Sept. 3, 2011
Box Score
Louisiana Tech Box Score 
Southeastern Louisiana Box Score
MOBILE, Ala. ---- The Samford Bulldogs (7-0) continue to impress, staying undefeated so far this season with wins against Louisiana Tech (3-3) and Southeastern Louisiana (1-7) Saturday. Samford took Louisiana Tech in straight sets, their fourth such victory so far this season, and won 3-1 against the Lions in the second match.
"It was a good day," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder. "We got to see some kids play that have only been watching so far this season and they played very well. Lauren [Hutchinson] and [Elizabeth] Neisler were named to the all-tournament team and were very deserving. At times both of them were unstoppable."
Neisler led the team with 29 kills today while Hutchinson and Katie Murphy also had double-digit kills in each match. The Bulldogs held each team under a .170 hitting percentage, while earning a .316 and .256 clip against Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana, respectively. Defensively, Alexis Bauer and Chelsi Carter earned 24 and 18 digs, respectively, each making double-digit efforts in the Southeastern Louisiana game.
Game One: Samford 3, Louisiana Tech 0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23)
Samford held the edge in nearly every statistical category in a 3-0 victory over Louisiana Tech. Their hitting percentage was at least .280 every set, .316 for the match, and they out-blocked Tech 13-7. Alexis Bauer led the team in digs (7) but Garvey, Chao, Carter and Reesor all came up big defensively, earning at least four digs each.
After a 7-7 tie in the first set, Samford never lost the lead, eventually winning game one 25-15. With Samford up 13-9, Louisiana Tech took a timeout and Samford answered with an 8-3 run, including kills by Carter and Reesor and service aces by Hutchinson and Alicia Roth. One point away from the win, Neisler had an attack error but answered on the next possession with a kill to win it for Samford.
In the first half of the second set, there were five lead changes as the squads battled back and forth. Up 12-9, Samford looked to put distance between them and Tech, jumping ahead to a 22-13 lead thanks to service rallies by Bauer and Taylor Chao. Louisiana Tech found their footing for a bit, narrowing the gap to four points before Samford earned back-to-back points to seal the 25-19 win.
Set three was the closest of the match, with neither team taking more than a three-point lead for the first half. Down four, Samford took a timeout and came back to bring the game within one point at 19-18, forcing Louisiana Tech to take a timeout. The teams traded points and were tied at 23 when Hutchinso and Reesor slammed back-to-back kills giving Samford their fourth 3-0 victory of the season.
Game Two: Samford 3, Southeastern Louisiana 1 (25-15, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18)
Samford again set a fast pace out of the gate, jumping ahead to a 14-5 lead in the first game, including back-to-back service aces by Hutchinson. The Bulldogs continued to maintain a significant lead, spreading the ball around and capitalizing on the Lions' errors. The Bulldogs won 25-15, their sixth set victory by at least 10 points so far this season.
Southeastern Louisiana took the early lead, but Samford quickly bounced back tying the game at 4-4 and then taking the lead 11-8 and forcing a Lion timeout. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 22-14 forcing yet another Lion timeout with Neisler earning three kills and Hutchinson and Murphy earning two each in that stretch. Three errors by Southeastern Louisiana gave Samford the final three points needed to earn the 25-16 win.
The Lions jumped to an early 11-4 lead in the third set, but Samford regained their composure and tied the game at 13-13. The teams traded points back and forth and again found themselves tied at 20-20 late in the third set. The Lions refused to give up the 3-0 sweep and eventually won the third game 25-21, forcing at least one more set.
Samford took care of business in the fourth set, earning the 3-1 win with a 25-18 edge in the fourth game. At the start, however, the Lions maintained a four-point lead until followed up a kill with a service ace to draw the Bulldogs within one. Tied at 17-17, the Bulldogs' offense found their momentum with Neisler earning a kill to gain possession and primary server Casey Garvey rattling off four consecutive successful services including an ace to put Samford ahead 17-22. The Lions scored on the next service but Samford came back with three unanswered points to seal the victory.
Next weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Tournament. Samford first faces off against Mercer on Friday, Sept. 9 at 3:30 p.m. CT and then resumes play Saturday, first against Georgia at 9:30 a.m. and then Georgia Tech at 6 p.m.
