Box Score DAVIDSON, N.C. ---- Samford's quest to defend its title was stopped short by the College of Charleston Sunday afternoon in the SoCon semifinals, as the Cougars downed the defending champions, 3-1, to end the Bulldogs' 2012 season.
 
Samford (23-9, 14-2 SoCon) was stymied by a strong Charleston offense in the first two sets, as the Bulldogs were limited to a combined .186 clip.  Samford rallied in the third to win and hit .500 in the fourth, but ultimately fell.  For the second-straight match, Michaela Reesor led all players in kills, scoring 21 Sunday on 50 swings.  For her efforts over the weekend, Reesor was named to the SoCon All-Tournament team.  Reesor also snagged 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the season, while Casey Garvey earned 51 assists and 13 digs for a double-double as well.  Garvey finishes her Samford career with 3,721 career assists, which puts her fourth all-time at Samford.
 
Alexis Bauer earned 15 digs to cap her Bulldog career with 1,968 career digs, which is a school record.  Lauren Hutchinson earned eight kills with a .364 clip, finishing her Samford career with a .377 hitting percentage, also a school record.  Elizabeth Neisler earned eight kills, giving her a final career total of 1,290, which ranks third all-time at Samford.
 
With the win, the College of Charleston (25-7, 15-2 SoCon) will advance to their 11th-consecutive SoCon final, as they've reached the championship match every season since 2002.  They were led by All-Conference selections Darcy Dorton and Sloane White, who combined for 36 kills.  Taeler Davis led all players with 59 assists as did Emily Shelton with 19 digs.
 
Tied at 3-3 in the opening frame, the Cougars scored four in a row to move up 7-3 over Samford.  Charleston would hold on to the slim lead for most of the set, though the Bulldogs threatened multiple times.  An errant attack by Samford gave Charleston a 17-13 lead and the Bulldogs regrouped with a timeout.  In the closing stretch, the College of Charleston would take advantage of some crucial Samford errors, building a six-point lead, up 21-15.  Holding the six-point lead up 23-17, Charleston would earn two kills to win the opening frame, 25-17.  It was the Bulldogs largest set loss since playing the College of Charleston on Oct. 12 this season.
 
No lead was safe early in set two, with both teams trading back and forth.  Trailing 9-8, the College of Charleston went on a 3-0 run to move up 11-9 as Samford looked to halt the momentum with a timeout.  The Cougars would score one out of the break to move up three and would hold that lead for the middle portion of the set.  Charleston closed out the set strongly, eventually winning 25-19 to move up 2-0 over Samford at the break.
 
The ten-minute break rejuvenated the Bulldog offense, as they came out firing in set three.  Lauren Hutchinson and Elizabeth Neisler paired up for two crucial blocks to help build a 5-1 lead as the Cougars took a timeout.  Samford kept rolling to their largest lead of the set, up 14-6 as Charleston took yet another timeout.  The Cougars closed the gap a bit with a 6-3 run, forcing Samford to regroup with a timeout up 17-12.  The College of Charleston started to threaten the lead late, eventually tying the set up at 22-22.  Samford managed to stave off elimination with a slim 25-23 win in set three to force a fourth set.
 
Samford built a 4-2 lead in set four but Charleston quickly stormed back to take the lead, 8-5, as Samford took a timeout.  The Cougars extended their lead to five points, up 12-7 to force the Bulldogs into another timeout.  Down 14-9, a pair of kills by Reesor and one by Chelsi Carter drew the Bulldogs back within two as the Cougars took a timeout.  Charleston built its lead back up, holding a five-point advantage at the 20-point mark.  Samford continued to fight late, as back-to-back kills by Katie Murphy drew Samford within two, down 21-19, as Charleston took a timeout.  The Cougars reached match point, up 24-20, and Samford looked to rally with consecutive points but Charleston eventually edged out the win, taking the fourth set 25-22 to win the match 3-1.
 
The Cougars will face the No. 3 South Division seed Furman in Monday's finals, as the Paladins came back from a 0-2 deficit to knock off No. 1 South Division seed Georgia Southern, 3-2.  The winner will get the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
 
2012 SOCON SEMIFINAL RESULTS
No. 3S Furman def. No. 1S Georgia Southern, 3-2
No. 2S College of Charleston def. No 1N Samford, 3-1