Oct. 28, 2011

Box Score

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ---- Samford earned its 22nd win of the season Friday, marking only the second time in program history the team has hit the 22-win mark. The Bulldogs downed the Chattanooga Mocs in four sets (25-12, 19-25, 25-16, 25-15), adding another point in Samford's favor for this season's Southern Rail Rivalry between the two schools.

"Chattanooga played a solid match," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder, "and when we gave them an inch in set two they took it and ran us down. I was happy with our response out of the dressing room in sets three and four."

Samford (22-3, 9-2 SoCon) out-hit Chattanooga (5-22, 3-9 SoCon) .352-.145, with Katie Murphy leading the attack at .550 (12-1-20). Michaela Reesor earned a personal-best 16 kills, adding seven digs and four assisted blocks to a well-rounded performance. Casey Garvey broke the 1,000 assist-mark with today's 47, bringing her season total to 1,017. Her total this season has well surpassed her two-year career total of 958 leading into this season. Chelsi Carter was today's leader in digs with 17 and Taylor Chao earned a career-best three service aces.

"Michaela was big tonight for us. Winning late in the season will never be easy and we will have to respond to adversity at times. I'm happy we made some adjustments to win."

The Bulldogs started strong right out of the gate, earning a convincing 25-12 first set win. Tied at 6-6, Murphy knocked in her first kill of the set, giving Samford possession and allowing Reesor to serve three in a row, capped by a service ace to put Samford up 10-6 and force a Chattanooga timeout. The momentum stayed in the Bulldogs' favor, as they went on a 7-2 run during the next stretch. Murphy again set up a three-serve rally with a kill, giving Bauer three in a row to pull ahead 17-8 and force another timeout by the Mocs. Samford extended their lead even further, going up 20-12 to give Chao a chance to seal the match with a 5-0 service rally, including three blocks by Murphy, a kill by Reesor and a service ace to finish the 13-point set one victory.

Samford had a slow start in the second set and struggled to regain momentum, eventually falling 19-25. The offense that hit .467 in the first set only hit .133 in the second. The Mocs jumped ahead to an early 8-4 lead followed by an even exchange of eight points each before Chattanooga earned a point to go up 17-12 and force a Samford timeout. The Bulldogs narrowed the deficit coming out of the timeout, knocking in three in a row to draw within two and force another quick Chattanooga timeout. A 4-2 Mocs run forced another Bulldog timeout, yet Samford was unable to find their footing coming out of the break, as the Mocs evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-19 victory.

Samford was not fazed by their down performance in set two, rebounding for a 25-16 win in set three. Hutchinson rejoined the lineup after sitting in set two and the offense started clicking, hitting .440 behind 12 kills and only one error. Samford came out firing, jumping ahead 6-1 capped by a four-serve rally by Garvey to force an early frustration timeout by Chattanooga. The Mocs narrowed the gap, drawing within three, down 6-9, but Samford followed with an 8-4 run to jump to a seven-point lead and force another Chattanooga timeout. Another 8-4 rally closed out set three for the Bulldogs as they capitalized on numerous Chattanooga attack errors in the closing stretch.

Chattanooga failed to force a fifth set, as Samford cruised to a 25-15 win in set four. Tied at 3-3, Samford knocked in four in a row, holding the four-point lead until the first break up 12-8. Samford went on a 7-4 run during the next stretch, including two kills each by Neisler and Reesor, forcing another timeout by the Mocs. Chao served once heading into the timeout and followed the break with five successful serves in a row to give the Bulldogs set point, up 24-13. The Mocs earned two in a row after that, but a Carter kill sealed the 3-1 match victory.

Next week, Samford plays their final road games of the season, traveling to Elon on Friday, Nov. 4 for a 6 p.m. match and then facing UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m. the following day.