Sept. 1, 2007
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team claimed its first home win and suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday in the first day of the 2007 Barber's Bulldog Classic. The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans, 3-0 (30-27, 30-24, 30-26) and fell to the Cowgirls, 3-2 (30-24, 25-30, 19-30, 30-26, 6-15).
In its first game against Troy, Samford (2-3) quickly took a four point lead on kills by sophomore right side hitter Sheridan Stangohr and senior middle blocker Angela Dempski and a couple of Troy errors. The Trojans fought back then bring it within three, but the Bulldogs kept pushing and soon led by six. Six would be the largest lead for Samford in game one as Troy pushed back to close the gap to three. The Bulldogs held it there and won the first game, 30-27.
The Bulldogs and Trojans traded the lead a couple time during the second game, with the Bulldogs finally taking the lead for good after a tie at 18. Kills by junior outside hitter Sara Sears, freshman outside hitter Samantha Bland and Stangohr, a service ace by junior Libero Courtney Gay, and block by Dempski and Stangohr, helped Samford take over the game for good. The Bulldogs went on a 10-6 run to take game two, 30-24.
It was a close start to game three, but the Bulldogs would soon zoom past Troy, leading by as much as eight in the middle of the game. The Trojans would fight back to get within one, but Samford pushed its way to a victory, clenching the match with a 30-26 win of the third game.
"Against Troy, we came out and kept the intensity that we had a Chattanooga," Samford head coach Michelle Durban said. "Everybody really played well. We played as a team and I was very pleased with that."
Stangohr led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .353 percentage while grabbing nine kills and five block assists. Gay and sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Gardner led the team in digs with 13 and 11, respectively. Bland tallied the most kills for the Samford with 10, while freshman setter Hillary Fountain posted 32 assists. Dempski posted seven block assists and a block solo, helping the Bulldogs to out-block the Trojans 11-6.
In the first game against McNeese State, Samford jumped out to an early lead, going ahead by as much as three in the starting minutes of the game. McNeese State closed the gap and it at 11, taking the lead for a few points before the Bulldogs caught back up. With the game tied at 16, Samford took the lead on a block by Fountain and Stangohr and pushed the lead out to six, eventually winning, 30-24.
The Bulldogs claimed the first point in game two on a kill by Stangohr, but the Cowgirls answered back and Samford and McNeese State would exchange the lead for most of the game. With it all tied at 23, the Cowgirls would take the lead and go on a 7-2 run to take game two, 30-25.
After losing the third game 30-19, Samford came back with a vengeance in game four scoring six straight points to claim the earlier lead. It was all Bulldog action as Samford lead by as much as 11 at one point. The Cowgirls fought back to narrow the gap to four but the Bulldogs would take the fourth game, 30-26.
With both having won two games, a fifth game would determine the winner of the night. Samford landed the first three points on kills be Bland, Dempski and Sears, but McNeese State got right back in it and tied the game at three. From then on the Cowgirls would have the lead and go on to win the game, 15-6, and the match, 3-2.
Against McNeese State, Gay achieved a new high in digs with 46, passing the two records (career high digs and digs in a match) that she set just this past Wednesday against Chattanooga. Dempski posted 16 kills, six digs, five block assists and one block solo, while Stangohr grabbed 11 kills, four block assists, one block solo and one dig.
"It was great to see Sheridan (Stangohr) come back and have two great matches in a row," said Durban. "That shows me that she has really grown."
Fountain raked in 53 assists, 12 digs, two block assists, and a service ace, while Gardner led the team in aces with three and posted seven digs.
Bland posted her first career double-double, grabbing 17 kills and 13 digs. She also scored a service ace and had two block assists.
"Sam (Bland) did a great job for us today too," said Durban. "It was great to see her come out and put together two great matches also and put up a double-double."
In other tournament play, Coastal Carolina (defeated McNeese State in the first match of the day, 3-1 (30-23, 31-29, 21-30, 30-26) and Troy beat Coastal Carolina in three sets (30-28, 30-28, 30-23).
Action continues in the 2007 Barber's Bulldog Classic Sunday at noon as Troy University takes on McNeese State followed by the final match of the tournament featuring Samford and Coastal Carolina.
Follow tournament action with live stats on www.samfordsports.com. A full recap and results will also be available upon conclusion of the tournament.
