Sept. 13, 2002

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford volleyball team got the 2002 State Farm Samford Classic off to a solid start with a 30-10, 30-22, 30-19 victory over Gardner Webb at Seibert Hall Friday night.

Stefanie Pickett led the way for the Bulldogs (4-5) with 11 kills on 16 attacks for a career-best .625 hitting percentage. Alyssa Whitehead added 10 kills and Hilary Gary added seven kills on 11 attacks to hit a season-high .636 on the night. Head coach Kris Dorn gave a lot of the credit to setter Krista Kettering who had 41 assists, 13 digs, and seven service aces.

"Krista did a great job of distributing the ball," said Dorn. "She used all of her hitters and took control of the match with her serving in game one. This was a strong effort all the way around. This was a good way to start the tournament, everyone did a great job."

"This was a good way to start the tournament. We had a strong effort all the way around." head coach Kris Dorn

Gardner Webb (1-9) was led by Talia Ogle who recorded nine kills and seven digs. Samford out hit GWU .396 to.091 in the match and recorded 11 service aces.

In the first match of the night, South Alabama recorded 24 team blocks to defeat Birmingham-Southern 3-1. South Alabama (3-4) got double-doubles from Holly Miller who had 21 kills and 17 digs and Selena Chidester who had 19 kills and 24 digs. Kenisha McQuirter added nine kills and 10 block assists for the Jaguars.

Birmingham-Southern dropped to 3-7 despite 13 kills and 15 digs from Rachel Malmberg. The contest was a defensive struggle as South Alabama out dug BSC 89-70. USA also held the edge in hitting .231-.106 aided by the 24-5 blocking advantage.

All four teams return to action on Saturday. Birmingham Southern and Gardner Webb will get the day started at 9 a.m., followed by South Alabama and Samford at 11:30 a.m. The final two matches will feature Gardner Webb and South Alabama at 2 p.m. and Samford and Birmingham-Southern at 4:30 p.m.