Box Score GREENVILLE, S.C. ---- Samford opened action at the SoCon Tournament with authority, cruising to a sweep over Western Carolina in Friday's quarterfinal round.
 
"Tonight's win really showed the maturity and growth this team has experienced over the year," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  "The first time we played Western Carolina, they beat us 3-2 at our place.  In the second meeting, we beat them 3-1 at their place.  With the sweep tonight, it really shows how this team has progressed over the season."
 
Samford (22-10) had four players with at least ten kills, led by Erin Bognar with 12.  Gabbi Greenwald and Stephanie Palmer were close behind with 11 kills each, while Palmer added 34 assists and 13 digs for her first triple-double of the season.  Michaela Reesor was the fourth Bulldog in double-digits with 10 kills to go along with 12 digs for a double-double while Chelsi Carter earned the team's third double-double, digging 21 balls along with 10 assists.
 
With her 10 kills in the match, Reesor moves into sixth place in the Samford career kills list with 1,160.  She is now 33 kills away from the Samford single-season record as well.  Carter is only three digs away from moving to third in the single-season top ten while Katie Murphy is only three kills away from moving to fourth place in Samford's career top ten.
 
Western Carolina (18-13) struggled on offense, hitting .157 as a team while earning nearly half as many kills as Samford.  Jordan Timmerman led the effort with nine kills while Morgan Cochran led the defense with 19 digs.
 
Samford jumped ahead to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set before Western Carolina eventually fought back within two, as the Bulldogs led 8-6.  Western Carolina hung in the match, keeping Samford within arm's reach until the Catamounts had to take a timeout after Murphy dunked a kill at the net to give Samford an 18-15 lead.  Western Carolina would draw within one point multiple times but could not take the lead, as Samford held on to win set one 25-22.
 
The Catamounts took their first lead of the match early in set two, as a Caitlin Piechota service aces moved them ahead 4-3.  Later, tied at 8-8, Samford extended its lead thanks to a 5-0 run to move up 13-8 at the halfway point as Western Carolina took its first timeout.  After a kill by Murphy, Western Carolina finally regained possession off a service error, but gave it right back with a service error of their own.  Samford continued to extend the lead, with a kill by Stephanie Palmer making it 18-11 with the Catamounts taking their final timeout.  Each team would score seven more points in the set, as Samford held onto its seven-point lead to win set two, 25-18, and take a 2-0 match lead into the locker room.
 
Western Carolina didn't wait long to take its first timeout in set three, as a Stephanie Palmer service ace started a 4-0 run for the Bulldogs to open up the frame as the Catamounts called a timeout trailing 4-0.  Western Carolina eventually fought back to tie the set, 9-9.  Samford came out on the positive end of some hard-fought rallies, with a 6-1 run giving them a 15-10 lead.  Samford hit the 20-point mark with a six-point lead, 20-14, and charged down the closing stretch to win set three 25-16 to secure the sweep.
 
With the win, Samford advances to Saturday's semifinal round where they will play the winner of Friday night's Furman vs. Wofford match.  In the top half of the bracket, Appalachian State will play Georgia Southern Saturday at 5 p.m. ET while Samford will play at 7:30 p.m. ET.