Samford at The Citadel  |  Friday, Oct. 28, 5 p.m. (CDT)
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Samford at Mercer  |  Saturday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m. (CDT)
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CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The red-hot Samford University volleyball team will attempt to extend its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to square off against The Citadel Bulldogs in a Southern Conference contest to be held at McAlister Field House. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
Samford (15-10, 6-4 SoCon) enters the weekend with a full head of steam after registering consecutive league victories against Chattanooga, 3-0, Western Carolina, 3-0, and Furman, 3-1. The Bulldogs have been triumphant in five of their last seven matches, including eight of their last 12.
 
Samford has been dominant when playing at home this season and boasts a brilliant 10-2 record in the friendly confines of the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Conversely, the Bulldogs are 1-6 in true road matches, but have compiled a solid 4-2 mark in neutral sites. Samford holds a 1-3 record in SoCon road contests this season.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - BULLDOGS TOP RIVAL FURMAN, 3-1, IN KEY HOME TEST
Samford capped off an exciting week of action with its third straight win Saturday in a 3-1 (25-23, 28-30, 25-15, 25-12) triumph over Furman.
 

In a match in honor of her sister and to raise awareness about acute myeloid leukemia, redshirt sophomore Kate Neisler posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills (.240) and ended the night tied for the team high with 18 digs. What Neisler did at the serving stripe was just as important as her offensive and defensive play. She held serve 30 times over the four sets and tallied a trio of service aces.
 
Senior Erin Bognar posted her eighth double-double of the season with 22 kills (.327) and 17 digs. It marked the sixth time she has posted more than 20 kills in a match and fifth of the season with 15 or more digs.
 
Kelsi Hobbs, a native of Hoover, Alabama, followed up her career night against Western Carolina with another solid performance where she posted 10 kills and four blocks. Seniors Kiahna Wicks and Gabbi Greenwald recorded five blocks and six blocks a piece, respectively.
 
SCOUTING FRIDAY'S OPPONENT - - THE CITADEL
The Citadel (8-18, 1-9 SoCon) heads into its contest with Samford on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Citadel is in the midst of a three-match losing streak and hasn't been victorious since Oct. 16, when the Bulldogs toppled Furman at home on ESPN3, 3-2.
 
Since Sept. 23, The Citadel owns a 2-9 record. The Bulldogs are currently in ninth place in the SoCon standings, but holds a 5-6 overall record at home this season.
 
The Citadel's middle hitter Sarah Dobrich continues to build on her impressive freshman year, as she leads the team with 84 total blocks. Her 76 block assists are ranked third in program history in a single season, just 11 behind record-holder Lauren Hurt (2012).
 
Outside hitter Moriah Smith's 382 kills also rank her third in program history in a single season. The junior is 11 kills away from tying her 2015 total and 50 away from tying Rachel Sanders (2007) for the program record. Smith is also tied for first in kills in the SoCon and third in kills per set (3.94) this season.
 
In other program records, libero Samantha Espy is just 127 digs away from the program record for career digs. Her 414 digs this season are ranked third in the SoCon and third in program single-season history.
 
SAMFORD vs. THE CITADEL - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Samford has never been defeated by The Citadel and owns an impressive 11-0 record in the series. The first all-time meeting between the teams occurred just over eight years ago on Oct. 19, 2008. Samford's inaugural victory came in three sets, 3-0, as have 10 of the 11 decisions between the teams. The only time that Samford did not register a 3-0 win against The Citadel occurred in 2009 in Birmingham, Alabama, 3-1.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING - - SAMFORD SWEEPS THE CITADEL, 3-0, AT HOME
On Oct. 8, Samford improved to 8-2 at home inside the Pete Hanna Center with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) win over The Citadel.
 

Set 1 | W, Samford (26-24) It wasn't easy for Samford to start the match against The Citadel as the team played from behind the majority of the match. Almost midway through the set, The Citadel led by as much as 11-4. Samford mounted a 6-1 run to close down The Citadel's lead to 12-10 and stayed within striking distance until it took the lead 24-23 on a Grace Tiesman service ace. Bognar then put the set away with a strong kill from the left side.
 
Set 2 | W, Samford (25-22) Samford's offensive attack continued to gradually improve in the second set as the team limited unforced errors and struck a match-high 14 kills on a .235 attack percentage. However, The Citadel fought back to force a total of 11 ties but only managed to jump out ahead and lead once in the set which was early on 3-2. Neisler led the attack for Samford as she posted five kills on 10 swings with no errors.
 
