Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. ---- After a tightly-contested opening set, the Samford offense came alive against UNCG as the Bulldogs closed with two convincing set wins to earn a 3-0 sweep over the Spartans in Greensboro Friday night.
 
Samford (13-6, 5-0 SoCon) need a late rally to win the opening set but won convincingly in the final two games.  The 25-8 score in set two is the Bulldogs' largest margin of victory over a SoCon opponent so far this season.
 
“Tonight was a great road win for our team,” said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  “We didn't let the road environment get to us.  We stayed resolute and executed at a high percentage.  Having only eight attack errors on the road is great!
 
“Our serve receive passers were very good tonight.  Chelsi [Carter], Lexi [Bauer] and Michaela [Reesor] did their homework and knew what was coming.  They did a really solid job.”
 
Coming off a tough matchup against Furman last weekend, middle blocker Lauren Hutchinson returned to form Friday, leading the team with 14 kills and a .480 clip on 25 swings with two errors.  Michaela Reesor led the team in attacks with 31, scoring ten kills with only two errors.  Alexis Bauer led the defense with 21 digs while Chelsi Carter and Casey Garvey each added 12 towards the team's total of 61, the highest total in a three-set match so far this season.  Garvey also tallied 37 assists for her fourth double-double of the season, her second in conference.
 
The UNCG (8-8, 3-2 SoCon) offense was led by Olivia Humphries with 14 kills and a .344 clip while Karrian Chambers was close behind with ten.  Chambers would add ten digs as well, good for a double-double.
 
The Spartans scored the first two points of the opening frame and the teams traded points back-and-forth for the beginning of the set, as UNCG held the two-point lead eventually moving ahead 10-8.  UNCG extended the lead to four, up 12-8, but Samford answered back quickly scoring three in a row to draw within one, down 11-8.  The Spartans moved their lead back up to three points as Samford took a timeout down 17-14.  The Bulldogs scored two quick points out of the break to draw back within one, down 17-16, forcing the host team to call a timeout.  Samford tied it at 19-19 and fought back shortly thereafter to tie it again at 21-21 as UNCG took another timeout.  A kill by Elizabeth Neisler gave Samford its first lead of the match, up 23-22, and the Bulldogs concluded the late rally to win the opening set 27-25.
 
Samford earned the early momentum in set two, jumping ahead to a 6-1 lead as UNCG took a timeout.  The Bulldog offense continued to dominate, jumping ahead by seven points, up 13-6 at the halfway point.  Samford further extend its lead into double digits, hitting the 20-point mark up by 13, 20-7.  Samford completed a 9-0 run, up 23-7, before UNCG would score a point to make it 23-8.  The Bulldogs closed the set out with two in a row to win 25-8, the largest margin of victory for Samford in conference play this season.
 
Samford's momentum carried in set two as they jumped up 6-2 before UNCG fought back within two, down 7-5.  The Bulldogs charged forward with five unanswered points to build a seven-point lead, up 12-5.  Samford would continue to pull away as a 4-1 run pushed the lead to double digits, up 16-6.  The Spartans would narrow the gap slightly, but the Bulldogs continued to apply pressure eventually winning the set 25-16 to close out the 3-0 sweep.
 
Tomorrow night Samford will face the Elon Phoenix (8-11, 1-3 SoCon) in Elon, N.C., at 7 p.m. ET.  The Phoenix defeated the Chattanooga Mocs 3-0 Friday night.