Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford opened its home weekend strongly, dispatching the Elon Phoenix in three sets at the Pete Hanna Center Friday night.
 
"That was a very impressive match for us tonight," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  "I was especially impressed with the way we finished sets strongly.  Stephanie Palmer had a great night, Gabbi Greenwald had a great night, it was a real great team effort all-around."
 
Samford (13-9, 4-3 SoCon) powered past Elon (12-11, 3-4 SoCon) thanks to a very efficient offense as the Bulldogs hit .371 as a team, the highest total against any SoCon opponent so far this season.  Leading that effort was Katie Murphy, with 12 kills and only one error on 15 swings for a sensational .733 hitting percentage.  Three Bulldogs earned double-digit kills, with Michaela Reesor leading all players with 15 while Murphy and Greenwald trailed close behind with 12 each.  Chelsi Carter led all players with 14 digs while Stephanie Palmer was only two digs shy of a double-double, finishing with eight digs and 39 assists.
 
The first set was the most lopsided of the match, as the Bulldogs limited the Phoenix to a .031 hitting percentage while earning a .440 clip.  Elon would briefly move ahead 2-1, but that would be their last lead of the set as Samford quickly answered with five unanswered to take a 6-2 lead.  Samford continued to extend the lead, eventually moving up 11-5 before Elon had to take its first timeout.  A 9-5 run gave the Bulldogs a double-digit lead, 20-10, as Elon burned its final timeout.  Samford continued to roll out of the break, eventually winning the set 25-14.
 
The momentum carried into set two, as the Bulldogs charged ahead 7-2 to force an early timeout by Elon.  The Phoenix rallied back, closing the gap and eventually tying the set at the midpoint, 12-12.  Back-to-back kills by Megan Gravley gave them a 14-12 lead as the Bulldogs took their first timeout of the entire match.  The teams would trade the lead back-and-forth until, tied at 20-20, Samford's offense found a spark as they closed out the set with a 5-1 run to win, 25-21, and take a 2-0 match lead.
 
Like the previous two sets, Samford opened the third strongly, taking an 8-3 lead as Elon took a frustrated timeout.  The lead was short-lived, as the Phoenix answered right back with five-straight points to tie the set at 8-8.  Four unanswered by the Bulldogs made it 12-8 and Elon would continue to fight, though the Bulldogs would never relent the lead.  Elon would take its final timeout trailing 20-16 but Samford would hold the four-point lead until the end, finishing the set 25-21 to complete the sweep.
 
Samford concludes its weekend Saturday night, hosting UNCG (11-9, 4-3 SoCon) at 7 p.m.  During the match, Samford will be paying tribute to former teammate Caroline Neisler, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with leukemia.  The team will be wearing commemorative orange jerseys, which will be auctioned off following the match with all proceeds going towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and local hospitals.