Sept. 29, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team will play its third match in a four-match home stand Wednesday as it hosts Southern Conference rival Chattanooga. The Bulldogs look to remain undefeated in league play as they opened the conference season 2-0 last weekend. Match play will begin at 6 p.m.
Samford (8-7, 2-0 SoCon) jumped back over the .500 mark last weekend as it opened conference play at home against UNC Greensboro and Elon. Samford came out on top of both meetings, but not easily, as the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans, 3-1, on Saturday and the Phoenix, 3-2, on Sunday. However, the ability to make plays when it counted boosted the confidence Samford will need to be successful this year.
"Starting out on the winning side of two matches that were complete battles is huge for our confidence," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "I don't think anyone who knows just a little bit about volleyball thought we even had a chance at those first two matches of the year. Where we are confident is in the team concept, in our systems and in our abilities to make plays. That will be huge for us all year."
With its latest two wins, Samford extended its current winning streak to five and has now posted 19 consecutive wins in Pete Hanna Center dating back to the Bulldogs' first match in the arena on Nov. 9, 2007. It is always great to defend your home court but as interesting as those facts may be, Schroeder says he and his team pay little attention to those things.
"We really do not talk about [winning streaks] that much as a team on the front end," Schroeder said. "There was no `we can't let the streak die' or `this is not the day the streak ends', but after the match on Sunday the team, especially our upper classmen, were very proud to defend home court."
Samford was led last weekend by freshman Allie Bettinger and junior Hillary Fountain who both posted back-to-back double-doubles to mark four for each on the season.
Bettinger led her team in kills over the weekend with 3.89 kills per set and matched career highs in kills and digs against Elon on Sunday. She leads the Bulldogs in kills with 3.32 per set and aces with 15 on the season, and she is third on the team in digs with 1.96 digs per set.
Fountain lead her team each day in assists, matching a season high of 50 against UNC Greensboro and 46 against Elon. She also led in digs on Sunday with 18.
Senior Sheriden Stangohr continues to lead the Bulldogs in blocks with 1.32 blocks per set. She is second in the team in hitting with a .251 average and kills, knocking down 2.62 per set.
Freshman Alexis Bauer leads the Bulldogs in digs with 216. She is on track to match or beat Courtney Gay's 2008 record of 416 digs in a single season. Bauer also shares the lead in aces with Bettinger with 15 on the year.
Chattanooga (9-5, 1-1 SoCon) comes off a conference opening weekend in which it went 1-1 against the same two teams Samford played. Chattanooga took Elon to five sets on Saturday, but the Phoenix were able to edge out the Lady Mocs and win their first conference match. Chattanooga was able to rebound, however, with a sweep of UNC Greensboro to begin conference play at .500.
Samford leads Chattanooga in the all-time series, 13-9. The Bulldogs swept the Lady Mocs in both meetings last season despite Chattanooga super weapon in Lara Newberry, who broke the all-time NCAA record for digs in a career in the last outing against the Bulldogs on Oct. 8.
The Lady Mocs are led this year by Courtney Barnes who leads her team in kills (2.71 kps) and hitting (.337). Ellie Kuhn leads in blocks with 1.22 per set while Paula Passmore leads her team, as well as the conference, in digs with 5.84 digs per set.
"We are going to see a very hungry and confident Chattanooga team on Wednesday," Schroeder said. "I think that match will be won with how we practice Monday and Tuesday. No one matches up well against Chattanooga. They are the best team I have ever coached against in terms of scrappy play and keeping balls alive that most teams wouldn't be able to keep alive. We will need to stay very resilient to beat them, and with a young team sometimes confidence and resiliency are the first things to go."
Match play between the Bulldogs and Lady Mocs begins at 6 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center. Admission is free. Fans can also watch via live streaming at www.SoCon.TV. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.
