TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The Samford University volleyball team's rollercoaster ride came to an end on Thursday, Dec. 4, after a 3-2 (25-17, 10-25, 25-23, 12-25, 8-15) defeat to in-state foe University of Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Tournament inside Tully Gymnasium on the campus of Florida State University.

"We liked our draw; we thought we had a chance. We just didn't quite serve and pass the ball the way we needed to, the plays we needed to win tonight." Head coach Derek Schroeder said. "I'm proud of these two to my left, (Chelsi Carter and Michaela Reesor) they are seniors and they are the leaders of this team...and the maturity to my left is the only reason that we're as deep into the playoffs as we are right now."

The Bulldogs (20-13) came out on fire in the first set and redshirt freshman T.J. Russell led the way with three service aces, two blocks and a .600 attack percentage to give Samford a 25-17 decision and a 1-0 lead in the match over the Crimson Tide (26-7).

Historically throughout the season Samford held a 17-1 record after winning the initial set while Alabama had only trailed nine times this season after the first.

Samford's offense and defense sputtered in the second set which allowed the talented Alabama squad to gain some traction. Freshman Kat Hudson went off for seven kills on 10 attempts with only one error to lead UA to a 25-10 second set decision and even the match 1-1.

"In the (sets) we won, we were in the timeouts talking X's and O's, and in the sets we lost we were talking about playing harder and being stronger mentally and paying attention to the scouting report." Schroeder mentioned. "We just don't do well when those are the things that we're talking about, and that's just kind of the way this match went for us."

SU reestablished its' mental fortitude in the third set thanks to the senior leadership from Carter and Reesor. Reesor tallied five kills in the set while Carter notched four digs while each willed their team emotionally to a 25-23 win the set and to go up 2-1 in the match.

The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide were locked into a 4-4 tie in the fourth before a UA 9-2 run gave Alabama the separation it needed to take the set and force the match into a fifth. They carried the momentum from the set over to the deciding fifth set.

Carter, Reesor and Selina Schirmer put an end to their Samford careers the same way they began in their freshman season but it wasn't quite the finish they had in mind tonight.

"It didn't end the way that we wanted it to end, "Carter said. "But we will always have our Samford family to come back to and talk about these memories."

Reesor echoed her teammate's sentiments.

"It was exciting coming here our freshman year and it's been really exciting coming again our senior year." Reesor said. "You know our careers ended here, wish it was a bit of different outcome, but it's been a good experience to have an opportunity to play in the NCAAs."

Russell ended the match with a career-high five service aces and nine kills to go along with three blocks on the night.

Reesor ended the night with 12 kills and extended her career-kill record to 1,639 while Carter notched 12 digs in the match.