FULL MATCH NOTES (PDF)

VOLLEYBALL PREPS FOR 2013 SOCON TOURNAMENT
Samford (21-10, 12-4 SoCon) begins postseason action this weekend at the 2013 SoCon Tournament, hosted by Furman in Greenville, S.C.  The Bulldogs, a No. 3 seed, open play against sixth-seeded Western Carolina on Friday, Nov. 22 at 4:30 p.m. ET.  The winner of that match will face the winner of Furman vs. Wofford in the semifinals for a chance to advance to Sunday's championship.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
#1 Georgia Southern (25-5, 13-3 SoCon) - The Eagles clinched their second-straight regular season SoCon title in the final weekend, defeating Western Carolina and Appalachian State to finish just one game ahead of Furman and Samford.  For her efforts over the weekend, sophomore defender Alexandra Beecher was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 46 digs over seven sets of play.  In conference play, Georgia Southern has limited its opponents to a .164 hitting percentage to go along with conference-leading marks in blocks (138.0) and aces (73).  First Team All-SoCon honoree Jamie DeRatt leads the Eagle offense with 381 kills while Crysten Curry leads the defense at the net with 125 of the team's 236 blocks.

#2 Furman (16-11, 12-4 SoCon) - The Paladins finished the season tied for second place with Samford, but jumped the Bulldogs to a No. 2 seed thanks to their two wins over Georgia Southern during the season.  Freshman outside hitter Annie Bierman was named the SoCon Freshman of the Week after earning double-doubles in both  matches last weekend, including a career-high 21 kills in Saturday's five-set comeback victory over Chattanooga.  Bierman is one of four Paladins with over 200 kills this season, led by senior middle blocker Christina Dorismond with 319.  Second Team All-SoCon honoree Jo Wilks paces the offense with 1,093 assists while Elle Ross leads the defense with 511 digs.

#4 UNCG (17-12, 10-6 SoCon) - The Spartans round out the top half of this year's bracket thanks in part to a 6-2 record over the second half of the SoCon season that gave them their first 10-win SoCon season since 2008.  Senior Karrian Chambers earned her second-straight SoCon Offensive Player of the Week award after racking up 30 kills last weekend, including 17 kills and 11 digs vs. Davidson for her 11th double-double of the season.  In conference play, UNCG leads the SoCon with a .252 hitting percentage.  Senior Olivia Humphries leads the offense with 321 kills while senior Morgan Freeman has been a weapon at the net with 75 blocks and at the service line with 22 aces.

#5 Appalachian State (18-12, 9-7 SoCon) - The Mountaineers lead the bottom half of the bracket, finishing the season two games above .500 in conference play.  After finishing the first half of the SoCon season 3-5, Appalachian State picked up some steam in the second half, going 6-2 with all but one of their wins coming in straight sets.  First Team All-SoCon honoree Emily Corrigan leads the team with 388 kills while second-team member Lauren Gray is close behind with 300 to go along with a team-leading 80 blocks.

#6 Western Carolina (18-12, 8-8 SoCon) - After a strong start to the SoCon season, the Catamounts stumbled in the closing stretch, losing five of their last eight matches.  Their defense has been their strongest asset, as they lead the conference with 1,973 digs and an average of 18.27 per set.  Senior Morgan Cochran leads that effort with a conference-leading 662 digs while Second Team All-SoCon honoree Jordan Timmerman leads the offense with 365 kills.

#7 Wofford (13-7, 7-9 SoCon) - The Terriers qualified for the SoCon Touranment for the first time since 2006, jumping to a seventh seed in the final weekend.  Wofford has led the SoCon in service aces for most of the season, earning 177 as a team led by Second Team All-SoCon honoree Taylor Baird with 37.  Baird also leads the team with 385 kills, followed closely by senior Amanda Liquori with 377.

#8 Elon (16-16, 7-9 SoCon) - The Phoenix round out the tournament field, holding an eighth seed despite losing five of their last six matches.  Senior Cali Estes earned Second Team All-SoCon honors as a very balanced player, earning six triple-doubles and four double-doubles.  Freshman Ally Karle earned a spot on the All-Freshman team with a team-leading .298 hitting percentage.

ALL-TIME IN SOCON TOURNAMENT
Samford has appeared in the SoCon Tournament every season since joining the SoCon in 2008.  Overall, Samford holds a 5-4 record in the tournament, including a SoCon Championship in 2011 that the Bulldogs won on their home court.  Samford has won at least one postseason match in all but two of its five appearances.

Surprisingly enough, Samford has only matched up against three different teams in the SoCon Tournament over the past five seasons.  Samford's most common opponent was former SoCon member College of Charleston, who defeated the Bulldogs in 2009, 2010 and 2012 but were swept by Samford in the 2011 championship match.  Samford has faced Davidson three times, defeating the Wildcats in each contest, and have faced Furman twice, falling in 2008 but winning in the 2011 semifinals.

REESOR AND CARTER NAMED SOCON PLAYER, LIBERO OF THE YEAR
The Southern Conference released its postseason awards on Wednesday and Samford was very well-represented as six different Bulldogs were honored, highlighted by Michaela Reesor as SoCon Player of the Year and Chelsi Carter as Libero of the Year.

