Box Score DAVIDSON, N.C. ---- Samford opened play in the SoCon Tournament Saturday, playing a very competitive match against host team and No. 4 South Division seed Davidson.  The Bulldogs swept the Wildcats but the sets were only won by a combined eight points.
 
“Davidson played great,” said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  “I credit tonight's win to our resiliency.  It's a cliché, but we never got down and kept attacking.
 
“We have a little more championship experience than them and that might have made the difference in a very competitive match.”
 
The win is Samford's eighth in a row and their third-consecutive sweep.  Samford is now 3-0 all-time against Davidson in postseason play, winning by a combined score of 9-1.
 
Samford (23-8, 14-2 SoCon) had three players with at least ten kills, with Michaela Reesor leading all players with 15.  She added 11 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.  The Bulldogs' pair of middle blockers, Katie Murphy and Lauren Hutchinson, combined for 23 kills on 49 swings with only six errors.  Alexis Bauer led all players with 14 digs as she now holds the Samford single-season digs record with 575 so far this year.  She holds the career digs record as well and is only 47 away from 2,000 career digs.
 
Davidson (11-16, 7-9 SoCon) was limited to a .135 team percentage as the Bulldogs limited All-Conference honree Caroline Brown to only eight kills on 34 swings.  Tindall Sewell led the Wildcats with 10 kills while Molly Crenshaw led them in digs with 12.
 
Both teams opened up with a lot of intensity, trading the lead back and forth in the first frame.  Up 13-11, a soft kill by Elizabeth Neisler and a Davidson attack error stretched the Bulldogs' lead to four points and the Wildcats took a timeout trailing 15-11.  The home team fought back out of the break, going on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 16-16, forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout of their own.  Davidson took advantage of some sloppy play by Samford, going up 19-16 before Neisler got the Bulldogs back on track with a kill to gain possession and Samford eventually came back to tie the match at 19-19.  The teams remained neck-and-neck to close out the first set, as it stretched past regulation with Samford earning the edge, 27-25, to move up 1-0 in the match.
 
Davidson held the momentum early in set two, moving up 6-3 before Samford fought back to tie it at 6-6.  Up 12-11, Erika Devaughn made an athletic dive to keep the play alive, setting up Reesor for a kill up the middle to give Samford its largest lead of the set, up 13-11.  The lead didn't last long however, as the Wildcats came back to tie it up at 16-16 and take the lead, forcing Samford to take a timeout trailing 17-16.  Tied at 19-19, a Davidson block and a Samford attack error gave Davidson the 21-19 edge as the Bulldogs took another timeout.  Samford charged back to take the lead, 23-22, off a hard kill down the right side by Devaughn as the Wildcats tried to regroup with their own timeout.  Samford reached set point, up 24-23, as Davidson took another timeout but a block by Neisler and Murphy gave the 'Dogs the slim 25-23 victory to move up 2-0 in the match.
 
Neither team could build a significant lead in set three, as the frame unfolded much like the first two.  Davidson started to pull away when, tied at 8-8, they went on a 3-0 run to move up 11-8.  Samford fought right back, as a 4-1 run tied the set back up at 12-12.  Davidson regained its three-point lead, up 17-14, as Samford took a timeout.  Samford slowly clawed back, tying the set at 20-20 and taking the lead, 21-20, behind a kill by Neisler as Davidson took a timeout.  Soon after, Garvey dumped a pass over the net to earn a kill and give the Bulldogs the 23-21 lead as the Wildcats took yet another timeout.  Samford sealed the sweep with consecutive points to win the set, 25-21, to advance to the SoCon semifinals.
 
Samford will move on to face the College of Charleston (24-7, 15-2 SoCon) in Sunday's semifinal match at 4:30 p.m. ET.  Samford is the sole remaining representative from the North Division, as the top three seeds from the South Division all won on Saturday.
 
“It's going to take a big effort tomorrow,” said Reesor.  “The preparation will start tonight with getting our mindset right to play a tough Charleston team tomorrow.”
 
The Bulldogs and the Cougars have met three times in the conference tournament, with the College of Charleston holding the slight 2-1 advantage.  Samford avenged consecutive losses in 2008 and 2010 in last season's championship match where they swept the Cougars.  The College of Charleston has advanced to the championship match every season since 2002.
 
2012 SOCON QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
No. 3S Furman def. No. 2N Elon, 3-0
No. 1S Georgia Southern def. No. 4N UNCG, 3-1
No. 2S College of Charleston def. No. 3N Chattanooga, 3-1
No. 1N Samford def. No. 4S Davidson, 3-0