Aug. 27, 2010
Box Score
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ---- The Samford University volleyball team opened the 2010 season Friday with a 3-0 win over Grambling State in its first match of the Arkansas Invitational. The Bulldogs downed the Tigers 25-12 in the first set, 25-18 in the second set and 25-15 in the third set to stay undefeated against Grambling.
Newcomers Lauren Hutchinson and Katie Murphy led the Bulldogs on the attack while veterans Hillary Fountain and Casey Garvey effectively led the offense, dishing out 32 assists to Grambling's 15.
Hutchinson got her Samford career off to a strong start with 12 kills and three block assists while hitting an impressive .750 with no errors on the evening. She also added two digs. Murphy had 10 kills on 21 attempts to post a .333 hitting percentage while also adding two block assists.
Elizabeth Neisler knocked down eight kills and a team-high four block assists along with three digs while Lyndsey Holt posted six kills, one block assist, two aces and three digs. Allie Bettinger grabbed three kills and three digs while Fountain posted one kill.
Fountain also led the Bulldogs in assists with 22 on the evening while also leading in digs with seven. She and Garvey also led the team with three aces each. Garvey also dished out 10 assists while posting five digs. Alexis Bauer grabbed six digs and three assists while Samantha Bland posted five digs and one assist.
Samford out-blocked Grambling, 5-3, as the Bulldogs collected a total of 10 block assists.
April Johnson led the Tigers with four kills followed by Dorothy Brown and Shawonna Davis with three each. Davis also led the Tigers with nine digs followed closely behind by Chelsee Goins with eight.
The Bulldogs will be back in action Saturday morning at 10 a.m., when they take on UMKC in the second day of play at the Arkansas Invitational. The Bulldogs and Kangaroos met for the first time two years ago at the Kangaroo Klassic, and Samford walked away with the 3-0 win.
Samford will then play the Razorbacks for the first time at 7 p.m., Saturday night to close out tournament play. A recap and complete box score will be posted at www.samfordsports.com at the conclusion of each match.
Samford 3, Grambling State 0
Hutchinson posted the first kill and point for Samford in set one but a service error by Bettinger tied the score and got the Tigers on the board. However, Samford answered back with four straight points on a kill by Hutchinson, a Grambling error, and a block by Murphy and Neisler followed by a kill by Neisler. Samford eventually took an eight-point lead with more help by Murphy, Holt, Hutchinson, Fountain and Bettinger before the Tigers called their first timeout of the match.
Grambling came out of the break and cut the lead to seven but Samford tacked on six consecutive points to build a 13-point lead. The Tigers would only score four more points in the set before Samford would go on to win, 25-12.
Set two began with a service error by Fountain to give Grambling the first point but Grambling's Johnson returned the favor to even the score. A service ace by Bland followed by a Tiger attack error gave Samford a two-point lead but the Tigers were determined to make it a close game and eventually tied the score once at six and then again at seven. A kill by Katie Murphy gave Samford an 8-7 lead before the Tigers called a time out and answered back to tie the score at eight.
The next point was a kill by Grambling's Johnson and the Tigers had their first lead of the match. However, Samford answered back and went on an 8-3 run to take 15-12 lead, capped off by a kill from Holt. After another Tiger timeout, Samford pushed its lead out to six on kills by Neisler, Holt and Murphy. The Tigers surged back to cut the lead to four but Samford would go on to win set two, 25-18, on a kill by Neisler.
Grambling took a 2-0 lead quickly in the third set after two service aces by Johnson, but Samford answered with back-to-back kills by Hutchinson and Neisler and then Hutchinson again to take a 3-2 lead. The score would be tied seven times before Samford finally took a commanding seven-point lead. After a timeout by the Tigers, Samford jumped ahead by eight on a Grambling error. The Bulldogs would eventually go on to win, 25-15.
