BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team battled for a 3-1 victory over Mercer University to earn its' first Southern Conference win of the season at home inside the Pete Hanna Center on Friday, Sept. 25.

The Bulldogs (6-5, SoCon 1-0) secured the victory over the Bears (4-8, SoCon 0-1) with stout defensive play as five players recorded double-digit digs on their way to 80 total in the match.

Samford opened play in the first set and found itself in a dogfight with Mercer but found a way to win the set 26-24. Junior Erin Bognar paced the team with seven kills on 12 attacks (.500) to while freshman Alana Schouten notched four digs.

Bognar ended the night with a double-double of 20 kills (.250) and 13 digs. Schouten tallied 12 total digs in the match. Setter Erika Pifer gathered in a double-double as well with 43 assists and 11 digs.

The Bears responded after the intermission and forced the Bulldogs to a fourth set with timely hitting and unforced errors at the serving line by Samford. Mercer took the set 26-24 over Samford.

Bognar showed back up when it counted in the fourth set of action. The Bears once again pushed the Bulldogs to their limit but Bognar shut the door on the set and the match as she recorded the last four points which included an ace on the match point to win 27-25.

Freshman setter Taylor Anderton provided a solid defensive effort with 12 total digs while sophomore libero Morgan St. Germain notched a total of 13 digs on the night. Redshirt sophomore T.J. Russell came up just shy of giving the Bulldogs six players with double-digit kills and finished the night with nine while also chipping in seven kills.

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Sept. 26, when they take on UNCG at the Pete Hanna Center at 2 p.m. Fans can follow the action live via Twitter by following @SamfordVB or by watching the live video stream courtesy of the SoCon Digital Netowork.