Nov. 1, 2009
Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. ---- The Samford University volleyball team kept its Southern Conference Tournament hopes alive on Sunday with a win over UNC Greensboro on the road in a five-set dual. The Bulldogs bounced back in a big way after a tough loss at Elon on Saturday and found a way to win against a tough team.
"We played with a whole lot of toughness today," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "I think we were outplayed overall but we made the plays we needed to win."
Samford (15-12, 9-4 SoCon) had two players post double-doubles while five other players tallied double digits in three different statistical categories. Allie Bettinger led the Bulldogs in kills with 14 while adding 11 digs to make her eighth double-double of the season. She also served up two aces. Hillary Fountain also posted her sixth double-double, dishing out 23 assists along with 13 digs. She also posted five kills, one ace, one solo block and four block assists.
Rachel Gadberry led the Bulldogs in hitting with a .455 percentage, grabbing 12 kills on 22 attempts with only two errors. She also posted one assist, one dig and one block assist. Sheriden Stangohr had 11 kills while posting seven block assists and one dig, and Shelby Brandon added eight kills, four digs and two block assists while hitting .353. Elizabeth Neisler had six kills and seven digs along with two block assists and one assist.
Casey Garvey led in assists with 24 while also posting five digs and two aces. Alexis Bauer added 13 digs, two assists and two aces while Sarah Gardner had 12 digs, two aces, one assist and one kill.
UNC Greensboro (15-12, 7-5 SoCon) was led by Caley Redden who posted a double-double, knocking down 19 kills and 13 digs. She also added two block assists and one assist. Emily Lindborg led the Spartans in hitting with a .385 percentage while posting 12 kills, four digs, three block assists and one solo block. Ari Lysacek dished out 44 assists while grabbing two kills and eight digs and Catherine Hanners led the back row with 19 digs.
Samford returns home next weekend for Homecoming and its home finale. The Bulldogs will take on Appalachian State on Saturday at 7 p.m., following the football game versus Georgia Southern. Samford will then play Western Carolina on Sunday at 2 p.m., and will honor its three seniors - Sarah Gardner, Katie Luckman and Sheriden Stangohr - prior to first serve.
Samford 3, UNC Greensboro 2
Both teams traded kills to open the first set, first by UNC Greensboro's Redden and then by Samford's Stangohr. The score would be tied at the next two points before the Spartans put together a 10-4 run to go ahead by five. Samford rallied back to cut the lead to two on kills by Bettinger, Stangohr and Gadberry but UNCG would pull back ahead by six. Samford called the first timeout of the set with UNCGr leading 20-14 but the Spartans would tack on five more points to the Bulldogs' two and would go on to win, 25-16.
Brandon got the Bulldogs on the board first in the second set before UNCG's Kayren Finney answered back to even things up. Samford then posted three straight points to go ahead by three on a Spartan error, a block by Fountain and Stangohr and a kill by Bettinger. The Bulldogs then went on a 6-3 run to go up by five and cause UNCG to call its first timeout.
Out of the break, Neisler knocked down a kill to put the Bulldogs ahead by six but the Spartans cut it back to four on two Samford errors. However, Samford put together a 6-1 run to go ahead by eight, and although UNCG cut the gap to six, the Spartans decided to burn their second timeout. Samford tacked on two straight points out of the break on a kill by Gadberry and an ace by Fountain, and although UNCG would get within five again, Samford would go on to win set two, 25-20.
The third set started much like the first with the teams trading points for the first part of the set. However, Samford pulled away by three on an ace by Gardner and kills by Bettinger and Fountain. The Spartans came back to tie the score at 10 but Samford was not ready to relinquish the lead. The Bulldogs went ahead again by two before UNCG tied the score at 12 and took a three-point lead on four straight errors by Samford. The Bulldogs called a timeout and came right back out and got within one on two kills by Bettinger and Gadberry. UNCG called a timeout and managed to maintain its two-point lead and after another timeout was called, the Spartans would go on a 6-1 run to win the third set, 25-18.
The Spartans took an early two-point lead in the fourth set, but Samford quickly answered back and went ahead by one, forcing UNCG to call its first timeout. Out of the break, Samford went on an 8-6 run to go ahead by four and made the Spartans take their final timeout of the set. Bettinger knocked down a kill right out of the break to put the Bulldogs ahead by five but UNCG answered back with an 8-4 run get within one before Samford called its first timeout. Out of the break, the Spartans tied the score on an ace and eventually took a one-point lead on set point, 24-23. Samford called its final timeout and would return with three straight points to go on and win set four, 26-24.
The score was tied at the first three points of the fifth and final set before UNCG scored three straight points to take a 6-3 lead. Samford went on a 4-2 run to get within one before the switch while the Spartans called a timeout. Out of the break, Samford tied the score at eight on a block by Brandon and Stangohr and eventually took a 10-9 lead on a block by Fountain and Stangohr which forced UNCG to burn its final timeout. Samford then put together a 5-1 run to win the final set, 15-10.
