Oct. 4, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team won its fourth consecutive Southern Conference match Sunday, defeating Davidson in four sets (25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 25-10. The Bulldogs, who remain undefeated in Pete Hanna Center and have won six in a row, improve to 10-7, 4-0 SoCon while Davidson falls to 3-16, 0-3 SoCon.

Samford took set one after overcoming a three-point deficit halfway through the set, but Davidson turned the tables and took over the lead in set two after trailing for half of the set. However, the Bulldogs came out of the 10-minute break between sets two and three and dominated the final two sets to win, 3-1.

"I was very disappointed with the defensive mindset we played with in set two, but our response to adversity in set three and four was excellent," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "Sheriden Stanoghr was great for us today, hitting what she did on 21 sets."

Stangohr led the Bulldogs in kills with 13, hitting .571 on 21 attempts and committing only one error. She led in blocks with four block assists while also adding two aces and one dig. Rachel Gadberry led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .692 percentage. She knocked down 10 kills on 13 attempts with only one error while adding three block assists. Allie Bettinger had nine kills, hitting .353, and five digs while Shelby Brandon had eight kills and two block assists.

Hillary Fountain dished out 40 assists while grabbing nine digs, one ace and one block assist. She also had three kills on six attempts with no errors. Samantha Bland led the Bulldogs in digs with 10 while also grabbing one kill and one block assist. Alexis Bauer had nine digs and two assists while Casey Garvey served up four aces and had three digs. Elizabeth Neisler had four kills, one dig, one block solo and three block assists while Sarah Gardner had one kill, one ace and four digs.

Davidson was led by Sarabeth Peele who tallied 15 kills, four digs and two aces. Madison Benedict added nine digs while Anna Bradbury led in assists with 24 and Molly Crenshaw posted a team-high 12 digs.

Samford will hit the road next week as it takes its first conference road trip of the season to North Carolina. The Bulldogs will take on Western Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT before meeting up with Appalachian State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Samford 3, Davidson 1

Davidson took the first lead of the match on a kill by Peele, but Samford quickly responded with a kill by Stangohr to tie the score. The Bulldogs then fell behind by three before eventually fighting back to tie the score at eight. The Wildcats then went on a 4-1 run to take a three-point lead but Samford quickly answered back with its own 5-1 run to take the lead at 15-12. Davidson got back within one but Samford forged ahead and pushed the lead out to seven, going on to win, 25-18.

A kill from Bettinger got the Bulldogs on the board first in set two but Davidson's Madison Benedict answered back with a kill of her own to tie the score. Samford soon took a five-point lead with the help of kills by Gadberry and Bettinger, an ace by Fountain and a couple of Wildcat errors. Davidson took its first lead on a 4-0 run after Samford had owned a 14-12 lead. A kill by Fountain tied the score at 15 but after two more ties, the Wildcats took over and went on to win, 25-21.

After the 10-minute break, Samford came out blazing, ready take the lead back and defend home court. A kill by Stangohr and a Wildcat error gave the Bulldogs the early 2-0 lead and after Davidson got on the board due to a Samford service error, the Bulldogs when on a 6-2 run to take a five-point lead and force Davidson to burn its first timeout. The Wildcats scored a kill out of the break, but Samford would not let up, pushing its lead out to eight and forcing another timeout. Two more points were scored by the Wildcats after the timeout, but Samford put together a 10-5 run to win the third set, 25-15.

The Bulldogs completely dominated the fourth set, scoring eight straight points before Davidson finally got on the board. A 10-4 run soon had Samford up by 15 points. The Wildcats would only be able to score six more points but held Samford at match-point for five straight points. Samford finally sealed the deal on a kill by Stangohr, winning the final set, 25-10.