BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team takes to the road for a pair of Southern Conference matches as they take on Mercer University on Friday, Oct. 16, & Chattanooga on Saturday, Oct. 17, with both matches scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (CST).

The Bulldogs (8-7, 3-2 SoCon) look to build off this past Saturday's victory over Western Carolina against a pair of very tough SoCon opponents. Samford and Mercer (8-11, 3-4 SoCon) have already squared off once so far this season where the Bulldogs came away with a 3-1 victory over the Bears inside the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford is 33-6 all-time against Mercer with their last defeat coming just last season when Mercer took down the Bulldogs 3-2 in Macon, Ga. The Bulldogs were ousted with outside Michaela Reesor out and turned libero Chelsi Carter into an outside hitter during the match. Cara Tripp and Caroline Carlton led the Bears with 25 kills in the win.

New names will highlight the score sheet in this year's return trip to Hawkins Arena as a pair of freshmen has excelled for both squads. Freshman Krista Boesing for the Bulldogs was recently named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for tallying 4.67 kills per set in the weekend split against ETSU and Western Carolina while the Bear's freshman Paige Alsten is the only other freshman to receive a SoCon weekly award this season as she captured the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 5.

Alsten leads the Bears with 83 total blocks and ranks 2^nd in the SoCon with 1.24 blocks per set while Boesing paces the Bulldogs with 159 kills and ranks 9^th overall in the SoCon in kills per set at a 2.94 clip.

Serving tough with be a must for both teams in tomorrow's match as Mercer leads the league with 116 aces (1.68 a/s) while Samford ranks 3^rd averaging 1.61 per set. Tori Penrod leads the SoCon with 28 total service aces entering the weekend.

Samford caps off the weekend against Chattanooga who sits atop the Southern Conference standings with an overall 16-3 record and 5-1 mark in league play. The Mocs were riding an 11-game win streak before having a hiccup on the road last weekend against Furman where they dropped a five-set thriller to the Paladins. UTC rebounded the following night in Charleston, S.C. where they easily blanked The Citadel 3-0 to remain on top of the SoCon standings.

With the success the Mocs are having this season it's not surprising that several have found their way towards the top of the SoCon and NCAA rankings. Lauren Greenspoon leads the SoCon in assists per set (11.66), ranking her at No. 13 nationally while Catherine Chason ranks 44^th nationally in dig per set (4.81). Senior Lauren Gainer trended upwards in the rankings this week to 58^th overall with a .380 attack percentage and junior Kristy Wiser sits closely behind at 75^th with a .363 percentage.

The Bulldogs currently sit 3^rd in the SoCon standings and will attempt to close the gap between themselves and the top spot this weekend. Fans can follow the Bulldogs and their travels on Twitter by following @SamfordVB.