Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- After splitting two hard-fought sets to open Friday's match against Chattanooga, Samford won more convincingly in sets three and four to win the match, 3-1.
 
"I give a lot of credit to Chattanooga," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  "They came at us hard, played fast and tried to make us uncomfortable and they succeeded for the first two sets."
 
Samford (16-10, 7-4 SoCon) avenged its loss to Chattanooga (4-22, 3-8 SoCon) from earlier this season as the Bulldogs hit .273 as a team with nearly twice as many kills as the Mocs.  Michaela Reesor led all players with 20 kills while Katie Murphy anchored the middle with 15 kills, a .500 hitting percentage and four blocks.  Chelsi Carter was a weapon at the service line, scoring a career-best five service aces while Stephanie Palmer added 15 digs and 53 assists for her team-leading third double-double of the season.  Erin Bognar also saw her first play time since suffering an injury in the Sept. 28 match at Furman, making key plays at the outside and on defense and serve receive.
 
"Bognar was an anchor in serve receive when we needed her," said Schroeder.  "Carter was also great at first contact, serving and passing tonight.  I'm proud of our response at the end of set two, making an 8-3 run to win and taking the momentum into sets three and four.  We showed great maturity and composure."
 
The match also gives Samford an early 3-1 lead in this season's Southern Rail Rivalry, an annual all-sport competition between the schools.
 
The opening set was a nail-biter the whole way, with 14 tie scores and four lead changes.  Tied at 5-5, Samford looked to pull away with three unanswered points, moving ahead 8-5, though Chattanooga quickly tied it back up at 9-9.  Chattanooga did the same later in the set, scoring three in a row to move up 13-10 as Samford looked to stop their momentum with a timeout.  A 4-1 Samford run tied it up at 14-14 and neither team could pull away, as the Bulldogs and Mocs were deadlocked up until the end, tied at 23-23.  Chattanooga reached set point off a Lauren Gainer kill and Anne Bachmann sealed it with an ace to give the Mocs the narrow 25-23 victory in set one.
 
Set two was very similar to the first, seeing 13 tie scores and five lead changes.  The seventh tie score of the set would put the teams at 11-11, as a kill by Bognar give the Bulldogs the lead and Mattie Newson would stretch it to two with an ace, making the score 13-11.  A 4-1 run by Chattanooga gave the Mocs the 15-14 lead as Samford took its first timeout.  Chattanooga would extend its lead, moving ahead 21-18 as the Bulldogs burned their second timeout.  A kill by Reesor to make it 21-19 started a stellar run for the Bulldogs, as an 8-3 run down the stretch evened the match at 1-1 as Samford would win, 26-24.
 
The momentum from the end of set two carried over into set three, as Samford jumped ahead to an early 8-3 lead, forcing Chattanooga to take a timeout.  The Mocs would draw within three, trailing 12-9, but five unanswered points by the Bulldogs would extend Samford's lead to 17-9.  Samford would continue to extend the lead, moving ahead by double digits at set point, 24-14, and closing with a kill by Taylor Palmer to win 25-14 and move ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
Chattanooga would take the first lead of set four, 2-0, but Samford responded to retake the lead, 4-2, and the Bulldogs would stay in front for the remainder of the match.  Chattanooga took its first timeout trailing 8-4 and, trailing by the same margin later down 13-9, a 3-0 Samford run would force the Mocs to take their final timeout down 16-9.  Samford was looking for a double-digit lead, up 20-11, but a 5-1 run by Chattanooga would cut the lead to 21-16.  Each team would score three points to make it 24-19 and Taylor Palmer would cap it with a kill to win the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
 
Samford concludes its weekend with a Saturday afternoon match against Davidson (12-12, 3-7 SoCon) at 2 p.m. CT in the Pete Hanna Center.