Oct. 15, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team is back on the road this weekend as it heads to Charleston, S.C., to take on College of Charleston and The Citadel. The road trip is the first of Samford's final two of the 2010 season. The Bulldogs will face off with College of Charleston on Saturday before taking on The Citadel on Sunday. Both matches are set for 1 p.m. CT.
Samford (8-12, 2-4 SoCon) comes off a week in which the Bulldogs went 2-1 in conference play. After dropping three straight matches to start the SoCon season, Samford finally captured its first league win in a 3-0 sweep at Chattanooga last Wednesday. The Bulldogs then returned home to host Western Carolina and Appalachian State on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs swept Western Carolina to grab their second league win of the season before falling to Appalachian State in four tough sets on Saturday.
Elizabeth Neisler leads the Bulldogs in kills with 3.07 per set. That number ranks her second in the league in matches played against conference opponents and she ranks fourth in the category in overall matches. Katie Murphy, this week's SoCon Freshman of the Week, follows with 2.69 kills per set. She also leads the team in blocks with 61 on the year and has posted 15 solo blocks, which is one more than the rest of the team has posted collectively.
Hillary Fountain still leads in assists with 572 on the season. She is just 299 assists away from becoming the all-time assists leader in Samford history. She is third in the conference (10.50) in assists per set versus league opponents and her overall season average of 7.94 assists per set ranks her fifth in the conference standings. She is also second on the team in digs with 1.81 per set. Casey Garvey has split time with Fountain at setter and has posted 3.09 assists per set on the year. Alexis Bauer leads the Bulldogs in digs with 3.49 per set, which ranks her eighth in the conference standings.
Samford ranks third in the league in kills with 12.92 per set and second in assists with 11.99 per set. Their .205 hitting percentage ranks the Bulldogs fifth in the league while 1.33 aces per set puts them seventh in the league.
Samford head coach Derek Schroeder continues to be impressed by his team, individually and as a whole.
"Casey has been very good lately," Schroeder said. "And if we could solidify our serve-receive, we could benefit from getting her some touches setting the ball. Neisler continues to be our best weapon, despite a rough match against Appalachian State on Saturday.
"I continue to be impressed with the players' work ethic and determination. We have numerous kids in the gym early for every practice, working on their own. Even in some tough losses in conference, they have not given up and fought to the bitter end. We are determined to stay on top of the process, continue to get better, and our level of execution will outgrow our age."
Samford and The Citadel have only met twice in the series history since the Bulldogs of Samford joined the Southern Conference. Samford has won both contests. Charleston leads the series, 10-3, and the Bulldogs have not won a match against the Cougars since joining the Southern Conference.
Samford played Charleston twice last season, once at the Pete Hanna Center which ended in a 3-0 sweep for the Cougars and then again in Greenville, S.C., at the conference tournament. The Bulldogs dropped that match, 3-1, to end the 2009 season. The last win for the Bulldogs over Charleston was in Seibert Hall in 1995. Samford walked away with a 3-1 win over the Cougars. The other two wins for Samford came in 1991 and 1993.
Charleston (16-5, 5-1 SoCon) currently ranks at the top of the South Division in the SoCon. The Cougars have won nine of their last ten matches, with their one loss in that stretch coming at Furman. Charleston leads the league in kills in matches played within the conference. The Cougars average 13.88 kills per set against SoCon opponents. The Cougars are also second in assists and blocks, averaging 12.46 assists per set and 2.46 blocks per set.
"Charleston is a very good team and has been for a long time," Schroeder said. "You look at the scouting report and they have four seniors, two juniors and a freshman making plays for them on a regular basis. For Samford volleyball to succeed at their house, the key will continue to be the determination to execute at a level above our years of experience."
Charleston is led by Whitney Russell who averages 3.60 kills per set and leads the conference overall in kills. Russell also averages 2.00 digs per set and 0.57 blocks per set. Elyse Chubb boasts a team-high .334 hitting percentage and is second on the team in kills per set with 2.28. She also is the team's leading blocker with 84 on the year. She is fourth in the conference with 1.02 blocks per set.
Cole Dawley ranks second in the conference in assists with an average of 9.83 assists per set. She is also second on the team in digs per set with 2.40, just behind Paige Johnson who averages 3.68 per set.
The Citadel (5-16, 0-6 SoCon) enters this weekend's match on an eight-match skid. The Bulldogs have only won two of their last ten matches. The Citadel has not won a league match yet, falling to Charleston, Appalachian State, Furman, Wofford, Georgia Southern and Davidson.
Tatum Jestila leads The Citadel in kills with 2.57 per set followed by Kaona Mercer with 2.29 per set. Erin Bucherl and Alexa Dahlstrom split time at the setter position and Burcherl leads with 4.83 assists per set while Dahlstrom is right behind with 4.58. Jestila also leads in digs with 3.36 per set followed by Kathryn Johnston with 2.76 assists per set.
Both of the weekend's matches are set for 1 p.m. Samford will play Charleston on Saturday and The Citadel on Sunday before returning home to Birmingham. Fans can follow the action via live stats and video through links at the Samford volleyball schedule page on www.samfordsports.com. A full recap and final statistics will also be posted upon the completion of the matches.
