Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 KENNESAW, Ga. ---- Samford opened up action at the KSU Owls Invite with a pair of matches Friday, falling to Coastal Carolina in five sets before sweeping Stony Brook in the second match.
 
Samford (6-4) was not particularly efficient on offense, hitting .182 as a team, but they managed to out-hit Coastal Carolina (3-4) and Stony Brook (4-5), who combined for a .157 clip, as well as edging them out in kills (91-83), assists (82-74) and digs (96-81). 
 
Michaela Reesor led the team with 27 kills while Erin Bognar was close behind with 24.  Katie Murphy hit .371 on the day with 17 kills, which moves her to 10th all-time at Samford with 986 career kills.  This puts her only 14 away from 1,000 and 21 away from ninth place.  Stephanie Palmer totaled 69 assists while Chelsi Carter earned 34 digs.
 
MATCH ONE: COASTAL CAROLINA 3, SAMFORD 2
 
Samford opened action with an early morning nail-biter against Coastal Carolina, as the Bulldogs came back from a 2-0 match deficit to even it and force a fifth game, but the Chanticleers prevailed to win 3-2.  Samford's attack was led by Bognar who tied a career high with 17 kills while Reesor was just behind with 16.  Murphy earned six of the team's 14 blocks while Carter led the defense with 14 digs.
 
Samford trailed early in the opening frame, but the Bulldogs eventually fought back to take their first lead of the set, up 6-5, off a solo block by Murphy.  The Chanticleers would steal the momentum back quickly however, scoring nine unanswered points to move up 14-6.  The lead began to dwindle as the Bulldogs charged back, with the Chanticleers taking a timeout up 18-16.  Coastal Carolina reached set point, up 24-20, but an attack error gave the Bulldogs possession as some good serves by Chelsi Carter drew Samford within one, down 24-23 with the Chanticleers taking their last timeout.  A service error ended it as Coastal Carolina narrowly won the opening frame, 25-23.
 
In the second, neither team would build more than a two-point lead as they battled back and forth with Samford eventually taking a timeout trailing 14-13, looking to take some momentum.  A kill by Erin Bognar evened things up and an ace by Taylor Chao and a Coastal Carolina attack error gave Samford a 16-14 lead, which forced a Chanticleer timeout.  Samford would remain in front until Coastal Carolina charged back, tying things at 21-21 before closing out the frame with a 4-1 run to win, 25-22, and take a 2-0 match lead.
 
Game three played out no differently than the previous two, as the teams were in a heated back-and-forth battle.  After tying the match three times, Samford finally took its first lead to move up 15-14.  Coastal scored back-to-back points to move up 16-15 but Samford answered immediately, scoring two of their own to move up 17-16 as Coastal Carolina took a timeout.  Samford began to pull away, building its largest lead of the game up 22-18, as the Bulldogs eventually won 25-22 to force a fourth game.
 
Samford took its first lead in game four off a kill by Reesor to make it 6-5 and the Bulldogs maintained the lead through the halfway point, leading 13-10.  The Chanticleers fought back to even the match and with it knotted up at 16-16 Samford would score four unanswered points to pull ahead 20-16.  The lead didn't remain comfortable for long, as the Chanticleers narrowed it to a one-point lead with the Bulldogs taking a timeout up 21-20.  Samford would close out the set on a 4-2 run, capped by back-to-back blocks by Stephanie Palmer and Emily Meitz, to win 25-22 and force a fifth game.
 
The largest lead in the first half of game five would only be one point, with the Chanticleers holding an 8-7 lead at the switch.  A Samford attack error and a Coastal Carolina kill pushed their lead to 10-7 as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Coastal Carolina maintained the momentum in the closing stages of the game, as the Chanticleers won 15-10 to stop the Bulldogs' comeback bid.
 
MATCH TWO: SAMFORD 3, STONY BROOK 0
 
Samford bounced back from its earlier loss to sweep the Stony Brook Seawolves in the Bulldogs' second match of the day.  Murphy and Gabbi Greenwald were a formidable force at the middle and right side with Murphy hitting .643 and Greenwald at .429 with 17 combined kills and five combined block assists.  Reesor led all players with 11 kills while Carter matched her career high with 20 digs.
 
Samford set the pace early in set one with a balanced offensive attack, as five different Bulldogs had at least one kill en route to a 10-5 lead.  Stony Brook narrowed it to a one-point lead with the Bulldogs up 16-15 but Samford rebuilt the lead with four unanswered points, including kills by Murphy and Reesor, to make it 20-15.  Samford held steady to close out the game as they continued to a 25-21 win.
 
With game two tied at 7-7, a Stony Brook attack error would make it 8-7 and Samford would hold the lead for the rest of the game.  Up 14-11, Samford extended their lead to six points with a kill by Reesor and a pair of errors by Stony Brook bringing the score to 17-11.  The Seawolves would make it back within two, 21-19, thanks to a pair of blocks but a 4-0 closing run with two kills and a block by Gabbi Greenwald secured the 25-19 win.
 
Game three was the most lopsided of the three, as Samford continued to roll towards a sweep.  Stony Brook only held possession on consecutive rallies twice in the opening half, fighting alongside the Bulldogs but trailing 15-10 as they took a timeout.  Later, up 16-13, a kill by Murphy gave Samford possession up 17-13 and Bognar kept the momentum going with a service ace and a kill with an additional Stony Brook attack error making it a 20-13 game.  Stony Brook would only earn three more points in the remainder of the game, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-16 victory to seal the sweep.
 
Samford finishes its weekend at the KSU Owls Invite tomorrow with a pair of matches, facing Tennessee Tech at 2:30 p.m. ET and Kennesaw State 7:30 p.m.