Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford found itself on the wrong end of a stunning comeback Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs squandered a 2-0 lead to Georgia Southern, who came back to win three straight sets and hand Samford a 3-2 loss.
 
“Georgia Southern served the ball tough and played better off first contact,” said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  “That put a lot of pressure on us and we failed to overcome that.”
 
Samford (15-8, 7-2 SoCon) hit .351 as a team in the first two sets but the offense lost its steam from then on, hitting a combined .106 in the remaining three sets.  Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy led the offense with 18 and 17 kills, respectively, while Elizabeth Neisler was also in double digits with 12.  Neisler is now only three kills away from moving up to third all-time in career kills at Samford.  Murphy added four solo blocks, which vaults her to seventh all-time at Samford.  Five players earned at least 10 digs, led by Bauer with 27.  Reesor added 16 for her second-consecutive double double, her sixth this season.
 
With the win, Georgia Southern (17-6, 8-1 SoCon) maintains a share of first place in the South Division.  SoCon Offensive Player of the Week Meredith Paskert led all players with 22 kills, while Crysten Curry added seven block assists and Nicole Jeschelnik led the team with 19 digs.
 
Georgia Southern earned the first kill of the opening frame but that would be the only lead they had all set.  Samford knocked in four in a row to move up 4-1 and held the three-point margin, eventually leading 12-9.  A 5-2 run extended the Bulldogs' lead to 17-11 as Georgia Southern took a timeout.  Samford would reach set point, up 24-15, allowing the Eagles to score one but eventually winning, 25-16.
 
Set two was more tightly contested in the early going, with neither team taking an extended lead.  Up 11-10, the Bulldogs extended the lead with a 6-3 run to go up 17-13 as the Eagles took a timeout.  Samford came out of the break and fired in three in a row as Georgia Southern took another frustrated timeout.  The Eagles began to close the gap, drawing within four, trailing 24-20 at set point.  A solo block by Lauren Hutchinson sealed the set for Samford as they won 25-20 to move ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
Samford held the early momentum in the third frame, pulling ahead 8-6 before knocking in three unanswered points to draw further ahead, 11-6.  The Eagles quickly closed the gap when, trailing 15-9, they went on a 6-2 run, forcing Samford to take a timeout with the slim lead of 17-15.  The teams battled back-and-forth before the visitors eventually took the lead, 21-20, and they would close the set with a 4-1 run to win 25-21.
 
Georgia Southern carried the momentum into set four, taking a 9-5 lead as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Samford evened it up in the middle of the frame, eventually drawing even at 15-15.  Georgia Southern took the first point out of that break and held onto the one-point lead for the remainder of the set, eventually leading 23-22.  A kill gave them set point, serving up 24-22, but a kill by Casey Garvey drew Samford back within one.  Georgia Southern strategized with a timeout and then won the set, 25-23, on a Samford attack error to force a fifth set.
 
In the deciding frame, the teams found themselves tied at 5-5 before the Eagles knocked in three in a row to lead 8-5 at the mid-set switch.  They would add on five more unanswered points to extend the lead to 13-5.  Samford tried to make a valiant comeback, serving down 14-8, but the gap proved too large to overcome as Georgia Southern sealed it with a kill to win 15-8 and complete the stunning comeback.
 
Tomorrow afternoon, Samford wraps up its weekend facing the Davidson Wildcats (8-11, 4-5 SoCon) at 2 p.m. CT at the Pete Hanna Center.  Davidson is coming off a 3-1 loss at Chattanooga Saturday afternoon.