FULL MATCH NOTES (PDF)

BULLDOGS CONTINUE SEASON IN ATLANTA
Samford competes in its final road tournament of the pre-conference slate this weekend in Atlanta, Ga., at the Georgia State Invitational.  The Bulldogs open with a Friday night match against the host team, Georgia State, at 7 p.m. ET.  The following day, Samford plays South Alabama at 11 a.m. ET and finishes with Mercer at 5 p.m. ET.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Georgia State (1-6, 0-0 CAA) - The Panthers won their opening match versus Troy, 3-0, but have since lost their last six in a row, falling most recently to UAB, 3-1, in Birmingham.  They have struggled offensively, as Sydney Hunsley leads the team with 47 kills and is the only one averaging more than two kills per set.  Emily Averbeck is their defensive leader with 122 digs.

South Alabama (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) - The Jaguars have started the season 3-4, recently bouncing back from a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 sweep over Nicholls State in their most recent match.  The team will be relatively young, as they have nine newcomers and eight returning letterwinners.  Savannah Stewart leads the team with 68 kills and nine service aces.  Olivia Mohler has 56 kills and a .333 hitting percentage along with 23 block assists and 2 solo blocks.

Mercer (2-2, 0-0 A-Sun) - The Bears opened the season last weekend, going 2-1 at the Charleston Southern Invite before dropping a midweek match to Georgia Southern, 3-0.  They are in their first season under new head coach, Damian Elder, and are coming off an eight-place conference finish last season.  Samford and Mercer have squared off 33 times, with Samford owning a 28-5 record.  The Bulldogs swept the Bears last season at the Georgia Tech Invite.

RELENTLESS ATTACK LEADS SAMFORD TO 3-0 WIN OVER UNA
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.

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.

UP NEXT
Samford hits the road for a midweek matchup against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. CT.  The following weekend Samford hosts the Bulldog Invitational and welcomes Alcorn State, Tennessee Tech and Gardner-Webb to Birmingham for two days of matches.  Samford starts against Alcorn State on Friday, Sept. 14 at noon followed by Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m.  The following day, the Bulldogs play Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m.