Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford rebounded after a tough Saturday loss with a 3-1 win over Davidson Sunday afternoon in the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford (16-8, 8-2 SoCon) dropped a close third set but the offense came alive in the fourth, tallying 20 kills with only three errors for a .472 clip during the deciding frame.  Katie Murphy was an offensive force in the middle, earning a career-best 21 kills on 34 swings with only one error for a stellar .588 clip.  Michaela Reesor was second on the team with 17 kills, adding 16 digs for her third straight double-double, her seventh this season.  Elizabeth Neisler knocked in 11 kills which vaults her to third all-time on Samford's career kills list with 1,249.  Casey Garvey added 56 assists, her second-highest total in conference this season, and Alexis Bauer led the defense with 22 digs.
 
Davidson (8-12, 4-6 SoCon) hung tough with the home team, owning the edge in digs 65-60 while coming back in the late stages of set three to earn the win in that frame.  Preseason All-Conference selection Caroline Brown led the Wildcat offense with 13 kills with Megan Chamberlin close behind at 12 kills.
 
The Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie in the opening set off a kill by Reesor and would not let Davidson tie it up the rest of the set.  Up 5-3, Samford would knock in six in a row with Taylor Chao at the service line, including two kills and an assisted block by Murphy, to move ahead 11-3 as Davidson took a timeout.  The Wildcats closed the gap out of the break, going on a 5-1 run to draw within four, down 12-8, as Samford took a timeout.  Up 14-10, the Bulldogs extended the lead to eight points, up 18-10, and eventually reached set point with that same eight-point lead, up 24-16.  Davidson staved off the end of the set by scoring a point but Chelsi Carter sealed it with a kill to give Samford the 25-17 win.
 
Set two was tightly contested, with the score tied at nine different points during the frame.  Samford held a close early lead but Davidson eventually wrestled away the lead, moving up 7-6 off a kill by Brown.  Samford would fight back to tie the score three different times before taking back the lead as Neisler earned a kill to make it 20-19 and force a Davidson timeout.  Later, with Samford up 23-22, a kill by Lauren Hutchinson gave Samford possession at set point and Hutchinson and Reesor paired up for a block on the next rally to give the Bulldogs the 25-22 win to move ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
Set three was another close one, seeing five lead changes.  Samford looked to build some momentum early, extending its lead to four with a 3-0 run to move ahead 12-8 as Davidson took a timeout.  The Wildcats fought back, eventually taking the lead 20-17 off consecutive Samford attack errors and a kill by Chamberlin.  The Bulldogs kept the match within two points, drawing within one off a kill by Reesor facing set point, down 24-23.  Just like set two, a block ended the set but this time it was in Davidson's favor as they defeated the Bulldogs, 25-23.
 
The Bulldogs weren't looking to allow another comeback this weekend and the offense came out firing in set four to ensure the Samford match victory.  Hutchinson would score the first point of the set and the Bulldogs would not relent the lead for the remainder of the set.  The Bulldogs hit double-digits with a five-point lead, up 10-5, extending it to seven off three-consecutive kills by Murphy as Davidson took a timeout trailing 16-9.  With Chao at the service line, the Bulldogs added five more unanswered points to build a 12-point lead, up 21-9.  The Wildcats would only muster three more points as Samford earned a convincing 25-12 victory to seal the match, 3-1.
 
Next, Samford will make a brief road trip to Spartanburg, S.C., for a match at Wofford on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. ET before turning around and heading home for a match against Chattanooga on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. CT.