Aug. 28, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team will open the 2008 season at the War Eagle Invitational hosted by Auburn University. Samford starts play in the tournament Friday night with the host team at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs continue play on Saturday morning with an 11:30 a.m. match-up with New Orleans, before they wrap up the tournament with a 7 p.m. match against Mercer.
Admission for all matches is free, and fans that cannot make it in town for the matches can follow all the action live with GameTracker on AuburnTigers.com. Samford's match with Auburn on Friday night can be seen via video webcast through AuburnTigers.com.
Samford returns nine letterwinners, five of whom started in almost every single match of 2007, as well as its libero. Last season's Bulldog squad posted its first winning season in the 30 years of Samford volleyball, going 16-13 (11-9 OVC). Samford heads into its first year in the Southern Conference, and was picked to finish fourth in the north division in a poll of the league's head coaches. The Bulldogs are ready to get the season underway.
"The team is very ready to show where they have improved both individually and in their team systems," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "It is very evident in our last few practices that they understand the skills and skill sets that will help us to be successful and are eager to implement those against another school."
Leading the way for the Bulldogs is senior Courtney Gay who broke a school record in digs per match twice last season, ending up with 46. Gay is also the all-time singe-season digs leader with 574. She averaged 5.27 digs per set last season.
Samford's top blocker, junior Sheriden Stangohr, returns for the 2008 season as well. In 2007, Stangohr started every set of every match, leading her team with a .326 attack percentage, posting 324 kills on 763 attacks. She led the Bulldogs with 1.36 blocks per set.
The Bulldogs' setter Hillary Fountain is also back from an outstanding freshman season where she averaged 12.19 assists per set.
"It is very important this weekend that we begin to build our identity and focus on what we bring on our side of the net," Schroeder said. "Our level of execution and the final score will take care of itself if we remain a focused, alert, and determined team."
Samford will take on three tough competitors in Auburn, New Orleans and Mercer.
"Competition this weekend should be very good," says Schroeder. "We play a first year head coach at Auburn who looks to start his team out heading in the right direction, and a second year head coach at New Orleans whose team will benefit from some international recruiting. I know Noelle (Rooke) at Mercer and her team will be disciplined and determined."
Auburn returners six letterwinners and four starters from the 2007 lineup, including senior Jessica Glover and sophomore Sara Shanks, Liz Crouch and Lauren Mellor. Sophomore Alyssa Davis also returns after seeing limited time as a starter late in the season. Eight newcomers, a transfer, a walk-on and six freshmen, join the 2008 squad who is under the direction of first-year head coach Wade Benson.
This is the 13th installment of the War Eagle Invitational, and the Tigers hold a 25-10 all-time record in its own tournament. They are 11-11 all-time in season-opening matches and 4-1 when opening the season at home. The Bulldogs and the Tigers have met up three times before, the last being two years ago at the South Alabama Jaguar Classic. The Tigers hold a 3-0 series lead over Samford. New Orleans enters this season with eight letterwinners and six starters returning from the 2007 roster. Last season, the Privateers went 16-16 (10-8 Sun Belt), and are under the direction of second-year head coach Jozsef Forman, who previously assisted at Mississippi State. This will be the fifth time Samford and UNO have met at the net, with Samford leading the series, 3-1.
UNO is led by junior Lindsey Floyd and senior Dobrilla Kovacevic. Loyd hit .174 last season with 3.19 kills per set while Kovacevic was right behind with a .143 attack percentage, picking up 3.49 kills per set. Also returning is senior Jaci Bayley, the Privateers' setter who averaged 9.34 assists per set last season. On the defense, libero Nicky Valenti returns after averaging 4.46 digs per set in her freshman season, and UNO's top returning block is sophomore Kaley Hubbard, who posted 0.59 blocks per set last season.
Mercer enters the 2008 season with eight letterwinners and four starters returning from the 2007 squad that went 8-20 (6-5 A-Sun). The Bears are under the direction of fifth-year head coach Noelle Rooke. The Samford Mercer series is one of the longest in program history, with this year marking the 33rd meeting of the two teams. Samford leads the Bears 27 wins to five loss, and this is the first time since 2004 that these squads will have played each other.
Leading the Bears is senior Karen Dorris, who started 25 of 27 matches in 2007 and posted a .148 attack percentage, tallying 251 kills on 832 attacks. Also back is Kelly Jansen, a senior setter that averaged 9.54 assists per set last season. Defensively, libero Claire Tucker comes back after averaging 4.64 digs per set in her junior season. Mercer's top returning blocker is 6-2 sophomore Libby Hansch, who picked up 0.77 blocks per set last season.
Results will be available on www.samfordsports.com at the conclusion of each match and a recap of the action will be posted on the website at the end of each day of competition. For more information on the War Eagle Invitational, see Auburn's War Eagle Tournament Central.
