Sept. 19, 2008
Final Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team grabbed win number two in the UAB-Samford Invitational Friday night against Troy. The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15), and now move to 10-2 on the year, while the Trojans fall to 8-5. Earlier Friday, the Bulldogs defeated Memphis, 3-1.
"We got into a couple of matches today where we didn't execute as well on our first contacts but we still found a way to win," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "Memphis was big in the middle and big on right side and served the ball very well, but that match turned when we started serving aggressively. Troy passed better than anyone has all year against us and forced us into some serving errors, and we were still able to come together and pull out a win."
Senior Ashley Adams posted her second double-double of the day and her fifth of the season with 19 kills and 11 digs while hitting .472 and having one block assist. Kirstein Sosnowski was right behind with 14 kills, hitting .444 and grabbing two block assists and one block solo. Sheriden Stangohr hit .467, knocking down nine kills while adding one ace, three digs and four block assists.
Sara Sears posted eight kills, three digs, one block solo and one assist while Rachel Gadberry knocked down seven kills and added one block solo and one dig. Hillary Fountain dished out 54 assists while getting four kills, six digs, one ace and one block assist. Courtney Gay had 18 digs and two assists while Sarah Gardner added seven digs and two aces and Samantha Bland had 10 digs and one ace.
The Bulldogs will take on Alabama A&M tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in the final match of the UAB-Samford Invitational series that is hosted at Samford. A full recap and results can be found at www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.
Samford 3, Troy 1
Samford came out and set the pace for the match in set one. Back-to-back kills by Adams and Gadberry immediately put the Bulldogs on top by two and after getting on the board, Troy committed several errors that gave Samford a three-point lead. Two kills by Sears extended that lead to four and a service ace by Bland gave Samford a six-point advantage. After a timeout midway through the game, Troy tried to fight back and catch up to the Bulldogs but Samford's intensity was just too much. The Bulldogs led by as much as eight and went on to win the first set, 25-20.
The Bulldogs struck the first blow in the second set as Sosnowski put Samford on the board with a kill, but the Trojans retaliated and soon took over the lead. Troy pushed its lead out to three before Samford got within one, but the Trojans would charge ahead and take a five point lead. The Bulldogs fought to get back within one on kills by Sosnowski, Stangohr and Adams along with some Trojan errors, and Troy took a timeout. The Trojans widened the gap to three before Samford took a break and fought to get within one again on a kill by Sosnowski followed by a block by Sosnowski and Stangohr. However, the Trojans would keep their lead, and go on to win, 25-23.
Adams put the Bulldogs on the board first in set three but a service error by Stangohr would tie the score up. The teams would fight through a tie for every point until they reached 15, and that is when Samford took its first true lead of the set. The Bulldogs pulled ahead by three on a couple of Trojan errors and a kill by Adams, but Troy would then tie the score at 18 and take its first true lead going ahead by two. However, Samford fought back tied the score three more times and sealed the match, 25-23, on consecutive kills by Adams and Sosnowski.
Troy grabbed the first point for the first time in the whole match in the fourth and final set, but the Bulldogs did not let that intimidate them as they put up four straight points on a kill by Sears, a block by Fountain and Stangohr, and few Troy errors. The Bulldogs completely dominated this final set leading by as much as 10 and never letting the Trojans get within less than two points. With the score at 10-6, after back-to-back kills by Gadberry, Troy's head coach Sonny Kirkpatrick was issued a yellow card. The Bulldogs extended their four-point lead to six and then to nine after two Troy timeouts, and Samford went on to win the final set, 25-15.
