Box Score CULLOWHEE, N.C. ---- With the regular season winding down and a No. 1 seed in the tournament locked, Samford started its weekend with a commanding 3-0 sweep at Western Carolina.  It is the Bulldogs' first sweep since Oct. 13 at the Citadel.
 
Samford (21-8, 13-2 SoCon) struggled offensively, hitting .193 as a team, but made plays when it counted.  Senior middle Lauren Hutchinson led the attack with ten kills while Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy trailed just behind with nine and eight, respectively.  Senior libero Alexis Bauer earned 15 digs, setting a new personal single-season best with 543 so far this year.  She is now 31 away from setting a Samford single-season school record.  Casey Garvey added 41 assists, putting her on the single-season top ten list for the second consecutive season.
 
Western Carolina (8-23, 4-12 SoCon) hit .009 in the match, failing to surpass a .026 clip in any of the three sets.  Saturday was Senior Night for the Catamounts, as senior Jordan Timmermann led their offensive effort with six kills on 25 swings.
 
Western Carolina scored the opening point of the first set but it was Samford that gained the early momentum, jumping ahead 8-2 behind six unanswered points to force the home team into an early timeout.  Samford continued the streak out of the break, going on a 3-0 run to move up 11-2.  The Bulldogs moved the lead into double-digits and continued to roll, leading 19-4 as the Catamounts took another timeout.  The Western Carolina offense found some rhythm late, but the deficit proved too large to overcome as a solo block by Lauren Hutchinson ultimately gave Samford the 25-12 win.
 
Neither team maintained possession in the first half of set two, as the lead was traded back-and-forth.  Samford managed to move up three, leading 17-14, and slowly extended the lead to five, up 23-18 as the Catamounts took a timeout.  The Bulldogs ended the set riding a 4-0 run, winning 25-18 to move up 2-0 in the match.
 
Samford had first possession in set three and started with seven unanswered points off of four kills, two blocks and a service ace by Casey Garvey.  The Bulldogs held a five-point lead at the halfway point, up 13-8, and extended it to eight, up 20-12, as the Catamounts took a timeout.  The Bulldog ended up winning the set by the same score as set two, 25-18, to complete the sweep.
 
Samford concludes the 2012 regular season tomorrow in Boone, N.C., against Appalachian State (7-21, 3-11 SoCon) at 2 p.m. ET.