Oct. 12, 2008
Final Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team swept Wofford Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center to grab its 12th consecutive win and remain undefeated in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs have not lost a match at home so far this season and have now swept four of its last five opponents. This was the first meeting of between the Bulldogs and Terriers. Samford now lead the series, 1-0.
With a scores of 25-21, 25-14, 25-18, Samford (18-2, 7-0 SoCon) defeated its 13th challenger in a sweep in 2008. The Bulldogs have left victorious after three sets in 13 of its 20 matches on the season so far. Earlier this week, Samford knocked off Chattanooga in a three sets and on Saturday, the Bulldogs swept Furman.
"We took care of business and topped of a great week with three sweeps today," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "I am very happy with our defense and transitions today."
Courtney Gay led the defensive effort digging eight balls and serving up one aces. Sarah Gardner and Ashley Adams added six digs each while Bland posted three digs. Gardner also had two kills and two assists while Bland added one assist.
Adams and Rachel Gadberry led the Bulldog offense on Sunday, posting 10 kills each. Along with her 10 kills and six digs, Adams had two set assists and two block assists. Gadberry led her team in hitting, notching a .533 percentage while also having two block solos and three block assists. Her 10 kills is also a new career high.
"Rachel Gadberry got challenged today and responded very well at the net," Schroeder said. "She has worked very hard on her blocking footwork and I think that showed today."
Hillary Fountain dished out 36 assists while also grabbing four kills, two digs, one ace and one block assist. Sheriden Stangohr posted eight kills, hitting .438, while also adding one ace, three digs and four block assists. Kirstein Sosnowski and Sara Sears posted five kills each and both hit .500. Sears also had two digs while both had two block assists. Katie Luckman had one dig.
The Bulldogs are back on the road this next week as they take on the other undefeated SoCon team in College of Charleston on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. Samford will the meet up with The Citadel at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday before heading back home.
Samford 3, Wofford 0
Stangohr started things off for Samford in set one, scoring a quick kill to get the Bulldogs on the board first. A Wofford error and a block by Gadberry and Adams gave Samford a three-point advantage before the Terriers finally got on the block. Two kills by Wofford cut Samford's lead to one but Adams made it a two-point game before the Terriers scored again.
Back-to-back kills by Sosnowski and Sears and an ace by Gay put Samford up by four points. After Wofford scored once more, two blocks by Stanoghr, Sosnowski and Fountain gave Samford a five-point lead. Wofford took a timeout before Samford went ahead by six but three consecutive blocks by the Terriers cut the lead to two. Samford pushed the lead back out to seven and the Terriers cut it back to four, but Samford would go on to win the first set, 25-21.
The Bulldogs jumped out to two-point lead to start the second set on a kill by Stangohr and a Wofford error. A kill got the Terriers on the board but Samford would score five straight points on kills by Stangohr, Adams, Gadberry and Fountain and an ace by Stanoghr to take a 7-1 lead. Wofford fought back to get within four but Samford dominated the rest of the match and went ahead by as much as 11. On a service error by Wofford, the Bulldogs took set two, 25-14.
A Samford error gave the Terriers the first lead of the third set, but Samford quickly jumped on top with kills by Fountain and Adams. Wofford tied the score a couple of times but Samford fought back and took a three point lead before Wofford took a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Terriers came up with a block but Samford's Adams answered back with a kill. A couple of Wofford errors and a block by Adams and Gadberry gave the Bulldogs a five-point advantage and soon Samford was ahead by seven. The Bulldogs went on to win the final set, 25-18, on a kill by Gadberry.
