FULL WEEKEND NOTES (PDF)

SAMFORD TO PLAY THREE AT MIZZOU CLASSIC
Samford Volleyball (7-5) closes out the pre-conference portion of its schedule with three matches at the Mizzou Classic, hosted by the University of Missouri.  The Bulldogs open against the host Mizzou Tigers on Friday, Sept. 20 at Noon and close with a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 21, facing Southeast Missouri (10 a.m.) and Towson (4 p.m.).

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mizzou (11-0) - The Tigers are one of only 12 undefeated programs in the country, having only dropped two sets so far this season.  Mizzou was picked to finish third in SEC East behind traditional powers Flordia and Kentucky, with seniors Molly Kreklow and Lisa Henning earning spots on the Preseason All-SEC team.  Henning leads the team with 159 kills while Kreklow has paced the offense with 449 assists and leads the team with 18 aces.

SEMO (6-4) - The Redhawks moved two games above .500 thanks to close wins in their last two games, defeating IUPUI in five sets last weekend before battling against UMKC for five sets on Wednesday.  SEMO won the OVC West last year and only lost one starter from that team, helping earn top billing in the OVC West in the 2013 preseason poll.  Seniors Emily Coon, Julie Shives and Colleen Yarber were named to the Preseason All-OVC team and are showing why so far, as Yarber and Coon have combined for 261 with Shives setting 368 assists.

Towson (5-8) - After opening the season 3-3, the Tigers have lost five of their last seven matches though they have some positive momentum after a hard-fought five set win over Deleware State on Tuesday.  Towson has a completely new look this season, with 10 new players on their roster of 18 and a new head coach in Don Metil, who spend the last six seasons at the Univeristy of Maryland-Eastern Shore.  Junior outside hitter Saitaua Iosia leads the team with 150 kills and 17 aces and ranks second in digs with 113, only trailing junior defender Paige Sekerak with 170.

ALL-TIME VERSUS WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Samford holds an 0-10 combined all-time record against this weekend's opponents, but nine of those 10 matches have come against former OVC opponent SEMO.

Eight of those nine contests against the Redhawks came as conference foes from 2003-2007, with the most recent matchup in 2009 coming in Samford's second season in the SoCon.  The Bulldogs have never faced Missouri and have only faced Towson once, falling in five sets in the second match of the 1997 season.

BULLDOGS SPLIT FOUR MATCHES AT KENNESAW
Samford went 2-2 at last weekend's KSU Owls Invite, falling to Coastal Carolina and Kennesaw State and defeating Stony Brook and Tennessee Tech.  Seniors Katie Murphy and Stephanie Palmer were both named the KSU Owls Invite All-Tournament Team.

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 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 made quick work of Tennessee Tech, needing only 60 minutes to sweep the Golden Eagles in Saturday's opener for the Bulldogs.  Samford hit a season-high .442 as a team while limiting Tennessee Tech to a .042 clip, the lowest for any Samford opponent this season.  The Bulldogs' potent pair of outside hitters, Reesor and Bognar, combined for 24 kills, which is more than the entire Tennessee Tech team.  Murphy edged closer to the 1,000 career kill milestone with seven in the match to go along with five blocks.

Samford fought neck-and-neck with tournament host Kennesaw State in Saturday's finale, playing four sets but falling by only a combined five points in the third and fourth to fall, 3-1.  Reesor and Murphy were a potent pair on offense, earning 16 kills each.  Despite out-hitting the Owls .320 to .230, Samford gave away plenty of chances by committing 13 service errors.

KATIE MURPHY SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER KILLS
In the second set of Saturday's match against Kennesaw State, Katie Murphy became the 10th player in Samford history to earn 1,000 career kills.  She finished the weekend with 1,009, which bumps her to ninth all-time, passing former teammate Lauren Hutchinson.

Murphy is the third Bulldog to join the 1,000 kill club in the past three seasons, following Elizabeth Neisler in 2011 and Lauren Hutchinson in 2012.  At her current pace, Murphy would finish the 2013 regular season with 279 kills, putting her fifth all-time with 1,180 career kills.

SCANNING THE SOCON: ONE MORE WEEK
With one week left before conference play begins, Georgia Southern is the current frontrunner with a 9-2 record as the Eagles are near the top of the SoCon in nearly every statisical category.  Western Carolina (8-3) and Davidson (6-3) are next down the list as the Catamount defense has helped them outperform their ninth-place spot in the preseason poll.  

A hot start by Appalachian State has fizzled off, as the Mountaineers have dropped three of their last four to fall to 7-4.  An up-and-down season so far by Samford puts them in fifth with a 7-5 record, but the Bulldogs still look in good shape to be a contender by the end of the season as they lead the SoCon in hitting percentage, kills and assists.  

UNCG (5-4), Wofford (5-6) and Elon (5-7) would round out the tournament field if the season ended today.  Furman, picked to finish third in the preseason poll, has struggled to a  4-7 record so far.  The Citadel (2-9) found its first win of the season in its seventh match while Chattanooga (0-12) has yet to earn a win this season.

UP NEXT
Samford begins SoCon play next weekend, traveling to South Carolina to play Wofford and Furman.  The Bulldogs face the Terriers on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. ET and then play the Paladins on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. ET.