Nov. 21, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford volleyball completed its winningest season on Monday, earning the SoCon Championship on their home floor with a 3-0 sweep over the College of Charleston to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. In front of over 1,000 fans, Samford moved its record to 29-4 behind an explosive offense and a rock-solid defense, led by Tournament MVP Alexis Bauer. Outside hitter Elizabeth Neisler and middle blocker Katie Murphy also represent the Bulldogs on the All-Tournament team, combining for 22 kills in Sunday's match. It is the third straight year that the SoCon Championship has been won by a score of 3-0.

For the second game in a row, Samford's offense was extremely efficient, earning 41 kills and only committing seven errors, hitting .405 as a team. The College of Charleston (25-10) offense struggled, hitting .176 as a team and committing 20 errors. Samford's front four only committed five combined errors, with Neisler leading the team in kills (13) and Lauren Hutchinson hitting a team-leading .571 (9/1/14). Casey Garvey's 36 assists gives her the single-season record at Samford, earning 1,383 so far this season. Bauer led the team in digs with 12 and Hutchinson earned two of the team's five blocks. Charleston's Sloane White led all players with 15 kills, hitting .500. Emily Shelton was the Cougars' digs leader (7) and Kallie McKown paced their offense with 25 assists.

The Bulldogs set the pace immediately, charging forward in set one with a 25-19 victory. Tied at 2-2, the Bulldogs would put together a 4-2 run to pull ahead 8-4 and would maintain their four-point lead, going up 13-9. Back-to-back errors by the Cougars would extend Samford's lead to 15-9 and would force a timeout by the College of Charleston. The Bulldogs would benefit from multiple Cougar errors in the next stretch, pulling ahead 19-11 forcing another timeout. The College of Charleston managed to chip away at the Samford lead, drawing within five down 18-23, but the deficit proved too large to overcome as Samford eventually won 25-19.

Set two was the match's largest margin of victory for the Bulldogs as they pulled ahead 2-0 with a 25-15 win. Samford hit a match-high .476 as a team, with Hutchinson, Murphy and Neisler all hitting at least .500. Tied at 2-2, Hutchinson knocked down a kill and Neisler stepped to the service line, serving up three successful serves in a row to take an early 6-2 lead. Samford's offense out-scored the Cougars 13-6 in the next stretch, with a Neisler service ace giving the Bulldogs a double-digit lead, up 19-9. The teams traded points evenly to close out the set, scoring six each to bring the final score to 25-15 at the break.

Samford didn't lose any momentum coming out of the locker room for set three, completing their second-straight sweep with a 25-17 set three victory. Just like the previous set, Samford jumped ahead to an early 6-2 lead to force a frustration timeout from the College of Charleston. Up 9-5, Chelsi Carter's jump serve proved effective, as she served up six in a row, including two aces, to give Samford a significant 15-5 lead. The Cougars refused to go down quietly however, drawing within five, down 13-18, forcing Samford to regroup with a timeout. The Bulldogs only allowed the Cougars to score four more points however, as a final kill by Neisler sealed the 25-17 win as the team stormed the court in celebration.

Samford will raise the honorary victory flag on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m. at the victory flag pole. The Bulldogs will learn their NCAA Tournament destination on Sunday, Nov. 27 during the NCAA Selection Show at 5 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Alexis Bauer - Samford

Southern Conference All-Tournament Team
Alexis Bauer - Samford
Elizabeth Neisler - Samford
Katie Murphy - Samford
Sloane White - College of Charleston
Sarah Havel - College of Charleston
Natalie Braun - Furman
Maggie Seeds - Appalachian State