Oct. 9, 2010
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team fell to 2-4 in Southern Conference play Saturday night after a four-set loss to Appalachian State in the Pete Hanna Center. The Mountaineers (13-5, 4-1 SoCon) snapped the Bulldogs' six-set win streak when they took the first set, 25-20. Samford (8-12, 2-4 SoCon) came back to win set two, 25-19, but ASU won the next two, 25-18 and 25-23.
"Even when you are young, you have to make plays to win games," Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. "We just couldn't make enough plays on first contact tonight with serving and passing. You know, when we take care of the ball on serving and take care of the ball on passing, we are a really tough team to beat. But we are a pretty bad team when we aren't executing well. Our back row has to step up for us and play better, and the team has to believe that they can execute better."
Elizabeth Neisler led the Bulldogs in kills with 13 while also tallying three digs, a solo block and a block assist. Shelby Brandon and Katie Murphy followed with seven kills each. Brandon also had three digs and two block assists while Murphy posted six block assists. Lauren Hutchinson tallied six kills and four block assists while Allie Bettinger and Samantha Bland each had three kills. Bland also posted 11 digs and two block assists while Bettinger added two digs.
Hillary Fountain posted 31 assists, seven digs and two block assists while Alexis Bauer led the back row with 14 digs. Bauer also added an assist while Alicia Roth posted 11 digs and a kill. Casey Garvey had seven assists, nine digs and a block assist while Taylor Palmer posted two kills and two block assists and Taylor Chao had a dig.
Appalachian State was led by Alison Blasingame and Anna Wagner who posted 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Wagner also led her team in digs with 16. Lauren Brown led the Mountaineers in assists with 24 followed by Kasey Sauls with 15. Caroline Sedon posted nine blocks (two solo and seven assists) while Wagner also added five blocks (one solo and four assists).
Samford is back on the road next weekend as it travels to the College of Charleston and The Citadel Saturday and Sunday. The Bulldogs will then return for a five-match homestand where they will host Furman, Wofford, Chattanooga, UNC Greensboro and Elon over the next two weeks.
Appalachian State 3, Samford 1
The first set started out with three tied scores before the Mountaineers took the lead on a Bulldog error and a kill. ASU then went on a 5-2 run to take a five-point lead, and Samford called its first timeout of the match. Back-to-back Mountaineer errors out of the break cut the lead to three and Samford went on a 12-10 run to get within two, capped off by a block from Fountain and Murphy. Appalachian State called a timeout but Samford roared back with a kill by Neisler to cut the lead to one. However, ASU would only allow one more point from Samford as it went on to win set one, 25-20.
ASU grabbed the lead quickly in set two on a block and a kill but Samford immediately answered with a 9-5 run to take a two-point lead with the help of a kill and an ace by Fountain, a kill by Bland, a block by Brandon and Murphy and a few Mountaineer errors. ASU called a timeout but Samford forged ahead and extended its lead to five on kills by Murphy and Neisler. The Mountaineers fought to get within two but after two timeouts by Samford, the Bulldogs would hold on to the lead and go on to win the second set, 25-19.
Roth scored the first point of the third set for the Bulldogs on a kill but ASU came back with six straight points to take a five-point lead. Samford called a timeout but the Mountaineers continued to forge ahead and take a13-5 lead. After another Bulldog timeout, Samford fought to get within five points but ASU would go on to win the third set, 25-18.
Neisler knocked down a kill to get Samford on the board first in set four but a Samford error followed and evened the score. The Bulldogs then took a 7-3 lead on a kill by Murphy and several ASU errors but the Mountaineers went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 lead and force Samford to call a timeout. ASU continued to press and although Samford fought to keep the gap at two, the Mountaineers scored three straight points to go ahead by five. The Bulldogs called another timeout and a kill out of the break by Brandon sparked a 9-5 run to get within one point. After an ASU timeout, Hutchinson tied the score at 20 with a kill but the Mountaineers would fight off the Bulldogs and go on to win the fourth and final set, 25-23.
