Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- In the 2012 home opener, Samford had its best offensive performance of the season, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 sweep over the North Alabama Lions Wednesday night.
 
Samford (2-5) earned a season-high .307 attack percentage, led by Lauren Hutchinson with 11 kills and a .667 clip.  Hutchinson and fellow middle blocker Katie Murphy combined for three solo blocks and three block assists.  Casey Garvey paced the offense with 34 assists while Alexis Bauer led the defense with 14 digs. 
 
North Alabama (1-4) struggled offensively, hitting .040 with no player earning double-digit kills.  Priscilla Massengale led their attack with nine kills while Caroline Neisler led the defense with 11 digs.
 
“This week in practice, we really focused on serving more aggressively and increasing the offensive tempo,” said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  “I thought we executed both of those things really well tonight.”
 
The visiting Lions jumped ahead to an early 7-2 lead in the opening frame, but Samford charged right back tying the match at 9-9.  Play was even for the middle portion of the set, but Samford began to pull away tied at 15-15, as the Bulldogs reached set point thanks to a 9-3 run.  Garvey served for the 25th point and Hutchinson and Erika Devaughn paired up for a block to seal the 25-18 win.
 
It was Samford who got off to the hot start in set two, putting up six unanswered points to begin the frame.  The Bulldogs would maintain the six-point lead until, up 18-12, a pair of kills by Hutchinson and one by Devaughn would put Samford up 21-12.  Up nine looking at set point, 24-15, Murphy slapped down a hard kill to give the Bulldogs the 25-15 set win and the 2-0 match edge.
 
The Lions kept the beginning of set three close, as the teams battled to a 6-6 tie.  A UNA service error put Samford up 7-6 and with Michaela Reesor at the service line, Samford would rattle off six consecutive points to pull ahead 13-6 and force a visitor timeout.  A Bauer service ace and a kill by Reesor would give Samford another seven-point lead later, up 16-9, to force another UNA timeout.  The teams would trade three points each but Samford would then go on a 5-0 run, started by back-to-back service aces by Garvey, to reach match point up 24-12.  UNA would earn one point on a blocking error but Neisler finished it with a kill on the next rally as Samford took set three 25-13 to complete the sweep.
 
Next, Samford heads to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia State Tournament, playing three matches over two days.  The Bulldogs open the weekend against host team Georgia State on Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. ET.  Samford then faces South Alabama (10 a.m. ET) and Mercer (5 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Sept. 8.