Box Score CULLOWHEE, N.C. ---- With four Bulldogs earning double-digit kills, a potent Samford offense powered past Western Carolina on the road Saturday night to cap an undefeated weekend.
 
After suffering its largest margin of defeat in SoCon play this season in the opening set, Samford (19-10, 10-4 SoCon) rallied with strong performances over Western Carolina (16-11, 6-7 SoCon) for three-straight sets to earn the 3-1 victory.  Samford hit -.057 in the opening set before rebounding to hit a combined .338 in the remaining three sets.
 
For the fourth-straight match, Michaela Reesor earned 20 kills, leading all players.  This brings her season total to 415, only 24 shy of her single-season best of 439, set last season.  Stephanie Palmer earned her fifth double-double of the season, also her second straight, with a season-best 57 assists and 17 digs.  Erin Bognar also earned a double-double, her third of the season, with 16 kills and 10 digs.  On defense, Chelsi Carter led all players with 31 digs, a new career-best for the Samford junior.
 
The Western Carolina offense jumped out of the gate quickly, using seven kills and a pair of aces to help guide them to a 15-6 lead in set one, forcing a Samford timeout.  The Catamounts would continue to extend the lead, moving ahead 20-7 before Samford started to find a rhythm, scoring four in a row capped by a block by Katie Murphy to make it 20-11.  The Bulldogs would only score one more point in the remainder of the set however, as Western Carolina eventually won 25-12.
 
Samford's first lead of the match came early in set two, as a kill by Reesor gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.  The lead would be short-lived however, as Western Carolina moved ahead 7-6 after scoring three unanswered points, forcing a Samford timeout.  Later, down 13-12, back-to-back kills by Reesor would give the Bulldogs back the lead, 14-13, as Western Carolina would tie it three different times before finally moving back ahead, 18-17, as Samford took its second timeout.  The Catamounts were looking to close out the set and head to the locker room, but with a 23-21 lead, Samford rattled off three-consecutive points to reach set point, 24-23, and force a late timeout by the home team.  Stephanie Palmer would complete the rally after the break with a kill for Samford's fourth-straight point and a 25-23 set victory to even the match at 1-1.
 
Set three was tightly contested early on, with neither team able to hold a lead larger than two points.  With Western Carolina up 11-9, four Bulldog kills including a pair by Bognar put Samford in front 13-11 forcing a Catamount timeout.  Western Carolina would tie the set multiple times but would not take the lead, as Samford was forced to take a timeout late after the Catamounts came back to tie it at 22-22.  Samford would reach set point, 24-23, but Western Carolina would fight back to tie it three times before the Bulldogs ended it with a kill by Bognar to win, 28-26, and take a 2-1 match lead.
 
The fourth frame was another close one, as the teams traded the lead back and forth, winding up tied 12-12 at the midway point.  Samford started to pull away with five unanswered points to move up 17-12 as Western Carolina took a timeout.  The Bulldog lead continued to grow, eventually stretching to 22-15 before the Catamounts had to take their final timeout.  Stephanie Palmer would knock in a kill to give Samford match point, 24-16, and would finish it with another kill to win set four, 25-16, to seal the 3-1 match victory.
 
Next weekend, Samford concludes the 2013 regular season with a pair of home matches, facing Furman on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT and Wofford on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. CT.  Friday's match against Furman will be Senior Night, as the team will celebrate the careers of Samford's four seniors: Taylor Chao, Katie Murphy, Stephanie Palmer and Taylor Palmer.