FULL MATCH NOTES (PDF)

VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO DEFEND SOCON TITLE
Samford's road to defending its conference championship concludes this weekend in Davidson, N.C., at the 2012 SoCon Tournament.  The Bulldogs enter as the No. 1 North Division seed for the second-consecutive season.  The tournament opens with four quarterfinal matches on Saturday, Nov. 17 and Samford will begin against the host team and No. 4 South Division seed Davidson at 7 p.m. ET that night.

With a win on Saturday, Samford would face either the College of Charleston (#2S) or Chattanooga (#3N) on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 4:30 p.m. ET.  A win in the semifinals would put the Bulldogs in the championship match on Monday, Nov. 19 against either Elon (#2N), Furman (#3S), Georgia Southern (#1S) or UNCG (#4N).

VIDEO STREAMING INFORMATION
Saturday and Sunday's matches will be streamed for free at soconsports.com through SoCon TV and live stats will also be available.  Monday's championship match will be broadcasted on ESPN3.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
NORTH DIVISION
#2 - Elon (16-15, 9-7 SoCon) - Tied with UNCG for second place heading into the last weekend, a 3-1 win over the Spartans last Thursday helped secure a two-seed for the Phoenix.  Two seasons removed from a North Division title, they open with a tough draw against No. 3 South Division seed Furman.  Elon is fifth in the conference in blocks, with both Kris Harris and Celia Eddy in the conference top ten with 93 and 91, respectively.  Megan Graveley leads the team in kills (342) while Ali Deatsch leads the defense with 476 digs.

#3 - Chattanooga (14-7, 8-8 SoCon) - On the verge of not even qualifying for the tournament, the Mocs closed out the season strongly with four wins to vault into third in the North Division.  They will open tournament action against the College of Charleston, who has not lost to a North Division opponent all season.  Arguably the best defender in the conference, libero Paula Passmore leads the SoCon and is ranked second nationally with 734 digs, averaging 6.38 per set.  Christina Teter leads the offense with 259 kills while Bridget Camacho paces their attack with 1,149 assists.

#4 - UNCG (13-15, 7-9 SoCon) - Though they qualified for the tournament, the month of November was not kind to the Spartans as they lost all four matches to drop their record below .500 and fall from second place to fourth.  They will open tournament play against South Division champion Georgia Southern.  Juniors Karrian Chambers and Olivia Humphries are the offensive lynchpins for the Spartans, combining for 740 kills this season.  The back-row tandem of Kellie Orewiler and Katherine Santiago have combined for nearly 1,000 digs while Vicky Harley leads the team with 73 blocks.

SOUTH DIVISION
#1 - Georgia Southern (24-6, 15-1 SoCon) - The Eagles finished the season at the top of a very competitive South Division, owning a thin one-match lead over the defending division champion, College of Charleston.  Georgia Southern owns the best record in the conference, going undefeated with the exception of a 3-0 loss to the College of Charleston in September.  The Eagles will head into the tournament riding a 12-match win streak.  Their offense is led by Meredith Paskert with 400 kills and a .342 clip while Alexandra Beecher leads the defense with 560 digs, 37 shy of the school record.

#2 - College of Charleston (23-7, 14-2 SoCon) - The Cougars have been an offensive powerhouse in conference play this season, sweeping opponents in 10 of their 14 conference wins.  They have made it to the conference championship match every season since 2002, winning in six of those ten appearances.  The offense has been fueled by Penn State transfer and former Big Ten Freshman of the Year Darcy Dorton, who leads the conference with 446 kills.  2011 SoCon Freshman of the Year Sloane White has 285 kills to go along with 57 blocks while Emily Shelton leads the team with 567 digs.

#3 - Furman (22-9, 10-6 SoCon) - After beginning conference play at 6-2, the Paladins lost four of their last eight to slide into third place at 10-6.  The late struggles were due in part to the absence of senior outside hitter Natalie Braun, who suffered an injury.  Braun and fellow senior Chandler Ambrester make up a potent pair of outside hitters for the Paladins, as they both rank in the top three in the conference in kills.  Senior middle blocker Caroline Adams leads the conference with a .365 hitting percentage while freshman Jo Wilks has proved a very talented setter despite her age, leading the SoCon and ranking fourth nationally with 1,371 assists.