In addition to being named Player of the Year, Reesor was named First Team All-SoCon along with senior Katie Murphy.  Senior Stephanie Palmer was named Second Team All-SoCon and freshmen Erin Bognar and Gabbi Greenwald were both named to the All-Freshman Team.

Between the three lists, Samford had the most individual honorees with five while Furman earned four and Georgia Southern earned three.  Samford's five honorees are the most they have had in one season since joining the SoCon in 2008.  Reesor is Samford's third SoCon Player of the Year, joining former Bulldogs Ashley Adams (2008) and Elizabeth Neisler (2011).  Since 2008, Samford is the only team to have multiple Player of the Year winners.

Reesor earned her second-consecutive First Team All-Conference honor with a conference-leading 453 kills that ranks 35th nationally and is a single-season best for the Caledon, Ontario native.  Her 453 kills rank second all-time at Samford and put her within striking distance of the single-season record of 496, set by Melissa Karwowski in 1994.  This season, Reesor became the 11th player in Samford history to surpass 1,000 career kills and she currently ranks seventh all-time at Samford with 1,150 career kills.  Reesor is only the second player at Samford to earn multiple First Team All-SoCon accolades, joining former Bulldog Lauren Hutchinson (2011, 2012).

Carter is Samford's first-ever Libero of the Year following a breakout junior season, earning a personal-best 508 digs which ranks fourth all-time in the Samford single-season rankings.  She also vaulted all the way to fourth in the career top-ten with 1,136 career digs.  She has been a serious weapon for Samford at the service line as well, owning a team-leading 33 service aces.  This gives her 107 career aces, only 14 shy of cracking the career top-ten list at Samford.

After being named Freshman of the Year in 2010 and earning Second Team All-SoCon honors in 2011 and 2012, Murphy broke through for First Team accolades in 2013 with a stellar senior season.  The Sterling Heights, Mich., native leads the conference and ranks 18th nationally with a .414 hitting percentage.  This ranks third all-time at Samford and makes her the current career hitting percentage record-holder at Samford with a .381 career clip.  Earlier this season, Murphy became the 10th player in Samford history to earn 1,000 career kills as she currently sits in fifth place with 1,233 career kills.  Additionally, she also ranks fourth all-time at Samford in career solo blocks (96) and block assists (292).

Palmer paced Samford's fast-paced offense with 1,194 assists, averaging 11.25-per-set.  In conference play, she was the only player with over 700 assists, leading the SoCon with 717 and a 12.15-per-set average.  She played a huge role in the defense as well, ranking second on the team with 227 digs.  She led the team with six double-doubles, all of which came in conference play.  Her 1,194 assists this season puts her only 11 away from cracking Samford's single-season top ten.

Greenwald and Bognar earned a lot of minutes for Samford as freshmen and played a huge role in the offensive success.  Bognar ranked third on the team with 212 kills, despite missing multiple games due to an ankle injury in the middle of the season.  She also earned 149 digs, helping her towards four double-doubles during the season.  Greenwald quickly developed into one of the best young hitters in the conference, earning 194 kills, 116 digs and 56 blocks and 17 service aces.  She earned three double-doubles this season, all of which came in conference play.
 
LAST TIME OUT: SAMFORD CLOSES REGULAR SEASON WITH WINS OVER FURMAN AND WOFFORD
Samford concluded a strong second-half of the SoCon season with a pair of home wins in the final regular season weekend.

With Samford celebrating the careers of its four seniors, the Bulldogs battled for four sets with Furman for a crucial 3-1 win Friday night at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Samford limited a potent Furman offense to a .199 hitting percentage with key plays after the 20-point mark ultimately making the difference.  The Bulldogs had three players with double-digit kills, led by Michaela Reesor with 19 while Katie Murphy (15) and Erin Bognar (14) were close behind.  Bognar added a season-high 11 digs for her second-straight double-double and her fourth overall this season.  Stephanie Palmer finished with 53 assists, more than the entire Furman team, and Chelsi Carter led all players with 28 digs.

Facing a 2-1 match deficit heading into the fourth set, Samford battled for two close wins in the final two sets to complete a 3-2 comeback victory over Wofford in Saturday night's regular season finale.
 
In Saturday's match neither team was particularly effective offensively, but the Bulldogs managed to take advantage of key opportunities late in sets four and five to ultimately seal the five-set win.  Michaela Reesor and Gabbi Greenwald were the Bulldogs' main weapons at the pins, finishing with 19 and 14 kills, respectively.  Erin Bognar showed great versatility, taking 37 swings with nine kills while also earning 11 digs and three blocks.  Bognar was one of three Bulldogs with double-digit digs, led by Chelsi Carter with 26 while Stephanie Palmer earned 16 along with 46 assists for her team-leading sixth double-double this season.

UP NEXT
The winner of the 2013 SoCon Touranment will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.  The winner will learn their destination on Sunday, Dec. 1 at the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, aired live on ESPNU at 9:30 p.m. ET.  First Round action will begin on Thursday, Dec. 5.