Dec. 2, 2011

Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ---- The most successful season in Samford volleyball history came to an end Friday, as Samford fell in a hard-fought five set loss to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament's opening round (17-25, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, 9-15). It was the first five-set match a SoCon team has ever played in the NCAA Tournament.

"I was really proud of our team today," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder. "Every time they walk into a gym, a locker room or anywhere, I'm proud of them. It was a great year for Samford volleyball. We pushed a very good Cincinnati team to the brink. They gave us an inch and we took 4/5 of a mile but we just couldn't quite take the whole mile."

Cincinnati (25-6, 12-2 Big East) held Samford (29-5, 13-3 SoCon) to its lowest percentage in nearly a month, as the Bulldog offense hit .183 to the Bearcats' .258. Three Bulldogs were in triple-digit kills, with SoCon Player of the Year Elizabeth Neisler leading the team with 17 in 51 attacks. Ranked No. 2 in the nation, sophomore Katie Murphy led the team in hitting percentage with .345 (12/2/29). SoCon Tournament MVP Alexis Bauer led the team with 19 digs, while Casey Garvey added 11 of her own along with 48 assists to earn her eighth double-double of the season.

Unanimous First Team All-Big East honoree Jordanne Scott was an offensive force for the Bearcats, with 19 kills and a .268 clip, with two others in double-digit kills hitting above .320. Caylin Mahoney paced their offense with 56 assists while libero Emily Macintyre led their defense with 27 digs.

"Going in we were ready to make an upset," said Garvey, a junior setter. "We were excited about our first ever NCAA appearance and winning our conference tournament. We were just trying to go out there and make an upset tonight but we just came up short."

"We figured we had nothing to lose tonight," said Neisler, a junior outside hitter. "We just played as hard as we could and I guess it just wasn't enough tonight. It happens."

The first set was even early on, with Samford taking the lead five different times until Cincinnati came back to tie it up at 8-8. The Bearcats gathered momentum in the form of an 11-2 run to put them up 19-10. The Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit, with back-to-back kills by Michaela Reesor drawing Samford within six, down 15-21. Cincinnati's Missy Harpenau knocked in a kill to make it set point, 24-16, but Katie Murphy knocked in the ensuing point to give Samford possession, looking to make a comeback. However, the Bearcats took the next point to seal a 25-17 set one victory.

Samford was unfazed by the set one loss and came back in set two to even the match with a 25-22 set two win. Tied at 4-4, Chelsi Carter and Neisler knocked in consecutive kills to give Samford a 6-4 lead, which they held leading into the media timeout, up 15-13. The Bearcats would draw within one point multiple times but Samford would not give up the lead for the remainder of the set. Up 22-21, the Bulldogs would make a 3-1 run to close out the set, with Neisler and Lauren Hutchinson pairing up for a block earning the 25th point to make the final 25-22.

Momentum jumped back in the Bearcats' favor coming out of the locker rooms for set three, as they took the third frame 25-16. Cincinnati jumped to an early 5-1 lead, but Samford answered with two in a row to draw within two, down 3-5. The Bearcats were looking to double up the Bulldogs, moving up 11-6 and forcing a Samford timeout. Murphy drew the Bulldogs back within four, down 7-11, coming out of the break and the Bearcats would maintain the four-point lead for the middle portion of the set. Up 17-13, Cincinnati found a rhythm and finished the set with an 8-3 run to move ahead in the match, 2-1, with a 25-16 win.

The back-and-forth nature of the match continued in the fourth set, as Samford won a hard-fought game 25-23 to force a fifth set and become the first SoCon team ever to play a five-set match in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs tied the match up five times leading to an 8-8 tie, when Murphy and Garvey paired up for a block to give Samford their first lead of the frame, up 9-8. Cincinnati would not regain the lead until later, when they put down two in a row to go up 18-16, but Samford answered right back with two of their own to tie it back up at 18-18. Tied at 23-23, Cincinnati owned possession and was at the brink of advancing to the second round. Samford's freshman outside hitter Reesor had other ideas, as a kill gave Samford set point and an assisted block by Carter and Murphy kept the Bulldogs in the match, forcing a fifth set with a 25-23 win.

Cincinnati set a blistering pace early, jumping ahead 6-2 to force a Samford timeout. The Bearcats knocked in two more to go up 8-2 at the mid-set switch. The Bearcats would maintain the six point lead, as each team scored seven points the rest of the frame, concluding the match with a 15-9 loss for the Bulldogs.

Samford's 29-5 record is the winningest in school history, passing the previous record of 28-5 set in 2008. Other highlights of the season include the school's first ever conference championship, wins over SEC and ACC schools and conference Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors.

When asked about the future of Samford volleyball, Neisler is already setting her sights even higher.

"We'll be better. We'll have the whole team coming back next year so we plan on going a little bit further."