Oct. 23, 2009
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team will head to South Carolina to take on Wofford and Furman this weekend, Oct. 24 and 25. These will be the second and third stops on a five-match road swing for the Bulldogs in the second half of Southern Conference play.
Samford (13-10, 7-2 SoCon) comes off a great 3-0 win over Chattanooga Wednesday that included a second set comeback from a nine-point deficit. The Bulldogs look to take that momentum into South Carolina this weekend in order to continue to be successful and gain confidence after a rough start to the year on the road. Before Wednesday's win, Samford had only won two matches away from home.
"It was nice to start a very difficult road trip with a win and I think the confidence gained from the Chattanooga win will carry over to this weekend," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "I think Wednesday night was a big step in the right direction of how to play on the road. We have been taking little steps and finally our hard work was rewarded with some success."
Samford was lead again on Wednesday by Sheriden Stangohr. The senior middle blocker led the Bulldogs for the eighth straight match notching 15 kills while hitting .333. She and freshman Allie Bettinger lead the Bulldogs in kills and hitting on the year. Bettinger averages a team-high 3.25 kills per set while Stangohr holds a .325 hitting percentage so far this year. Stangohr also leads in blocks with 1.29 per set. Hillary Fountain has dished out a team-high average of 8.94 assists per set while Alexis Bauer leads the back row with 3.62 digs per set.
Samford will take on Wofford on Saturday for only the second time in school history. Last season when Wofford visited Samford, the Bulldogs came out on top, 3-0. This season, Samford visits Wofford and looks to continue its success on the road.
"Wofford will be a typical SoCon team that will fight hard and try to make things as nasty as possible," Schroeder said.
Wofford (16-8, 3-5 SoCon) comes off a weekend in which it split matches with Appalachian State and Western Carolina. After losing three in a row, the Terriers fell to Appalachian State, 3-1, before bouncing back with a 3-2 win over Western Carolina. Wofford's three league wins came in sweeps over Davidson and the Citadel as well as the win over Western Carolina.
The Terriers are led by Stacy Byrd who averages 3.14 kills per set. Joanna Suddath leads in hitting with a .263 attack percentage while also averaging a team-high 8.80 assists per set. Arden Anderson leads in blocks with 0.93 per set while Sarah Palmer and Shanna Hughes lead the back row with 3.84 and 3.17 digs per set, respectively.
Furman (16-3, 8-0 SoCon) is the only undefeated team left in the Southern Conference now. The Bulldogs and Paladins have met 10 times in the history of the series with Samford only winning once. Last season's sweep of the Paladins at the Pete Hanna Center was Samford's first-ever win over Furman. The Paladins are currently riding a nine-match winning streak. Their last loss was at Clemson on Sept. 19.
"Furman is young like us and big and talented," Schroeder said. "I like their team and am excited to give them a tough match in their little barn on campus. It should be a great atmosphere."
The reigning Southern Conference Tournament Champions are led by six players who average over two kills per set - Kelly Kirby (2.59), Caroline Adams (2.51), Alexis Shaffer (2.48), Natalie Braun (2.34), Katherine Hall (2.29) and Chandler Anbrester (2.07). Braun also leads her team in aces with 23 on the year while ranking second on the team in digs with 3.14 per set. Adams leads in blocks with 1.05 per set with Kirby (0.62) and Shaffer (0.56) right behind. Stephanie Smith leads the back row with 3.66 digs per set, and Kelsey Salava leads the conference and is 36th in the nation in assists per set with 10.82.
Match play between the Terriers and the Bulldogs begins at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. Furman and Samford will then face off on Sunday at noon before heading home to prepare for UNC Greensboro and Elon next week. Fans can follow the action for both matches via live stats and streaming through links at the Wofford and Furman athletic websites. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of each match.
