June 20, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team has finalized its schedule for the 2008 season. The first half of the schedule includes four tournaments while the second half features the Bulldogs' first season as Southern Conference participants.

"I am excited for the move into the Southern Conference as our team will get to set the standards by which we compete in the conference with every first-time match against every new opponent," Samford head coach Dex Schroeder said. "The first half of our season will really be about us slotting ourselves into the hierarchy of the conference."

In the first half of the season, Samford will begin its tournament schedule the last weekend in August (29-30) by playing the War Eagle Invitational hosted by Auburn University. The tournament is the first of two hosted by Southeastern Conference schools that the Bulldogs will be participating in and it features matches against host team Auburn, New Orleans and Mercer.

The Bulldogs will then take Labor Day Weekend trip to Kansas City, Mo., to take part in the UMKC Kangaroo Klassic. Samford will play a double-header against Arkansas State and UMKC on Friday before playing matches against Morgan State and Florida Atlantic on Saturday.

Next, the Bulldogs will stay close to home when they play in the Hampton Inn Bama Bash in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sept. 12-13. The two-day tournament hosted by the University of Alabama will feature Samford along with South Florida and a familiar opponent in the Ohio Valley Conference's Murray State.

Samford's final tournament of the season will be a co-hosted event with fellow Birmingham school, UAB, Sept. 19-20. The Bulldogs and the Blazers will host a mega-tournament at each school's venues while welcoming opponents from Memphis, Troy, Alabama A&M and Florida International.

For the second part of the season, Samford enters Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs start out on the road against Davidson and Georgia Southern during the final weekend in September (27-28). They then return home to host a string of SoCon opponents in Appalachian State (Oct. 4), Western Carolina (Oct. 5), Furman (Oct. 11) and Wofford (Oct. 12), with a mid-week road match at Chattanooga sandwiched in between on Oct. 8.

Next, Samford will face the reigning Southern Conference champion, College of Charleston (Oct. 18). The Cougars boasted a 26-8 record during the 2007 season, going 16-2 in conference play and only losing one match at home. With the conference championship, they earned placed in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship tournament, but fell to Florida, 3-0.

"College of Charleston has been the elite team in the SoCon for the last four or five years," Schroeder said. "Just like many of the teams in the conference they lose a lot to graduation, but as always, will be a tough match up for anyone in the SoCon."

The Bulldogs will take on The Citadel on the same trip, Oct. 19.

They will then return to Birmingham for a five-game home stand featuring matches against Elon (Oct. 25), UNC Greensboro (Oct. 26), Chattanooga (Oct. 29), Georgia Southern (Nov. 1) and Davidson (Nov. 2). The Elon and UNCG matches will fall on Homecoming Weekend while the Davidson match will be Samford's final match at home in which the seniors will be recognized.

One more road trip will wrap up the Bulldogs' regular-season schedule. Nov. 8-9 will be spent at Western Carolina and Appalachian State while Nov. 13 and 15 will include matches against Elon and UNC Greensboro.

The Southern Conference tournament will be held Nov. 20-23 at UNC Greensboro. The Conference takes the top eight teams from the season and they will participate in a single-elimination tournament for the Championship title.

The Bulldogs look to extend the intensity from their successful season in 2007 to their new start in the Southern Conference in 2008. Samford will set new standards and strive to reach them as they take on a new set of elite teams.

"Our division is very deep," Schroeder said. "Every team in the south will be improved from last year and looking to finish top four to make the Southern Conference tournament."