Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford Volleyball (3-1) picked up its third win of the young season Saturday afternoon, sweeping Mercer (1-2), but the Bulldogs could not make it a 4-0 weekend as they fell to a very talented sixth-ranked Minnesota team (4-0) in the weekend finale.
 
"I'm proud of how our team played today and all weekend," said Head Coach Derek Schroeder.  "Especially against a tough opponent like Minnesota, we gave it all we had and made them fight for every point.  The match exposed a couple weaknesses that our team has but we're willing to work on correcting those things and improving all season."
 
Freshman Erin Bognar was an offensive force on Saturday, earning a combined 23 kills over the two matches with only five errors on 46 swings.  The rest of Samford's front line was also in double digits on Saturday, with Michaela Reesor (16), Katie Murphy (14) and Emily Meitz (12) guiding the Bulldog offense.  Stephanie Palmer set the pace with 63 assists while Chelsi Carter anchored the defense with 22 digs. 
 
MATCH ONE: SAMFORD 3, MERCER 0
 
Samford dominated Mercer for the two opening frames, but the Bears' offense came alive in set three to threaten the sweep.  A couple clutch kills, including the match-winner by freshman Kiahna Wicks, completed the sweep as the Bulldogs moved their record to 3-0.
 
Samford hit a season-high .381as a team with 49 kills, led by Bognar with 17.  Reesor earned her first double-double of the season, tallying 11 kills and 11 digs while Murphy added five blocks (one solo, four assisted).
 
After the Bulldogs took a quick 8-4 lead in the opening frame, the Bears fired back with five unanswered points to take a 9-8 lead.  The teams continued to battle back and forth until Samford added some cushion with a 4-0 run to make it 16-11, forcing a Mercer timeout.  Mercer would fight back to make it a four-point game, trailing 19-15, but that would be the last point they would score as Samford went on to win 25-15.
 
Set two would be the most one-sided of the match, as the Bulldogs held the Bears to only nine points.  Tied at 6-6, Samford rattled off nine unanswered points, including a pair of aces by Reesor, to make it 15-6.  Leading by the same margin later, up 17-8, the Bulldogs would close the set out with authority behind an 8-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match heading into the locker room.
 
Mercer came out of the locker rooms prepared in set three, as they held the lead in the early portion of the frame.  Tied at 10-10, a pair of kills by Bognar and a service ace by Stephanie Palmer forced a Mercer timeout as Samford led, 13-10.  Samford maintained a slim lead but eventually started to pull away, thanks in part to four unanswered points that made it a 20-14 game.  Mercer stormed back into the set thanks to an 8-2 run that eventually tied the set up at 22-22.  Reesor earned a pair of kills to reach match point, but Mercer fired back with a kill to take possession, down 24-23.  Wicks sealed the win with her second collegiate kill as the 25-23 score also sealed the sweep.
 
MATCH TWO: #6 MINNESOTA 3, SAMFORD 0
 
Sixth-ranked Minnesota backed up its national ranking with a great performance as the Bulldogs fell, 3-0, to the visiting Golden Gophers.  Samford was limited to a season-low .146 hitting percentage thanks in part to 17 attack errors.  Murphy led the Bulldogs' offensive effort with nine kills and a .438 clip while Carter led the Bulldog defense for the third-straight match with nine digs.
 
The Golden Gophers would start the opening set with a 2-0 lead and would stay ahead for the remainder of the set.  However, Samford fought back to make it close multiple times.  Down 8-3, Samford would go on a 6-1 run to draw within one, trailing 10-9, as Minnesota took a timeout.  The Golden Gophers regrouped coming out of the timeout, scoring seven unanswered to pull ahead 17-9.  The momentum then shifted back Samford's way, as a 7-3 run made it a four-point game with the Bulldogs trailing 20-16.  Samford would only score one more point in the set however as Minnesota went on to win 25-17.
 
Set two was tightly contested in the early portion, seeing four ties with Minnesota taking its first lead on a Sarah Wilhite kill to make it 5-4.  Minnesota would eventually move up 10-5, forcing a Samford timeout.  The Bulldogs briefly stole some momentum thanks to a kill by Meitz to gain possession, but Minnesota quickly responded with an 8-1 run to make it 18-7.  Samford would chip away at the lead but the deficit proved too large to overcome as the Golden Gophers would eventually win 25-14.
 
Set three ended with the same score as set two, but Minnesota would not give up the lead once in the deciding frame.  They opened up the set with a 6-2 run, but Samford fought back to narrow it to a 9-7 game.  Later, with Minnesota up 15-12, a 10-2 run would seal the sweep as the Bulldogs fell for the first time in the young 2013 season.
 
On Wednesday, Samford will head to Bartow Arena to take on intra-city foe UAB (3-1) at 7 p.m. CT.  The following weekend, the Bulldogs will travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Lipscomb Invitational.  Samford plays South Alabama (10 a.m. CT) and Lipscomb (7:30 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 6 and Jacksonville State (Noon) on Saturday, Sept. 7.