Sept. 8, 2011
Full Weekly Notes 
SAMFORD HEADS EAST TO ATLANTA
The Samford Bulldogs continue tournament play, traveling to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Tournament beginning Friday, Sept. 9. The Bulldogs play three matches, first facing Mercer on Friday, Sept. 9 at 3:30 p.m. CT. Samford then plays early the next morning, taking on Georgia at 9:30 a.m. and then, after a long break, plays host team Georgia Tech at 6 p.m.
Note: Friday's session is sold out. Tickets will not be sold at the door for both matches on Friday. Only those on the pass list or who have purchased a ticket ahead of time will be admitted.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (0-6) - Atlantic Sun Conference - The Mercer Bears have struggled to start the season, losing six straight matches. Their first set victory of the season came in their latest match against Tennessee State, which stretched to a full five games but ended in a 3-2 loss.
Georgia (3-4) - SEC - The Bulldogs went 2-1 to begin the season at home with the Hotel Indigo Bulldog Invitational before dropping three in a row in Malibu, Calif. They rebounded earlier this week, earning a 3-0 win at home against Kennesaw State.
Georgia Tech (4-2) - ACC - The Yellow Jackets began the season 3-0 after hosting the Georgia Tech Courtyard Classic. However, they dropped two of their three matches at the Rice Tournament in Houston, Texas the following weekend.
WEEKLY WRAP
The Bulldogs continued their undefeated start to the season with four victories last week pushing them to 7-0. They are currently the only undefeated team in the SoCon. Samford followed their home tournament with a single match on Tuesday, Aug. 30 against the Alabama Crimson Tide, which stretched until the final set and saw Samford pull off a thrilling 3-2 victory behind double-digit kills by Katie Murphy, Elizabeth Neisler and Lauren Hutchinson. It was the first Samford victory over Alabama in program history. The Bulldogs then hit the road for the first time this season, playing three matches at the South Alabama Tournament in Mobile, Ala on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 2 and 3. On Friday Samford earned a 3-0 win over Alabama A&M and followed that up with a 3-0 victory over Louisiana Tech and a 3-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
PLAYER HIGHLIGHT: Elizabeth Neisler
After earning second team All-SoCon honors last season, Elizabeth Neisler is already well on her way to having an even more impressive season in 2011. The Jacksonville, Ala., native has started all seven matches so far this season and leads the team with 94 kills (3.62/set). She also ranks second on the team in total blocks (22, 0.85/set) and has six service aces. Her performance against Alabama was one of her finest so far at Samford, notching a season-best 19 kills in 60 total attempts. Additionally, her three aces and six blocks that match are new personal bests.
COACH SCHROEDER QUOTES
"Last week, especially the Alabama match, was a lot of fun and we all felt like minor celebrities around here but I can tell you I was very proud of the girls who showed a deal of maturity when they came in focused and determined to get better the very next day in the gym.
"The girls are excited for this weekend as we will see the best competition we have played so far. They feel a little slighted right now being 7-0 and having great numbers but no weekly conference honors to go with their achievements. They are excited to play some even stronger teams and see if that gets anyone's attention.
"Mercer always plays us strong, Georgia will be big and physical and Tech may be the best coached team we play all season. I have a lot of respect for what [Georgia Tech Head Coach] Tonya [Johnson] and her staff do over there and I am excited to see where we measure up to a program like theirs and the direction they are going.
"We have had some impressive individual production so far this year especially at the net but as a team we know that those would not be possible without everyone serving well, our primary serve reception kids playing exceptionally and everyone playing to their role in our offensive and defensive systems."
UP NEXT
Samford heads to the sunny shores of Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Bethune-Cookman tournament beginning Friday, Sept. 16. The Bulldogs play four matches in two days, taking on Savannah State (1 p.m.) and Stetson (5 p.m.) on Friday and Bethune Cookman (8 a.m.) and Hampton (1 p.m.) on Saturday.