#4 - Davidson (11-15, 7-9 SoCon) - If Wofford had swept Davidson in the final match of the season, the Wildcats would be hosting the tournament without participating in it.  The Wildcats avoided that fate however, sweeping the Terriers on Sunday to finish the season at 7-9 in SoCon play.  Davidson struggled against tournament teams during the season, with its only win over a tournament team coming in a five-set victory over UNCG on Oct. 14.  Caroline Brown is their primary point-scorer with 363 kills and 31 aces while Tindall Sewell a force in the middle, sporting a .316 clip in addition to a team-leading 89 blocks.

SAMFORD VS. TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN 2012
NORTH DIVISION = 6-0
Elon: W 3-1 Away (Oct. 6), W 3-1 Home (Nov. 2)
Chattanooga: W 3-0 Away (Sept. 28), W 3-0 Home (Oct. 30)
UNCG: W 3-0 Away (Oct. 5), W 3-1 Home (Nov. 3)

SOUTH DIVISION = 2-2
Georgia Southern: L 2-3 Home (Oct. 20)
College of Charleston: L 0-3 Away (Oct. 12)
Furman: W 3-2 Home (Sept. 29)
Davidson: W 3-1 Home (Oct. 21)

HISTORY LESSON
Samford has qualified for the conference tournament every season since joining the SoCon in 2008.  In four of those five seasons, including this year, the Bulldogs have owned the No. 1 North Division seed.  In Socon Tournament play, Samford owns a 4-3 record.  The Bulldogs are 2-0 against North Division opponents in the tournament and are 2-3 against South Division opponents.  Surprisingly, the only three teams Samford has ever faced in the conference tournament are Davidson, Furman and the College of Charleston.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats have met in the opening round twice since 2008, with Samford outscoring Davidson 7-1.  Last season, Davidson was the only team in the tournament to win a set over eventual tournament champion Samford.

In 2008, Samford earned an opening round sweep over Davidson before falling in five to eventual tournament-winner Furman.  Only four teams were selected for the 2009 tournament, and Samford was defeated by the College of Charleston, 3-1, in the opening round.  In 2010, the Bulldogs found themselves against the Cougars again in the opening round and fell by an identical 3-1 score from the previous season.  Samford hosted the tournament in 2011, defeating Davidson 3-1 in the quarterfinals before sweeping Furman and the College of Charleston en route to a SoCon Championship.

SAMFORD IN THE SOCON RANKS
Team Stats
Hitting Percentage - 2nd - .251
Opponent Hitting Percentage - 1st - .164
Kills - 2nd - 1549 (14.21/set)
Assists - 2nd - 1447 (13.28/set)
Aces - 4th - 137 (1.26/set)

Individual Stats
Hitting Percentage
Katie Murphy - 2nd - .363
Lauren Hutchinson - 3rd - .345
Kills
Michaela Reesor - 4th - 403 (3.70/set)
Assists
Casey Garvey - 2nd - 1243 (11.73/set)
Service Aces
Chelsi Carter - 2nd - 36 (0.33/set)
Digs
Alexis Bauer - 6th - 562 (5.16/set)

'DOGS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON WITH TWO SWEEPS
Samford concluded its 2012 regular season last weekend, earning two 3-0 sweeps over Western Carolina and Appalachian State.  The wins give the Bulldogs a seven-match winning streak heading into the conference tournament and it is their first two-loss conference season since 2008.  In Cullowhee, N.C., Samford was not particularly sharp on offense but managed to defeat the Catamounts 25-12, 25-18 and 25-18.  In Boone, N.C., Samford faltered a bit in the first set, edging the Mountaineers out 27-25, but the offense came alive in the second and third, winning 25-13 and 25-17.

THREE BULLDOGS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Southern Conference announced its 2012 All-Conference team Wednesday and three Bulldogs made it onto the list, with Michaela Reesor and Lauren Hutchinson earning First Team honors while Katie Murphy was placed on the Second Team.
 
Reesor, an All-Freshman selection last season, makes her first career appearance on the All-Conference team.  She is the only underclassmen on the First Team and one of only two underclassmen on either the First or Second team.  It is the second-consecutive First Team accolade for Hutchinson and the second-consecutive Second Team honor for Murphy.

UP NEXT
The winner of the 2012 SoCon Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The full tournament bracket will be unveiled live on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. ET.  The top 16 seeds will serve as preliminary sites and the 64-team field will split evenly between those sites.  After two rounds of play, the remaining 16 teams will split between four regional sites and the final four winners from those will head to Louisville, Ky., to determine the national champion.