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Sept. 13, 2002

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford, Birmingham-Southern, South Alabama, and Gardner Webb will converge on Seibert Hall this weekend for the State Farm/Samford Classic Volleyball Tournament at Samford University.

The round-robin tournament will begin at 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon with Birmingham-Southern and South Alabama facing off and continue at 7 p.m. Samford with against Gardner Webb. Saturday, play will commence at 9 a.m. with Birmingham-Southern and Gardner-Webb. The 11:30 a.m. match features Samford and South Alabama. The tournament concludes with two matches on Saturday afternoon, Gardner Webb plays South Alabama at 2 p.m. and Samford and BSC meet for city bragging rights at 4:30 p.m.

Samford is 3-5 after sweeping Alabama State 30-22, 30-10, 30-10 on Tuesday. Hilary Gary led the way with 11 kills, Alyssa Whitehead and Angela Smith each recorded nine kills. Smith and Krista Kettering each had nine digs. Samford dominated the match holding Alabama State to a -.051 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs hit a season-high .356 on its way to its second-straight victory.

Gardner-Webb is 1-8 under interim head coach Kellie Williams. Freshman Talia Ogle leads the team in kills and in kills per game. She was recently named to the All-Tournament team at the Furman Holiday Inn Classic. GWU is beginning its first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

South Alabama is 2-4 after dropping a hard-fought five-game match against Tulane on Tuesday. Holly Miller leads the Jaguars averaging 3.43 kills per game. She had 24 kills against Tulane and has a fourth of USA's blocks this season. Selena Chidester had 19 kills and 13 digs against Tulane.

Birmingham-Southern is 3-6 coming off a five-game victory over Mercer on Tuesday. Rachel Malmborg who averages 4.09 kills per game and 3.06 digs per game leads the Panthers. She had a school-record 28-kills against Mercer. Homewood High product Kyndall Waters averages 10.43 assists per game to go along with a team-high 18 aces.

Samford is 5-7 all-time against South Alabama, however the Bulldogs won the last meeting on Sept. 21, 1996 3-0. The Bulldogs are 3-0 against BSC after winning in five-games last Sept. 25, on the Panthers home court. Samford has never faced Gardner-Webb but this season the teams will meet twice as GWU joins the Atlantic Sun Conference.