Oct. 25, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team heads into the final stretch of the season this weekend as it begins a four-match road stint taking on Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State. Samford (13-10, 8-6 OVC) is currently ranked sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference standings while Tennessee State is right in front at fifth and Tennessee Tech is right behind at seventh.
"This is a big weekend on the road for us because Tennessee Tech is in seventh and Tennessee State is in fifth," Samford head coach Michelle Durban said. "We need to focus on what we need to do in order for us to remain in sixth place."
Samford reached that sixth place spot Tuesday night when it knocked off top-ranked Jacksonville State for the first time since 2001. The Bulldogs swept the Gamecocks in three games in a huge defensive effort led by Sheriden Stangohr, Angela Dempski and Kirstein Sosnowski. Stangohr lead her team in hitting with a .474 average while joining Dempski in posting 12 kills. Stangohr also posted five block assists while Dempski hit .393 and had two digs, one ace and a block assist. Sosnowski tallied 11 kills and hit .429 while grabbing one assist, one dig and three block assists.
Junior Libero Courtney Gay continues to reside on the national rankings in digs per game. This week she is ranked 39th with 5.47 dpg while she also ranks fifth in the conference. Stangohr ranks 53rd nationally and third in the OVC in blocks while sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Gardner is second in the conference in service aces.
Tennessee Tech comes off a four-game loss to OVC No. 2 Morehead State Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles are led by junior setter Kappy Lang who leads her team in digs (5.57 dpg) and is 43rd in the nation and fourth in the conference in that category. She is helped out by sophomore Libero Katie Kenline and freshman outside hitter Leah Meffert. Kenline has been nationally-ranked in digs for the past several weeks and is fourth in the conference in the same category. Meffert is third in the OVC in kills as she leads her team with 4.12 kpg. Tennessee Tech, as a team, is third in assists and fourth in kills in the conference.
The last time the Bulldogs met the Golden Eagles this year was in a Saturday afternoon match at Seibert Gym on Sept. 29. TTU swept Samford in three games which extended the Golden Eagles' lead in the series versus the Bulldogs to nine wins out of twelve meetings. Samford hopes to turn things around and close that gap with a win this weekend.
"Tennessee Tech played very well against us last time," Durban said. "We need to do a better job with our ball control this time around."
Tennessee State comes off a 0-2 weekend in which they fell to OVC foes Southeast Missouri (3-0) and Eastern Illinois (3-1). The Tigers are led by seniors Endia Oliver, Kelly Davis and Collese Dornan. Oliver, a middle blocker is currently ranked third nationally and first in the conference in blocks (1.77 bpg). Davis leads her team in kills with 3.01 kills per game while Dornan is right behind her with 2.77 kpg.
The Tigers swept the Bulldogs at Seibert Gym in the first meeting of the two teams this year. Samford looks to keep up their defensive intensity against Tennessee State as well as put up a good offensive effort. Samford leads the series with Tennessee State, 8-6.
"TSU is a very good blocking team so we need to do a good job with our shot selections," Durban said.
Samford will meet Tennessee Tech Friday night in Hooper Eblen Center at 7 p.m., before taking on Tennessee State Saturday at 2 p.m., in Kean Hall. Find a full recap and results on www.samfordsports.com.
