Sept. 11, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team is off to its best start yet, boasting a 6-1 overall record and riding a five-match win streak. However, this weekend, Sept. 12-13, will test the strength of the Bulldogs as they face their toughest opposition to date as they travel about 45 minutes south on Interstate 20/59 to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take part in Alabama Crimson Tide Invitational. The tournament will be the second SEC-hosted event that Samford has participated in this season, but brings the first big challenge for the Bulldogs with some talented competition.

"We are looking forward to an opportunity to play some competition that is going make us earn every point," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "Things are going very well for Samford Volleyball early in this season and this is a great weekend to play some elevated competition and gauge whether we are ready to take the next step."

The host team, Alabama, will be Samford's first opponent in this tournament. The Tide currently ranks second in the Western division of the Southeastern Conference, just behind LSU. Alabama has a 4-2 overall record, but comes off a 3-1 loss in its final match of the University of Miami Tournament. Leading the Crimson Tide is current SEC Defensive Player of the Week Amy Pauly. The senior Libero is averaging 3.30 digs per set and recorded a total of 46 digs, seven assists and four aces in University of Miami Tournament last weekend.

After Samford takes on Alabama, the Bulldogs meet up with a familiar foe in Murray State, a former Ohio Valley Conference opponent. Samford was 2-0 against the Racers last season, which evened the overall series to 3-3. The Bulldogs hope to gain the advantage in that series with Murray State, who has a 3-3 overall record and went 1-2 at the Belmont Tournament last weekend. Leading the Racers is senior Heather Norris who averages 4.30 digs per set while hitting .286.

Saturday, the Bulldogs will wrap up play in the Crimson Tide Invitational against the University of South Florida. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bulls. USF boasts a 4-3 overall record, but comes into this weekend's tournament after going 0-3 in the Portland Nike Invitational last weekend. The Bulls fell to Arizona State and Portland in five sets and Kansas State in four. USF is led by Marcela Gurgel, a 2007 honorable mention All-American and the Big East's first Player of the Week honoree. Gurgel currently leads the Bulldogs with 105 kills (3.89 kps) while hitting .322 on the year so far. She also leads in aces with 19 and averages 1.89 digs per set.

Samford enters this tournament just off a weekend in which it swept all four of its opponents in the UMKC Kangaroo Klassic. The Bulldogs were led by tournament MVP and current Southern Conference Player of the Week Hillary Fountain who averaged 11.58 assists per set while posting ten blocks. Samford was also led by Sheriden Stangohr and Courtney Gay, who both landed on the all-tournament team. Stangohr hit .533 on the weekend and posted 16 blocks while Gay had 42 digs over the four matches.

Match play between the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide begins at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon in the Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension (CAVE) on the UA campus. Samford will then have a short break before taking on Murray State at 5 p.m. Saturday, first serve between the Bulldogs and the USF Bulls will start at noon.

Tickets for all matches will be available at the door. Contact the Alabama Ticket office at 1-877-TIDETIX or visit www.rolltide.com for more information. Live stats will be available for all matches on www.rolltide.com and a full recap and results from each match will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each match.