon, the Bulldogs led by seven as they added three more points after WCU finally got on the board. With an 8-1 lead, Samford continued to dominate, eventually taking a 10-point lead. Samford would go on to win the second set, 25-13,

The tables were turned in the third set as the Catamounts scored five straight points to get things started. Stangohr finally got the Bulldogs on the board with a kill and Samford cut the lead to one on an 8-3 run to make the score 9-8. With two Catamount errors and a kill by Gadberry, Samford tied the score at 10 and fought through two more ties before taking a 13-12 lead. The score was tied three more times before the Catamounts took the lead again at 17-16, but Samford fought back and would go onto win 25-21 with the help of three kills and a block by Stangohr.