Sept. 2, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team is set to host the Bulldog Invitational presented by McDonald's and Hampton Inn this weekend. The two-day event starts on Friday and features teams from North Texas, Northwestern State, Syracuse and Tennessee Tech in addition to the Samford Bulldogs.
Samford will get play underway Friday with a noon match against Northwestern State in the Pete Hanna Center. North Texas and Syracuse will then face off at 3 p.m. followed by Samford and North Texas at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, in Seibert Gym, Syracuse and Tennessee Tech will play at noon followed by Tennessee Tech and Northwestern State at 3 p.m.
On Saturday, Tennessee Tech and North Texas will start things off in the Pete Hanna Center at noon while Northwestern State and Syracuse play at the same time in Seibert Gym. Samford will wrap things up in the Pete Hanna Center with a doubleheader against Tennessee Tech at 3 p.m. and Syracuse at 7 p.m. In Seibert, Northwestern State will play North Texas at 3 p.m.
Samford (3-1) won its home opener with a 3-1 victory over Troy Wednesday night. The Bulldogs fell in the first set before coming back to win the next three to steal the match.
The Bulldogs were led by Lyndsey Holt, who posted her first career double-double against the Trojans as well as Elizabeth Neisler and Lauren Hutchinson. The trio each posted double-digits in kills Wednesday night, Neisler leading with 12 followed by Holt and Hutchinson with 11 each.
Setters Hillary Fountain and Casey Garvey combined for 45 of Samford's 49 assists while libero Alexis Bauer was credited with the other four and led with 13 digs. Hutchinson and freshman Katie Murphy also posted five blocks each.
Northwestern State (3-0) comes into the Bulldog Invitational after sweeping a slate of matches last weekend at the Arkansas State Classic. The Lady Demons defeated Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff to win the tournament championship and rank as the only unbeaten team in the Southland Conference. NSU is led by seniors Kourtney Adams and Laranda Spann. Adams was named the ASU Classic MVP while Spann earned the Southland Conference's Defensive Player of the Week award this week.
North Texas (3-0) also enters the weekend with an undefeated slate. The Mean Green took the Jackson State Tournament Championship last weekend as they defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Jackson State and New Orleans. NT is under the direction of first-year head coach Ken Murczek who became the first coach in school history to open their tenure with a three-set sweep when the Mean Green defeated Southeastern Louisiana Friday.
Syracuse (3-0) is the third opponent of the weekend who enters the Bulldog Invitational with an unblemished record. The Orange sailed through the weekend to earn the Colgate Classic title, defeating Fairfield, Rhode Island and Colgate. Noemie Lefebvre currently leads the Orange. She was named the Big East Player of the Week after helping her team win the Colgate Classic title last weekend. Lefebvre set the tone for the Syracuse offense with 43 kills through three matches, including a career-high 23 kills against the host team. She also tallied 11 digs in that match for her first double-double of the season and her 37th overall.
Tennessee Tech (1-3) enters the weekend on the heels of its first win of the season. The Golden Eagles defeated Belmont on Tuesday after going winless at the Clemson Invitational last weekend. TTU is the only other team besides the Bulldogs who have loses on their slate going into the Bulldog Invitational. Leah Meffert leads her team, averaging 3.38 kills per set while Marie Peddicord boasts the team's highest attack percentage (.342).
Live video streaming will be available for Samford's matches against Northwestern State, Tennessee Tech and Syracuse only. The subscription-based video can be accessed through Samford's All-Access page at www.samfordsports.com/allaccess. A full recap of each of Samford's matches will also be posted on www.samfordsports.com at the end of each day of play.