Set 3 | W, Samford (25-15) It was all Samford in the final set of the day as the team was able to post its highest attack percentage of the match at .323. Neisler led the team again in the set with another five kill performance and was complimented by Bognar's four kills. Tough servicing was a key factor in the set as well as the Bulldogs tallied a total of five service aces in the final set alone.
 

SAMFORD'S BOGNAR NAMED SOCON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading Samford to a 3-0 week, the Bulldogs' Bognar was name SoCon Offensive Player of the Week by the league office Monday. Bognar helped the Bulldogs earn their first road win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Chattanooga on Wednesday, then spurred the team to home wins over Western Carolina and Furman on Friday and Saturday.
 
The St. Louis, Missouri native averaged 5.10 kills per set at a .331 clip on the offensive side and defensively recorded 3.20 digs per set and 0.80 blocks per set in her efforts during the week. Bognar capped the week with her eighth double-double of the season in the win over Furman where she smashed 22 kills and ripped up 17 digs.
 
The award marked Bognar's second SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honor and she currently leads the SoCon in kills per set (4.43).
 
SCOUTING SATURDAY'S OPPONENT - - MERCER
Mercer (12-10, 4-6 SoCon) also heads into the weekend with aspirations of snapping a losing streak. Since rattling off back-to-back victories against Furman and The Citadel on Oct. 15 and Oct. 18, respectively, the Bears have dropped consecutive 3-0 road decisions at ETSU and Chattanooga.
 
Mercer owns a near-perfect 6-1 record when playing at home this season. The Bears' only loss held in Hawkins Arena this year occurred against Chattanooga on Oct. 1, 3-0.
 
With Mercer's 3-0 loss at Chattanooga on Saturday, the Bears' road woes continued as they fell to 2-7 away from home. Additionally, Tori Penrod's 21 digs continued her streak of double-digit digs in every match this season. She's reached at least 20 in 11 matches.
 
SAMFORD vs. MERCER - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
In its third most common rivalry of all-time, the Bulldogs boast a 34-7 overall record against Mercer. The only teams that Samford has played more often in its history than the Bears are Jacksonville State (47 times) and Troy (45 times).
 
On Oct. 7, the Bulldogs earned a 3-1 home victory against Mercer to get back on track in the series after suffering a 3-1 setback on the road last season. Since the Bears joined the SoCon in 2013-14, Samford has yet to defeat Mercer on its home court.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING - - BULLDOGS BATTLE PAST BEARS, 3-1
Samford rebounded from a tough loss and bounced back for a 26-24, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Mercer on Oct. 7. The meeting saw a total 338 attacks, as the Bulldogs posted 178 while the Bears tallied 160 attempts.
 

Set 1 | W, Samford (26-24) Samford found itself in a dogfight in the very first set of the match as the Bulldogs and the Bears battled back-and-forth between 16 ties and six lead changes. Down 22-20, the Bulldogs called timeout in an attempt to rally the troops and did so but not before the Bears took a 23-20 lead on a service ace from Morgan Macgilvary. A kill from redshirt-junior T.J. Russell initiated a 6-1 rally which was capped off by back-to-back kills from Neisler to win 26-24.
 
Set 2 | W, Mercer (26-24) The Bears bounced back in dramatic fashion in the following set to even the match 1-1 going into the intermission. The Bulldogs held a 22-14 lead over Mercer but the Bears rallied to tie the set 23-23 and went on to score a trio of points compared to a solo point achieved from a Mercer serving error.
 
Set 3 | W, Samford (25-21) Samford made adjustments out of the intermission to take a 2-1 lead in the match. After a fast start by the Bulldogs which resulted in a 16-10 lead, the Bears once again made a late push to challenge the home squad. With the score tied 21-21, Samford picked up three-straight points thanks to a trio of Mercer errors which allowed senior Gabbi Greenwald to cap off the set 25-21.
 
Set 4 | W, Samford (25-21) The Bulldogs wrapped up the match with another 25-21 set victory and picked up a pair of solid efforts from Bognar and sophomore Krista Boesing. Bognar tallied seven kills in the set (.237) while Boesing racked up eight total kills (.333) off the bench for the Bulldogs.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following this weekend's two-match road stretch against The Citadel and Mercer, the Samford University volleyball team will continue to play on the road next week as well, as the Bulldogs play at ETSU on Nov. 4, at 5 p.m. (CT), and at Furman on Nov. 5, at 4 p.m.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordVB and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

Samford at The Citadel  |  Friday, Oct. 28, 5 p.m. (CDT)
Match Coverage
Live Video (ESPN3)
Live Stats

Samford at Mercer  |  Saturday, Oct. 29, 2 p.m. (CDT)
Match Coverage
Live Stats