Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- After 13-straight road matches, Samford didn't receive a warm welcome home from Western Carolina, as a resilient Catamount squad battled the Bulldogs for five sets with the visitors emerging victorious Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Statistically speaking, Samford (10-8, 1-2 SoCon) held the edge over Western Carolina (13-4, 3-0 SoCon) in kills (73-63), assists (69-58) and digs (74-67), but the Catamounts found a way to make the most of their opportunities.  The win is Western Carolina's first ever over Samford as members of the Southern Conference.
 
With the match stretching to five sets, multiple Bulldogs earned season-high marks including Michaela Reesor, who led all players with 25 kills.  Katie Murphy was close behind with a season-high 20 kills while Gabbi Greenwald was the third Bulldog in double-figures, tallying a personal-best 13 kills.  Chelsi Carter one-upped her own personal best 24 digs from last weekend with 27 tonight, while Stephanie Palmer earned a season-high 56 assists.
 
Western Carolina looked to pull away early, up 5-2 in set one, before the Bulldogs fired right back with three in a row to tie it at 5-5.  Neither team could build more than a two-point lead for the majority of the set until, tied at 18-18, three unanswered points by the Bulldogs made it 21-18 and Samford was eyeing set point by the same margin later, up 23-20.  The Catamounts had other ideas, as they scored two in a row to draw within one, 23-22, forcing a Bulldog timeout.  A kill by Stephanie Palmer gave the Bulldogs set point, 24-22, but a kill by Jordan Timmerman gave Western Carolina the side-out point and possession, down 24-23.  Samford took a timeout to regroup but Western Carolina completed the clutch comeback with three points to narrowly earn the win, 26-24.
 
Set two was the most decisive of the match, with the Bulldogs firing on all cylinders towards a double-digit win.  Eight Bulldog kills and a Greenwald service ace helped guide the Bulldogs to an 11-5 lead as the Catamounts finally took their first timeout of the set.  A kill by Greenwald gave Samford its largest lead of the set so far, 16-9, before the Western Carolina offense started to find some momentum, scoring three in a row to make it 16-12 as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Samford answered right back with three of their own, forcing a Catamount timeout, but it was all Bulldogs from that point on as Western Carolina would only score two points in the remainder of the set with Samford eventually winning 25-14.
 
The ensuing ten-minute break gave the Catamounts plenty of time to regroup, as they held the edge early in set three.  Leading 9-5, the Catamounts would make a huge 7-2 run to make it a nine-point game, 16-7, as Samford burned both of its timeouts in the process.  Samford started to claw its way back into the game, as a couple key rallies helped pull the Bulldogs within two, trailing 22-20 in the closing stages of set three after a key block by Greenwald and Taylor Palmer.  A service error shifted the momentum to the visitors however, as Western Carolina went on to win 25-21 and take a 2-1 match lead.
 
Facing a must-win set four, the Bulldogs came out of the gate firing.  Tied at 2-2, Samford went on an incredible run, scoring nine straight points, including three kills by Greenwald, to move ahead 11-2.  With Samford leading by the same margin later, 14-5, the Catamounts started their comeback as an 8-3 run cut the Bulldogs' lead to 17-13.  Samford would hold onto the four-point lead, reaching set point up 24-20, and a kill by Reesor would keep the Bulldogs alive and force a fifth set.
 
The back-and-forth nature of the match continued into the deciding frame, with Western Carolina holding the early momentum as they held the 8-5 lead at the mid-set switch.  A Catamount solo block made it 9-5, but Samford looked to make a comeback with a 4-1 run to draw within one, down 10-9 as Western Carolina took a timeout.  Samford would only score one point in the remainder of the match, as Western Carolina went on to win 15-10 and earn the hard-fought five set victory.
 
Samford concludes its weekend tomorrow night, facing Appalachian State (10-7, 1-2 SoCon) at 7 p.m. in the Pete Hanna Center.