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SAMFORD RETURNS HOME FOR TWO SOCON MATCHES
After 13-straight road matches, Samford (10-7, 1-1 SoCon) finally returns home for a pair of matches at the Pete Hanna Center.  Samford plays Western Carolina (12-4, 2-0 SoCon) on Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. and then plays Appalachian State (9-7, 0-2 SoCon) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.

FREE STREAMING VIDEO ON SAMFORD SPORTS TV
All of Samford's home matches this season will be live streamed for FREE online through Samford Sports TV.  Head to samfordsports.com/showcase and click on the event.  Live stats are also available at samfordsports.com under the volleyball schedule page.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Western Carolina (12-4, 2-0 SoCon) - The Catamounts are off to a hot start this season, going 10-4 in preseason play before starting conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2002.  Much of their success has come from a rock-solid defense that leads the SoCon in digs (1,070, 18.77/set) and blocks (139.5, 2.45/set).  Their digs-per-set average ranks third in the country and senior libero Morgan Cochran ranks second nationally with 356 digs and a 6.25/set average.  Up front, junior Addy George leads the block party with a SoCon-leading 81 blocks while junior Jordan Timmerman leads the offense with 182 kills.

Appalachian State (9-7, 0-2 SoCon) - The Mountaineers started the season 6-1 but have since cooled off, going 3-6 over their last nine games, including a pair of losses to Western Carolina and Davidson last weekend.  Despite the losses, sophomore defender Meghan Mahoney put together an impressive week to earn her second SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season, tallying 56 digs over the weekend to bring her season total to 322.  The youth movement is leading the Mountaineer offense as well, with fellow sophomore Emily Corrigan leading the team with 213 kills and sophomore Paige Brown pacing the offense with 624 assists.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Samford is 13-4 all-time against the Catamounts and a perfect 10-0 against them as members of the Southern Conference.  Samford swept Western Carolina in seven of those 10 contests and none of those matches have gone past four sets.  The Catamounts have only won three sets against the Bulldogs over those 10 matches.  Western Carolina's last victory against Samford came in 2005 at the UNC-Asheville Tournament on Sept. 10, a 3-1 victory for the Catamounts.

Samford and Appalachian State have developed quite a rivalry over their shared time in the SoCon, with the teams splitting 10 contests evenly, 5-5.  Samford won three of the first four meetings in 2008 and 2009 before the Mountaineers won the next four straight in 2010 and 2011.  Last season, Samford righted the ship in the all-time series, sweeping Appalachian State twice.  Samford holds a slight edge in games played at the Pete Hanna Center, 3-2.

LAST TIME OUT: 'DOGS SPLIT CONFERENCE OPENER
Samford split a pair of matches during its first weekend of conference play, defeating Wofford 3-1 on Friday before falling by the same score to Furman on Saturday.

After some early adversity in Friday's SoCon opener, Samford managed to rebound and defeat Wofford, 3-1, on the road.  Samford fell in the opening set but managed to win the next three in the hard-fought contest.  Michaela Reesor led the Bulldogs with 14 kills, further extending her double-digit kill streak to 11-straight matches.  Katie Murphy (13) and Erin Bognar (11) also were in double-figures, with Bognar adding 11 digs for her second double-double of the season.  The Samford defense earned a season-high 57 digs, led by Chelsi Carter with a career-high 24.  Samford held a decided advantage up front as well, with Murphy (1 solo, 3 assisted) and Taylor Palmer (1 solo, 4 assisted) out-blocking the entire Wofford team.

Samford battled against a tough Furman squad in Saturday's SoCon matchup at Alley Gym, but the Paladins scored points at the right time late in the final two sets to defeat the Bulldogs, 3-1.  Samford fought back to even the match in set two, but Furman staved off every comeback attempt in the remaining two games to hold on for a four-set win.  Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy led the Bulldog offense with 13 kills each while Stephanie Palmer earned a season-high nine kills along with 42 assists.  Chelsi Carter led the defense with 17 digs while Reesor earned 10 for her second double-double of the season.

DEFENSE DIGS BIG NUMBERS
While there were plenty of great numbers put up in Friday's win over Wofford, the Samford defense shined the brightest.  The Bulldog defense set a new season high with 57 digs, led by Chelsi Carter who tallied a career-best 24.  Her previous career-high was 20, set in a five-set win over Arkansas State her freshman season.  It is by far her highest total in a four-set match, with the previous best being 17 set at Elon last November.  Erin Bognar's 11 digs, along with 11 kills, also earned the freshman her second double-double of the season.

KEEPING THE STREAKS ALIVE
Two of Samford's biggest offensive weapons, outside hitter Michaela Reesor and middle blocker Katie Murphy, have kept up impressive streaks as of late.

Reesor has knocked in at least 10 kills over the last 12-straight matches.  The streak started on Sept. 6 against South Alabama and has gone through the most recent matchup at Furman on Sept. 28.  Reesor has earned at least 10 kills in all but three matches this season.  Her season total of 207 puts her on pace for 377 by the end of the regular season, which would push her career total over 1,000.

Murphy, who leads the SoCon with a .418 hitting percentage, has hit at least .400 over the last eight-straight matches, starting with the Sept. 13 match against Stony Brook.  Her season mark of .418 ranks 20th in the nation and puts her career total at .376, which is second all-time at Samford just barely shy of former Bulldog Lauren Hutchinson at .377.

UP NEXT
Next week, Samford is back on the road as the SoCon season continues.  On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Samford makes the short trip north to face Chattanooga at 7 p.m. ET.  On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Bulldogs close the weekend facing the Davidson Wildcats at 6 p.m. ET.