Box Score BOONE, N.C. ---- Thanks to a well-rounded performance, including double-doubles by Gabbi Greenwald and Stephanie Palmer, Samford was able to remain resilient and earn a 3-1 road win over Appalachian State Friday night.
 
With the win, Samford (18-10, 9-4 SoCon) has now won the past four-straight meetings against Appalachian State (16-11, 7-6 SoCon), bringing the all-time series record to 7-5 in the Bulldogs' favor.  Greenwald earned her third double-double of the season with 10 kills and a career-high 14 digs, which was second on the team only trailing Chelsi Carter's 19 digs.  Palmer earned her team-leading fourth double-double of the season, tallying 51 assists and 12 digs.  For the third-straight match, Michaela Reesor earned 20 kills, finishing just two digs shy of a double-double.  The Bulldogs also played tall at the net, earning nine team blocks while Taylor Palmer led the team with five (two solo, three assisted).
 
Appalachian State started off hot to open set one, jumping ahead 7-3 before the Bulldogs came back to eventually even the match at 10-10.  From there, Samford started to pull away, using an 11-4 run to move up 21-14 as the Mountaineers burned both their timeouts in the process.  The home team regrouped and managed to draw back within four, down 23-19.  A kill by Reesor gave the Bulldogs set point, 24-19, but Samford could not end it as Appalachian State earned two points to make it 24-21, forcing a Samford timeout.  An Appalachian State service ace made it 24-22 but Taylor Palmer and Greenwald paired up for a set-ending block on the next point as the Bulldogs won, 25-22.
 
The Mountaineers started off hot again early in set two, scoring seven unanswered points to jump ahead 11-4.  Appalachian State would move ahead by as much as nine points, 16-7, before Samford's offense started to find its footing by scoring four points to draw within five, 16-11, forcing a Mountaineer timeout.  Three more points after the break drew Samford within two, 16-14, but Appalachian State kept Samford at arm's length, extending the lead to eventually win the set, 25-18, and even the match at 1-1.
 
Following the halftime break, Samford started set three by building a 9-5 lead, capped by back-to-back kills by Taylor Palmer and Greenwald.  Appalachian State would make it a one-point game, trailing 11-10, but Samford responded with three quick points to make it 14-10 as the Mountaineers took a timeout.  Appalachian State would remain resilient down the stretch, drawing within one multiple times, but the Bulldogs would not give up the lead, as a kill by Murphy gave Samford the 25-22 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
 
The fourth set was the most tightly-contested of the match, seeing 14 tie scores and four lead changes, which is more than the previous three sets combined.  With neither team able to take more than a two-point lead, the teams battled in the first half of the set, with Appalachian State finally taking its first timeout after three-straight points for the Bulldogs gave Samford an 18-16 lead.  Appalachian State quickly tied it up, 18-18, and took a 21-19 lead to force Samford to take a timeout.  Samford would fight back to tie it, 22-22, and an Appalachian State attack error would give Samford back the lead as Appalachian State took its final timeout trailing 23-22.  Samford reached match point, 24-23, but Appalachian State tied it to force the set past the 25-point mark.  Samford reached match point a second time, 25-24, off a kill by Reesor and Erin Bognar ended it with a kill to give Samford the 26-24 set win and 3-1 match victory.
 
Tomorrow, Samford concludes its weekend road trip with a 6 p.m. ET matchup against Western Carolina (16-10, 6-6 SoCon).