Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. ---- Samford Volleyball opened action at the Lipscomb Invitational Friday morning against South Alabama, as the Bulldogs swept their in-state foe in a tightly contested match at Allen Arena.
 
The Samford (4-2) offense was balanced and efficient, hitting .284 as a team with Michaela Reesor (15), Erin Bognar (12) and Katie Murphy (10) all in double-figures in kills.  Samford limited South Alabama (2-2) to a .167 hitting percentage while the Bulldogs held the slight edge in digs, 45-39, led by Chelsi Carter with a season-high 18.
 
Neither team could maintain momentum early in the opening frame, as neither could build more than a two-point lead.  Tied at 9-9, a 5-1 run by the Bulldogs capped with a block by Reesor and Murphy would give Samford a four-point lead, up 14-10, as South Alabama took a timeout.  The Jaguars bounced back with three unanswered points to cut the lead to one point but Samford fired right back with three of its own to make it 17-13.  Later, leading 22-18, kills by Bognar and Murphy gave Samford set point, 24-18.  The Jaguars got one point but an attack error sealed it as the Bulldogs won, 25-19.
 
Samford took its first lead in set two, up 4-3, but the Jaguars rallied with five in a row to build an 8-4 lead as the Bulldogs looked to regroup with an early timeout.  Samford chipped away at the South Alabama lead and eventually tied it, 12-12, as the Jaguars took a timeout.  Samford kept rolling out of the break, scoring five unanswered as a kill by Reesor made it 17-12, forcing the Jaguars to take another timeout.  Samford kept rolling to build a nine-point lead, up 23-14, but South Alabama began to fight back with a 5-0 run to cut it to 23-19 as Samford took a timeout.  South Alabama scored another out of the break to make it 23-20 but back-to-back kills by Murphy gave the Bulldogs the 25-20 win and a 2-0 match lead.

Set three was tightly contested, with the Bulldogs battling to hold a slim lead in the early goings.  Just past the halfway point, a hard kill on the right side by Taylor Palmer tied it up at 14-14 and a slam up the middle by Murphy gave Samford the 15-14 lead.  The teams remained neck-and-neck in the closing stages of the set, with a kill by Bognar giving the Bulldogs match point up 24-20 and a bad set by South Alabama ended it as Samford won 25-20, to seal the sweep.

Samford will play another match tonight as they take on the host Lipscomb Lady Bisons (1-2) at 7:30 p.m.  The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3, so fans can watch it online at WatchESPN.com, through their mobile devices with the WatchESPN app or through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members and on Apple TV.