Aug. 27, 2011
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The final match of the Samford/UAB Tournament gave the crowd at the Pete Hanna Center its money's worth, with Samford (3-0) and Arkansas State (2-1) stretching to five sets. The Bulldogs rallied late in the fifth set to seal the 3-2 victory (15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) to stay undefeated so far this season.
"Staying with the theme of the weekend," said Samford Head Coach Derek Schroeder, "that match was a team effort. We battled through adversity and stayed composed as a team. Lauren Hutchinson's work this summer is showing in her numbers and we are very happy as a staff with her. Alexis Bauer, Chelsi Carter and Michaela Reesor were the catalysts to our solid offense. We were in system because of them."
Hutchinson led the team with 20 kills (.615), giving her 40 kills total for the weekend. Bauer and Carter had 20 digs each in the match and Hutchinson and Katie Murphy guarded the net well, combining for 13 assisted blocks and five solo blocks. Samford bested the Red Wolves in team blocks 20-8 and had a higher hitting percentage in all but one set.
Arkansas State came out swinging in the first set, jumping ahead 18-6 at one point. The Bulldogs regained some ground, partly in thanks to a four-point rally by setter Casey Garvey with Hutchinson slamming down two kills. Ultimately, the comeback fell short as the Red Wolves took the set 25-15.
Samford evened the match with a win in the second set, taking advantage of 12 Arkansas State errors. The set remained neck-and-neck in the early stages, but Samford started pulling ahead with a sustained service rally by Taylor Chao to pull them up 18-9. The Red Wolves provided a late scare, pulling within four, but back-to-back kills by Reesor and Neisler sealed the 25-19 victory.
The third set developed similarly to the second, with the teams battling back and forth, not able to establish rallies with errors on both sides. Down 15-17, Hutchinson again provided a spark, but this time serving the ball, forcing the Red Wolves to four consecutive attack errors pulling the Bulldogs ahead 19-17. Tied at 22, Neisler downed two kills in a row with Reesor providing the final kill of the 25-22 set and setting up the Bulldogs for a victory.
Arkansas State refused to go down easily, fighting to a six-point lead to start the fourth set. Samford inched closeer, hitting hard and taking advantage of opponent errors. Following a Samford timeout, the Bulldogs stayed within three points and then made a statement late with Reesor pulling them within two. Arkansas State benefitted from their own late timeout however, and came out on top, 25-22.
The fifth and final set proved as exciting as the entire match, with the teams battling back and forth refusing to let one another pull away. By the halfway point, the lead had already changed five times. Following a Samford attack error, the Red Wolves tallied two more points to pull ahead 12-8, their largest lead of the set. The Bulldogs stormed back emphatically, with Murphy knocking in three crucial kills down the stretch. Alicia Roth ended the match in style, scoring a service ace to seal the 15-13 set victory and a 3-2 Samford win.
Samford returns to action Tuesday, Aug. 30 hosting Alabama at 6 p.m.
Other Matches
Troy 3, Akron 0
UAB 3, UNC Asheville 0
