FULL MATCH NOTES (PDF)

SAMFORD READY FOR ROAD TILT AT DAVIDSON
This weekend, Samford (11-9, 2-3 SoCon) heads to North Carolina for a matchup against the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. ET.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Davidson (11-7, 2-2 SoCon) - The Wildcats are an even .500 in conference play so far this season, defeating Appalachian State and UNCG but falling to Western Carolina and Elon.  Davidson boasts a talented senior class in 2013, including standout middle hitter Tindall Sewell and 2012 Second Team All-SoCon honoree Caroline Brown.  Brown leads the team with 230 kills while Sewell leads the team with a .336 hitting percentage and ranks second with 64.0 blocks.  The Wildcats are getting significant contributions from their young talent as well, as freshman setter Mikayla Derochie has won five-straight SoCon Freshman of the Week awards.

ALL-TIME VERSUS DAVIDSON
Samford and Davidson have played nine times since becoming conference foes in 2008, with the Bulldogs coming out on top in all but one of those contests.  The Wildcats' lone win in the all-time series came in 2010, a five-set victory for Davidson at home.  In Samford's eight wins, Davidson has only won three sets.  Samford has played spoiler for Davidson's postseason hopes in three of those seasons as well, with the teams meeting in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament in 2008, 2011 and 2012.  Last season's loss was especially tough for Davidson, as they served as the host institution for the tournament.

REESOR APPROACHING 1,000
Samford will likely have a second member of its team join the 1,000 career kill club within the next few matches, as Michaela Reesor has brought her career total up to 962 after Wednesday's match at Chattanooga.  Averaging just under four kills per set this season, she is on pace to break the 1,000 kill barrier within the next 10 sets.  Reesor leads the conference with 3.84 kills-per-set this season, including a 4.05 pace in league play.  Her current average puts her on pace for around 411 kills by the end of the regular season, which would giver her a career total of 1,108.

Earlier this season, senior Katie Murphy became the tenth athlete in Samford history to surpass 1,000 career kills.  She did so in the second set of the Sept. 14 match at Kennesaw State.  Currently, Murphy has 196 kills this season, bringing her career total to 1,097 which is tied for eighth all-time at Samford.  The next hurdle for Murphy would be Tammy Worster's career total of 1,108.

THIS DAY IN BULLDOG HISTORY: OCT. 11
On October 11, 2008, Samford won a 3-0 victory at home over Furman, marking its 11th-consecutive win that season.  The Bulldogs would go on to win the following night against Wofford, setting a school record with 12-straight wins that stands to this day.  Though Samford has not surpassed the impressive total, they matched it on their run through the SoCon season in 2011, eventually falling in what would have been the 13th win to Appalachian State in the final match of the regular season.

LAST TIME OUT: MOCS UPSET DOGS ON THE ROAD
 A resilient Chattanooga squad pulled off a huge upset over Samford Wednesday night, earning their first home win over the Bulldogs since 1999 in sweeping fashion.
 
The loss is just Samford's second to Chattanooga since joining the SoCon in 2008.  Michaela Reesor led all players with 14 kills, but 21 Bulldog attack errors and a team .140 hitting percentage gave Chattanooga plenty of chances on offense.  Erika Pifer, making her first career start at setter, led all players with 29 assists while Samford had three players with double-digit digs, led by Chelsi Carter with 18.

Chattanooga fought to hold onto a slim lead early in set one but, tied at 6-6, a kill by Taylor Palmer followed by a Palmer block gave Samford an 8-6 lead.  The Mocs rallied to retake the lead, scoring four unanswered to pull ahead 11-8 as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Samford managed to tie it back up at 12-12 courtesy of a Gabbi Greenwald ace but another run by the Mocs put the home team up 17-13 as Samford used its second timeout of the set.  Chattanooga held on to the four-point lead, reaching set point up 24-20.  After a kill by Greenwald made it 24-21 and gave Samford possession, Chattanooga took a timeout.  The Bulldogs continued to rally after the break, eventually tying the set back up at 24-24.  Chattanooga ended up closing out the match after a Bulldog block error made it 27-26 and a Chattanooga block earned the Mocs a hard-fought 28-26 win in the opening set.
 
Set two was another neck-and-neck battle, as neither team could build more than a two-point lead until the Mocs hit the midway point up 12-9.  Samford regained possession and erased Chattanooga's lead off a service ace by Carter that tied the set at 14-14.  Momentum swung back-and-forth with Chattanooga entering the closing stretch with a 19-17 lead as Samford called a timeout.  Samford closed within one, down 21-20, after a Mattie Newson serve tipped off the top of the net and dropped down for an ace as Chattanooga called a timeout.  Chattanooga hit set point, 24-22, and Samford managed to regain possession off a kill by Murphy but a Chattanooga kill by Allie Davenport gave the Mocs the slim 25-23 victory to take a 2-0 match lead into the break.
 
Chattanooga built the early 7-3 lead in set three, but the Bulldogs looked to start a mighty comeback, scoring six unanswered to pull ahead 9-7.  The momentum quickly shifted back in the home team's favor, as the Mocs used an 8-3 run to pull ahead 15-12 as Samford took a frustrated timeout.  Chattanooga continued to extend its lead, eventually winning set three 25-17 to pull off the upset sweep.

UP NEXT
Next weekend, Samford returns home to face Elon on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. and UNCG on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.

During Saturday's match, Samford will be wearing commemorative orange jerseys in honor of their former teammate, Caroline Neisler, who passed away this year after a battle with Leukemia.  All proceeds from the match and other fundraising efforts throughout the week will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and local hospitals.