Oct. 22, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team dropped an exciting five-game match to Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri. The Bulldogs were down two-games to none, but fought back to force a five game match due to senior Courtney Keen's leadership.

Samford (7-17, 3-7) lost the match 3-2 (19-30, 22-30, 30-26, 30-21, 7-15) to Southeast Missouri (11-12, 7-3).

"I was pleased with our comeback and the way that Courtney Keen came in, with her senior leadership," said Samford head coach Michelle Durban. "We just ran out of gas, and that's a credit to Southeast Missouri and why they're one of the top teams in the conference."

Overall, Samford totaled 63 kill, 60 assists and 66 digs. The Bulldogs also notched six team blocks, including three in a row in game three. Southeast Missouri totaled 65 digs, 60 assists, 71 digs and nine team blocks. The Redhawks also hit .202 for the match, compared to the Bulldogs' .142.

Keen totaled six kills and a .278 attack percentage in three games to help lead the Bulldogs in their comeback. Freshmen Ashley Klare and Sara Sears each tallied double-doubles. Sears notched 12 kills and 18 digs for her 12th double-double of the year, and Klare turned in 16 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the year. Sears's 18 digs led the team, as did Klare's 16 kills. Jackie Jaszcz tallied 51 assists to lead the team, and also led the team in attack percentage, hitting .385. Jen Powers's five block assists led the team, as she was in on all but one of the Bulldogs' team blocks.

Samford fell 19-30 in game one. The Bulldogs totaled 13 kills and hit .200, while the Redhawks totaled 17 and hit .448. Jessica Koeper led Southeast Missouri, with five kills and an .833 attack percentage. Kirstein Sosnowski led the Bulldogs in kills, with four, while Jaszcz led the team in attack percentage, hitting 1.000.

Samford dropped the second game 22-30. Sears tallied four kills and five digs for the Bulldogs. Jaszcz turned in nine assists. Koeper tallied another five kills, as well as five digs for the Redhawks.

Samford came out strong in game three, to win 30-26. The Bulldogs turned in a match-high 18 kills and hit .186 over the Redhawks' 13 kills and .140 attack percentage. Klare tallied six, and Powers turned in four. Sears notched another five digs, and Jaszcz added 16 assists.

The Bulldogs earned a key 30-21 win in game three to force a fifth game. Klare tallied another five kills, and Keen added four more to Samford's effort. Callaway Logan led the team with seven digs, and Jaszcz again led the team with 13 assists. Samford showed it's presence at the net with four blocks, including three-consecutive blocks in game three. The combination of Powers and Sears blocked two-straight Redhawk attacks, and Powers and Jaszcz added the third-straight block of the game.

Samford was unable to complete the comeback, falling 7-15 in the final game of the match. Southeast Missouri came out quickly, with 9 kills and a .421 attack percentage. Samford turned in four kills and eight digs.

The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday, Oct. 26, when they head to Cookeville, Tenn., to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7 p.m.