FULL NOTES (PDF)

SAMFORD TO TAKE ON CROSSTOWN RIVAL UAB WEDNESDAY
After co-hosting the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge last weekend, the two co-hosts will meet this Wednesday, Sept. 4 at Bartow Arena as Samford takes on the UAB Blazers at 7 p.m. CT.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
UAB (3-1) - The Blazers came out of their opening weekend with an identical record as Samford, with both teams sharing three of their four opponents in Minnesota, Mercer and Presbyterian.  UAB split two matches last Friday, sweeping Mercer before falling in three sets to Minnesota.  The Blazers bounced back on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Presbyterian and a 3-1 win over Jacksonville State.  Over the weekend, the Blazer attack was led by All-Tournament honoree Sam Skinner, who tallied 53 kills with a weekend high of 17 in the match against Minnesota.  Senior setter Becca Howard also made the All-Tournament team and was named the C-USA Setter of the Week after pacing the Blazer offense with 152 assists while adding 31 digs and five aces.  She set a career-high with 54 assists in the weekend finale against Jacksonville State.

ALL-TIME VERSUS UAB
Samford has traditionally struggled against their crosstown rivals, as the Bulldogs own a 2-21 all-time record against the Blazers.  Despite their close proximity, the teams have only played each other four times over the last ten years.  UAB won three straight from 2003-2005 but the Bulldogs won the most recent meeting in 2009.

ERIN BOGNAR NAMED SOCON FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Samford freshman Erin Bognar had a stellar collegiate debut weekend at the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge, and the Southern Conference recognized her performance by naming her the SoCon Freshman of the Week, announced Monday.
 
The St. Louis, Mo., native was the only Bulldog freshman to start all four matches last weekend.  She was second on the team with 36 kills, only trailing Michaela Reesor with 39, to go along with 21 digs, six block assists and three service aces.  Bognar's best performance of the weekend came in the 3-0 win over Mercer, where she led all players with 17 kills with only two errors on 29 swings for a .517 attack percentage.
 
It is Samford's first weekly conference award of the 2013 season and the first Freshman of the Week accolade since Reesor won it on Nov. 14, 2011.  Georgia Southern's Jamie DeRatt earned Offensive Player of the Week honors while Appalachian State's Meghan Mahoney was named the Defensive Player of the Week.

MUPRHY AND CARTER MAKE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
For their efforts over the weekend, senior Katie Murphy and junior Chelsi Carter were both named to the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge All-Tournament team.

Murphy validated her preseason All-Conference nod by tallying 35 kills over the weekend with only seven errors on 63 swings, good for a team-leading .444 attack percentage.  She also led the team with 10 blocks, pairing up for nine while adding a solo block in the match against Mercer.

Chelsi Carter has moved into the libero spot this season and she is off to a stellar start as the defensive anchor.  She leads the team with 47 digs, averaging 3.92 per set, while her signature jump serve led to three service aces over the weekend.

'DOGS START SEASON 3-1
Samford opened up the 2013 season co-hosting the UAB/Samford Volleyball Challenge.  There, the Bulldogs went 3-1 sweeping Presbyterian, Georgia State and Mercer before falling to sixth-ranked Minnesota in three sets.

Samford opened the weekend with a convincing win over the Presbyterian Blue Hose as the visitors would only score 45 points over the three sets.  Emily Meitz set the pace from the middle with 10 kills on 14 swings while Michaela Reesor and Katie Murphy backed her up with nine each.  Samford's play at the service line made a huge difference as well, with the Bulldogs tallying nine service aces in the match.

The match against Georgia State was more tightly contested, but Samford made the right plays at the right time to earn another sweep and start the season undefeated.
 
Reesor led the offense with 14 kills and was one dig away from a double-double with nine.  Murphy and Meitz anchored the middle again, combining for 21 kills with only five errors, while Bognar was close behind with eight kills.  Senior setter Stephanie Palmer paced the Bulldog offense with 40 assists while adding four kills and a service ace.

On Sunday, 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).

In the weekend finale, 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.

SAMFORD SITS AT TOP OF SOCON RANKINGS
After a succesful opening weekend, the Bulldogs are well represented at the top of multiple team and individual SoCon stat rankings.

As a team, Samford leads the conference in hitting percentage (.292), assists (12.83/set) and kills (14.33/set) while they are also second in aces (1.50/set), just behind UNCG (1.64/set).

Individually, both Katie Murphy and Emily Meitz rank in the top 10 in hitting percentage, ranking second (.444) and fifth (.393), respectively.  Michaela Reesor and Erin Bognar both crack the top 10 in kills with Reesor in fifth (3.25/set) and Bognar tied for ninth (3.00/set).  Stephanie Palmer ranks second in assists (11.00/set) while Chelsi Carter ranks sixth in digs (3.92/set).

UP NEXT
This weekend, Samford heads to Nashville, Tenn., for the Lipscomb Invitational.  Samford will play three matches over two days, starting with South Alabama and Lipscomb on Friday, Sept. 6 and concluding with Jacksonville State on Saturday, Sept. 7.

The match at Lipscomb on Friday, Sept. 6 will be broadcast on ESPN3 with a start time set for 7:30 p.m. CT.