Box Score GREENVILLE, S.C. ---- Samford battled against a tough Furman squad in Saturday's SoCon matchup at Alley Gym, but the Paladins scored points at the right time late in the final two sets to defeat the Bulldogs, 3-1.
 
Samford (10-7, 1-1 SoCon) fought back to even the match in set two, but Furman (6-7, 2-0 SoCon) staved off every comeback attempt in the remaining two games to hold on for a four-set win.  Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy led the Bulldog offense with 13 kills each while Stephanie Palmer earned a season-high nine kills along with 42 assists.  Chelsi Carter led the defense with 17 digs while Reesor earned 10 for her second double-double of the season.
 
Neither team could maintain possession early in set one, as the teams traded the lead back and forth.  Tied at 9-9, Furman built the first two-point lead of the set, moving up 11-9, but a Bulldog block and a Furman ball-handling error quickly tied it back up.  Four unanswered points by Furman gave the home team a 15-11 lead, forcing Samford to burn a timeout.  The Paladins held onto the four-point lead, hitting the 20-point mark up 20-16.  Furman was looking to cruise to a win but with the score 23-20, kills by Bognar and Murphy drew the Bulldogs within one as the Paladins took a timeout.  Furman hit set point and Samford responded with a kill, but a kill by Andrea Fisher sealed it as Furman won by only two points, 25-23.
 
Play was tightly-contested in the first half of set two until, tied at 11-11, the Bulldogs started to gain some ground with a 3-1 run, leading 15-12 as Furman took a timeout.  Samford continued to extend the lead, pulling ahead 19-15 as the Paladins quickly burned their last timeout.  Samford held steady for the remainder of the set, winning 25-19 to even the match at 1-1.
 
Samford held onto a slim lead early in set three until Furman took its first lead, 9-8, and eventually built it to a 15-10 lead as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  Samford managed to draw within one, down 19-18, but Furman's Christina Dorismond earned a kill for the point and possession.  The Paladins reached set point up three, 24-21, and a kill by Stephanie Palmer gave the Bulldogs a chance to come back but Furman sealed it with a kill on the next rally to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 match lead.
 
After battling to a 10-10 tie in set four, Furman jumped ahead thanks to a 6-1 run as they led 16-11.  A Furman service error started a big Samford run as the Bulldogs scored five in a row to tie it, capped by an ace by Gabbi Greenwald.  Furman managed to pull back ahead, 22-18, and the Bulldogs evened it back up with four unanswered to make it 22-22 with the Paladins taking a timeout.  Furman reached match point, 24-22, and Reesor scored to give the Bulldogs a chance but Furman ended it to win, 25-23, and earn the 3-1 match victory.
 
After 13-straight road matches, the Bulldogs finally return home for a pair of matches at the Pete Hanna Center.  Samford plays Western Carolina (11-4, 1-0 SoCon) on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. and then plays Appalachian State (9-7, 0-2 SoCon) on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.