Sept. 18, 2009
Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ---- The Samford University volleyball team split its first day of action in the Memphis Tiger Invitational Friday as it dropped its first match to New Orleans before defeating host team Memphis. The win over the Tigers snapped a streak of seven straight losses by the Bulldogs. Samford now moves to 4-7 while the Privateers are 5-5 and the Tigers are 2-10.
"I am very proud of this team," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We have been searching for an identity and a consistent level of play all preseason. In tonight's match, we took a big step forward in our season growth. [Sheriden Stangohr] and [Rachel Gadberry] were very fast and determined in transition. [Alexis Bauer] and [Samantha Bland] were an anchor on serve-receive."
Against Memphis, the Bulldogs dropped the first set by just two points but rallied back win the next three to capture their first win in seven matches. Samford took an early lead and kept it for most of the first set but the Tigers fought back to win, 25-23. The Bulldogs then dominated the second set, leading by as much as 11, and going on to win, 25-14. The third set was a tight fight to the finish, going into extra points as Samford won, 29-27. After quickly falling behind by four in the fourth set, Samford forged ahead and took the lead, winning 25-19.
The Bulldogs out-hit (.195 to .174), out-dug (53 to 42) and out-blocked (13.5 to 8) the Tigers. That is the sixth time Samford has accomplished that this year. Several Bulldogs achieved career and season highs against the Tigers.
Freshman Allie Bettinger notched a career-high 20 kills and three assists while also hitting .311 and posting two aces, two digs and eight block assists and leading in points with 22.5. Senior Sheriden Stangohr added 15 kills and five block assists along with 20.5 points, three aces and one dig. Sophomore Rachel Gadberry posted a career-high eight block assists while also added three kills and two digs.
Alexis Bauer and Samantha Bland each tallied 13 digs against the Tigers, a season high for Bland. Bland also added a season-high three kills and one assist while Bauer posted two assists and one kill. Hillary Fountain dished out a season-high 46 assists while adding four digs, three block assists, three kills and one ace. Casey Garvey tallied five digs, one assist and a career-high two aces.
Elizabeth Neisler tallied 11 kills on a career high 34 attempts, scoring 13.5 points and posting a career high in digs (4) and block assists (5). Shelby Brandon had five kills and five block assists along with three digs.
Memphis was led by Altrese Hawkins and Casey Sines who posted 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Sines also hit a team-high .471 while Christine Bach and Stephanie Pauls lead in assists with 20 and 19, respectively. Becky Shaffer posted a team-high 12 digs while Carolyn Baker tallied a team-high five blocks.
Despite out-hitting (.217 to .204), out-blocking (13 to 6) and out-digging (54 to 52) in its first match against New Orleans, the Bulldogs fell to the Privateers, 3-1 (24-26, 22-25, 25-16, 16-25).
Samford was up 24-21 in the final minutes of the first set but just could not put it away. The Privateers held the Bulldogs off for five straight points to win the first set, 26-24. Samford dropped another close set in the second, 25-22, before finally capturing a set of their own in the third by a score of 25-16. However, UNO won the fourth and final set, 25-16, to get the match win.
Gadberry led the Bulldogs against the Privateers posting a season high in hitting with a .588 attack percentage and in kills with 11. She also had three digs and four block assists. Stangohr was second with 10 kills while leading in points with 16. She also added eight block assists and one block solo as well as one service ace.
Bauer and Bland led in digs wit 11 and 10, respectively. Bauer also had one assists while Bland added two assists and one ace. Fountain led in assists, dishing out 37 while posting a season-high hitting percentage of .429. She added three kills, eight digs, one aces and one block assist. Garvey added eight digs and one assist while Alicia Roth served up one ace.
Bettinger just missed her third double-double with nine kills and nine digs while added one ace and one block assist. Neisler posted eight kills and three digs with five block assists and three digs while Brandon added three kills, five block assists, two digs and two assists.
New Orleans was led by Kaley Hubbard and Maria Szivros who both posted 12 kills. Hubbard also led the Privateers in blocks with four while Nicky Valenti led in digs with 24 and Hajnalka Molnar dished out a team-high 36 assists.
The Bulldogs will play two more in the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, beginning with a noon match against UALR. Samford will then wrap up play against cross-town rival UAB at 4:30 p.m. Live stats are available through link on the schedule page at www.samfordsports.com or through links at the tournament page on www.gotigersgo.com. Results will be post after each match and a full recap will be available on www.samfordsports.com after the conclusion of the last match.
