Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- In a battle of two SoCon heavyweights, it took a late comeback in the final set for Samford to earn a gutsy 3-2 win over Furman on Saturday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford (12-6, 4-0 SoCon) has now won its past seven contests, four in conference, and is a perfect7-0 at home this season. The victory also gives Head Coach
Derek Schroeder his 100th overall win at Samford.
“That was a great win to be my 100th at Samford,” said Schroeder. “I'm very proud of my kids! Furman is a great team. They play solid and can turn it up a notch. I'm glad we matched their intensity and responded to their pressure. It was a solid team win!”
Michaela Reesor led the offense with a career-high 25 kills on 55 swings with three others Bulldogs in double-digits. The Paladin defense keyed in on
Lauren Hutchinson, limiting her to 10 kills and a .114 clip though she added seven blocks, two solo and five assisted, which moves her to ninth at Samford in career assisted blocks. Reesor also added 12 digs for her third double-double of the season as the team earned a season-high 81 digs, led by
Alexis Bauer with 32.
Casey Garvey paced the offense with 61 assists, tying her career-high.
Furman (12-15, 1-2 SoCon) gave the Bulldogs all they could handle, as the Paladins had four players with at least ten kills and five with at least ten digs. Chandler Armbrester led their offense with 18 kills and 56 swings while Natalie Braun and Elle Ross led the defense with 20 digs each.
Furman opened the first set with a service ace and the teams continued traded points back-and-forth. The Bulldogs gained some ground, moving up 14-11, but the Paladins quickly recovered to tie it back up at 14-14. Later, tied at 22-22, Furman would score three in a row to win the opening set 25-22.
Samford owned the early momentum in the second frame, pulling ahead 12-8 to force a Furman timeout. The Bulldogs would extend the lead with a 6-2 run, including two kills each by
Elizabeth Neisler and
Katie Murphy, to move up 18-10 as the Paladins took another timeout. Each team would score seven points in the rest of the set, as Samford maintained the eight-point lead to take set two 25-17 and even the match at 1-1.
The Bulldogs came out firing again in set three, taking a 6-1 lead and holding that five-point lead for the majority of the set. The Paladins would draw within three points, down 21-18, but it would not come any closer as Samford closed out the match with a 4-2 run to earn the 25-20 win and move up 2-1 in the match.
With their backs against the wall, Furman would respond with a very close win in set four to force a fifth set. The fourth frame opened with the Paladins holding the slight lead until Samford tied it up at 7-7. From there, the teams battled back-and-forth until the very end, when the Bulldogs rattled off three-consecutive points to tie the set up at 22-22. Furman reached set point, up 24-22, but a kill by Murphy extended the set. However, a service error on the next rally gave the Paladins the slim 25-23 win.
Samford won first possession in the final frame, though it was Furman who would jump ahead early, 6-3. The Bulldogs refused to back down, grabbing five points in a row to hold the 8-6 lead at the mid-set switch. Samford held the slight lead until Furman tied it at 11-11 and then took the lead, 12-11, to force a Bulldog timeout. The Paladins reached match point, 14-12, but a Furman service error and an ensuing attack error tied the match up at 14-14. A kill by Neisler set up match point for Samford, serving up 15-14, but yet another service error would tie the match back up. Reesor earned a hard kill on the next rally to put Samford up serving 16-15 with Neisler and Hutchinson pairing up for a stuff block to give Samford the set, 17-15, and complete the 3-2 comeback win.
Samford begins a four-game road stint with two games next weekend. The Bulldogs open the weekend at UNCG (7-7, 2-1 SoCon) on Friday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. The following night, Samford plays at Elon (8-11, 1-3 SoCon) at 7 p.m. ET.
