Box Score GREENVILLE, S.C. ---- Facing host team and second-seeded Furman in Saturday's semifinal round, Samford was not intimidated by the Paladins' home crowd as the Bulldogs played three tight sets to earn the sweep and claim a spot in Sunday's championship match against Georgia Southern.

"Tonight was a really great team effort," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  "We were great on serve receive, with Chelsi Carter, Michaela Reesor and Erin Bognar all making great plays.  Our middle blockers were a lot more involved today and took advantage of all their opportunities."
 
Samford (23-10) earned its second-straight sweep behind another great offensive performance, led by Michaela Reesor with 15 kills and only four errors for a .423 hitting percentage.  This puts her 18 kills away from the Samford single-season record.  Katie Murphy was named the Player of the Game, earning 12 kills and a .588 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks.  Samford's two All-Freshmen honorees came through in big moments as well, with Erin Bognar earning 11 kills while Gabbi Greenwald had three blocks, including two key solo blocks in the third set.
 
In the match, Chelsi Carter earned 11 digs to move up to third in the single-season records with 540 so far this season, while Murphy moved into fourth all-time in the career kills list with 1,250.
 
Despite being swept, Furman (17-12) played a strong match, hitting .263 as a team led by Andrea Fisher with 11 kills and a .286 clip.
 
Samford held the early edge in set one with Furman tying the score twice before finally moving out in front, 8-7, off a Christina Dorismond solo block.  Samford played from behind but kept it close for the remainder of the first half, eventually retaking the lead thanks to a 4-0 run to make it 16-13 as Furman took its first timeout.  Later, leading 20-16, Samford allowed Furman to creep back into the game with four unanswered points as the Paladins tied it at 20-20, forcing a Bulldog timeout.  The teams remained neck-and-neck in the closing stretch, with Samford hitting set point up 24-23 before taking a timeout to strategize a crucial next point.  Katie Murphy would take the quick set at the middle and find the back corner to give Samford the slim 25-23 win in set one.
 
Furman scored the first point of set two but wasn't in front for long, as Samford rallied back to take a 5-4 lead off a Stephanie Palmer service ace.  With Samford leading 8-6, Furman retook the lead off an attack error and two kills to move ahead 9-8.  Later tied at 12-12, Samford would find a spark with a 4-1 run to move ahead 16-13 as Furman called its first timeout.  Samford would stretch its lead to six points, leading 20-14, before Furman trimmed it to a three-point lead forcing the Bulldogs into a timeout leading 20-17.  The lead continued to dwindle until Furman eventually tied it at 21-21 with Samford using its last timeout.  Samford put its foot on the gas out of the break, scoring three quick points to reach set point, 24-21, as Furman took a timeout.  The Paladins would threaten to tie it, scoring two points to draw within one, but Murphy ended it for the second-straight set as the Bulldogs held on to win 25-23 and take a 2-0 match lead into the locker room.
 
The third set was just as close as the previous two, with Samford fighting to hold a slim lead in the opening portion of set one against a resilient Furman squad.  Leading 11-10, Samford began to pull away as a 4-1 run capped by an Erin Bognar kill down the line put the Bulldogs ahead 15-11 as Furman took its first timeout.  Samford continued to roll out of the break as its two All-Freshman honorees scored three in a row with a Greenwald solo block and back-to-back Bognar kills to make it 18-11 with Furman burning its last timeout.  Furman would eventually fight back within three, trailing 23-20, but a kill by Taylor Palmer gave the Bulldogs match point and, following a Furman point, Murphy ended it to win the set 25-21 and secure the sweep over Furman.
 
With the win, Samford advances to Sunday's championship match against top-seeded Georgia Southern (27-5).  The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.