Box Score ATLANTA, Ga. ---- Samford opened competition at the Georgia State Tournament in a close contest with the host team, Georgia State, but timely scoring helped the Bulldogs to earn the 3-0 sweep over the Panthers.
 
Samford (3-5) was not particularly sharp offensively, but made the most out of late scoring opportunities to earn its third win and second sweep of the 2012 season.  Michaela Reesor led the team with 13 kills on 37 swings.  Casey Garvey earned 38 assists and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season.  Katie Murphy, Lauren Hutchinson and Elizabeth Neisler had eight kills each and Alexis Bauer led all players in digs with 20. 
 
Georgia State (1-7) hit .153 as a team with Dede Bohannon leading the Panthers with 12 kills.
 
Tied at 3-3 in set one, the Panthers began to gather some momentum, as a 7-2 run put them up 10-5 to force Samford to regroup with a timeout.  Samford powered back as the Bulldogs charged ahead to take the lead, 14-12, as Georgia State called a timeout.  The Panthers had to take another break shortly thereafter as the Bulldogs continued to extend the lead, pulling ahead 19-14.  Serving up 24-20, Samford allowed Georgia State to rattle off back-to-back points as the Bulldogs regrouped with a timeout to avoid a late comeback.  Michaela Reesor sealed it on the next point, as she slammed down a kill to give Samford the 25-22 set victory and the early 1-0 match edge.


Samford got off to a 2-0 start in the second frame and held the slight lead for the first half of the set.  The Bulldogs began to pull away when, up 13-10, they went on a 4-1 run to extend the lead to six points, up 17-11.  Samford held the same margin later, up 20-14, as the Panthers called a timeout.  Just like the last set, Georgia State threatened late as they trimmed the Samford lead to just two points, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout up 22-20.  The Panthers would tie the match at 22-22, but would not score another point after that as kills by Katie Murphy, Reesor and a Georgia State attack error would give Samford the final three points needed for the 25-22 set win to pull ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
Play was tight to begin set three, with neither team able to hold more than a two-point lead.  Georgia State took the lead in the middle of the frame, moving up 15-13 to force a Samford timeout.  Down 16-14, two kills by Elizabeth Neisler and a service ace by Alexis Bauer gave Samford the 17-16 lead, forcing the home team to take a timeout.  The Panthers hit the 20-point mark first, holding a small 20-19 lead.  The Bulldogs came back with two quick points to take the lead and closed the set with a 4-1 run as Emily Meitz earned the closing kill to give Samford the 25-21 set win and the 3-0 match sweep.
 
Samford continues action at the Georgia State Invitational tomorrow, where they will face South Alabama (4-4) at 10 a.m. ET and Mercer (2-3) at 5 p.m. ET.