Oct. 3, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team will close out its four-match home stand on Sunday when it hosts Southern Conference foe Davidson. The Bulldogs and Wildcats will go head-to-head at 2 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford and Davidson met for the first time last season in the first weekend of conference play. On Sept. 27, the Bulldogs took their first Southern Conference road trip to Davidson, N.C., and captured their first SoCon win with a sweep of the Wildcats. Two months later, on Nov. 2, Davidson visited Birmingham, Ala., and Samford defended home court with a 3-0 victory in the Pete Hanna Center. The two teams met up again in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., on Nov. 21, and the Bulldogs captured their third sweep over the Wildcats.

Samford (9-7, 3-0 SoCon) comes off its first midweek match of the season in which it swept league rival Chattanooga. The two young teams battled it out in a close three-set match, but the Bulldogs walked away with their third conference victory. Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said that the youth of his team will inevitably show every now and then, but when running on all cylinders, the Bulldogs are a force to be reckoned with.

"We are growing up every day," Schroeder said. "Some of our youth looked sluggish Wednesday and that is to be expected in their first year of college volleyball and the demands of it. Our upperclassmen will need to show some leadership here very soon. When this team is clicking, we look fast and are dictating pace of the match and we are also very vocal and projecting our volleyball I.Q. to our teammates."

The Bulldogs have now won five straight games and have not lost at home in the Pete Hanna Center since Samford started playing there on Nov. 9, 2007.

Samford has been lead all season by freshman Allie Bettinger and senior Sheriden Stangohr. Bettinger is averaging 3.37 kills per set while leading the Bulldogs in aces on the season with 16. She also is third on the team in digs with 2.03 per set and has posted five double-doubles so far in her freshman season. Stangohr leads her team in hitting with a .271 percentage and averages 1.32 blocks per set. She has been ranked in the nation's top 100 in blocks per set for the past several weeks.

Junior Hillary Fountain runs the offense with 520 assists on the year, averaging 8.97 assists per set. She also is second on the team in digs with 2.43 per set. Freshman Alexis Bauer commands the back row defense with 228 digs on the year. She averages 3.86 digs per set which is good for third in the conference standings.

Davidson (3-14, 0-2 SoCon) comes off a 3-0 win over North Carolina A&T. The Wildcats began conference play last weekend, along with the rest of the league, playing Furman and Wofford on the road. Davidson fell, 3-0, in both of the matches and is looking for their first conference win. The Wildcats lost eight in a row before Tuesday night's win over the Aggies.

Five juniors lead the Wildcat team on a roster that boasts zero seniors. Three sophomore and two freshmen round out the Davidson team.

"Davidson is a veteran team and can beat anyone in the conference," Schroeder said. "This will come down to our preparation and our match day determination."

Davidson is led by junior Sarabeth Peele who averages 3.98 kills while posting 1.89 digs per set. Sophomore Madison Benedict leads all blockers and hitters in hitting with a .289 percentage while her older sister Jorden leads in blocks with 49 on the year.

Junior setter Hayley Lawson has the highest hitting percentage on the team (.353), with 37 kills on 85 attempts with only seven errors on the year. She leads the team in assists as well, averaging 9.18 per set. Freshman defensive specialist Molly Crenshaw leads her team in digs with 3.36 per set while junior libero Jennifer Chamblee adds 1.84 per set.

Match play between the Bulldogs and Wildcats will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4. Live streaming will not be available for this match, but a full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.