BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team carried its momentum over for their midweek match up to defeat Western Carolina in convincing fashion 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) on Thursday, Oct. 21, inside the Pete Hanna Center.

Freshman Kelsi Hobbs had a breakout performance for the Bulldogs (14-10, 5-4 SoCon) as she totaled 13 kills with only a pair of errors for an even .500 attack average. The Hoover native also amassed five total blocks in the effort. Senior Erin Bognar led the team with 14 kills (.393) while she also chipped in seven digs and three blocks.

The Series

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the all-time series against the Catamounts (8-14, 3-6 SoCon) out to 19-6. The win also serves as a split between the two squads this season as Western Carolina took the first game of the pair 3-1 in Cullowhee, N.C. on Oct. 1.

By The Set

Set 1 | W, Samford 25-20 The duo of Hobbs and redshirt sophomore Kate Neisler paced the Bulldogs offense in the first set of action. Neisler tallied four kills on eight swings with no errors along with a pair of blocks in the set while Hobbs also notched four kills and a pair of blocks. The combination also accounted for three of Samford's four service aces in the set for a total of 13 points.

Set 2 | W, Samford 25-16 The following set was far different from the first as it only featured a pair of ties and only a single lead change. Samford fell behind after the first but trailed only by a pair of points 3-1 early on before the team streaked out to an 8-3 lead behind the efforts of Hobbs and Bognar. The duo had a near identical stat line in the set as each tallied six kills, a service ace and a block for a total of 7.5 points.

The Bulldogs streaked away with the set win behind runs of 9-1 and 6-1.

Set 3 | W, Samford 25-19 The most challenging set of the night came after the intermission as the Catamounts mounted rally that featured nine ties and three lead changes but the Bulldogs were up to the challenge. It was the most productive set for the Samford offense who produced a set high 18 kills (.457) with only a pair of attack errors.

Samford put the set and the match away thanks to a 4-0 run late to go up 24-19 behind a service ace from Mattie Newson and a kill from Bognar.

Next Up

The Bulldogs will host Furman tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the team's annual "Dig Orange" match which is to honor former Bulldog Caroline Neisler and to help raise awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.