- - Samford at ETSU  |  Friday, Nov. 4  |  5 p.m. (CDT)  |  Live Stats
- - Samford at Furman  |  Saturday, Nov. 5  |  4 p.m. (CDT)  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University volleyball team will begin play in a tough Southern Conference road trip Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to face the first-place ETSU Buccaneers in a highly-anticipated league matchup to be held in Brooks Gym. On Saturday, Samford will close out the weekend road swing with another SoCon test at Furman at 4 p.m.
 
Samford (17-10, 8-4 SoCon) heads into Friday's matchup as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Since Oct. 7, the Bulldogs boast an impressive 7-2 record, including a current five-match winning streak.
 
After dropping arduous back-to-back road matches at UNCG and Wofford, Samford has rattled off consecutive wins against Chattanooga, 3-0, Western Carolina, 3-0, Furman, 3-1, The Citadel, 3-0, and Mercer, 3-0. The Bulldogs are 3-6 on the road this season, but all three victories have been achieved in their last three outings.
 

SAMFORD'S BOGNAR NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK . . . AGAIN
The Bulldogs' Erin Bognar was named the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Week for a second straight time Monday as Samford's senior outside hitter from St. Louis, Missouri, helped guide her squad to a pair of dominant 3-0 road victories at The Citadel and Mercer.
 
Bognar played a huge role in the Bulldogs' 2-0 record last week as Samford traveled in SoCon play to defeat both The Citadel, 3-0, and Mercer, 3-0. Bognar led the Bulldogs in kills in each contest and finished the week with a team-high total of 30.
 
Boasting a healthy average of 5.00 kills per set, Samford's talented senior only committed a total of 12 errors last week and registered a .237 attacking percentage. Bognar also added 14 digs in the Bulldogs' road victories at The Citadel and Mercer.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - 'DOGS DEFEAT MERCER, 3-0; EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO FIVE
Samford extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches Saturday as the Bulldogs cruised to a 3-0 road victory against the Mercer Bears in a pivotal SoCon contest held at Hawkins Arena.
 
Samford has not been defeated since Oct. 15, and has outscored its opponents by a lopsided total of 15-1 in the Bulldogs' last five matches.
 
So far this season, the Bulldogs boast a dominant 10-2 record at home, but have also been impressive on the road as of late. In its last three road matches, Samford has compiled three straight shutout victories at Chattanooga, The Citadel and Mercer.
 
The Bulldogs turned in a .302 attacking percentage Saturday and rolled to quick victories over Mercer in sets No. 1, 25-22, and No. 2, 25-15.
 
In a back-and-forth third stanza, the Bears held a three-point lead late in the set, but Samford rallied from behind to garner the eventual 26-24 triumph to clinch the match.
 

Bognar and sophomore Kate Neisler both proved to be impressive for the Bulldogs with double-digit kill performances against Mercer.
 
Bognar paced Samford with 15 kills (.303), while Neisler added 11 (.391) and only committed two attack errors. True freshman Kelsi Hobbs added nine kills of her own Saturday as the Hoover, Alabama native finished the match with a team-best .533 attacking percentage.
 
Senior setter Erika Pifer looked sharp against Mercer and posted 24 assist for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Taylor Anderton added 14 assists, while also registering four digs in Samford's straight-set victory over the Bears.
 
Defensively, true freshman Grace Tiesman recorded a match-high 10 digs as the Bulldogs also finished with three blocks as a team.
 
SAMFORD vs. ETSU - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bulldogs and Buccaneers will be meeting on the court for just the seventh time Friday. ETSU holds a slight 4-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last two meetings between the teams.
 
Last season, Samford came up short against the Buccaneers, 3-2, in the SoCon Tournament. Earlier this year, ETSU was able to post a similar 3-2 victory held at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The loss proved to be one of Samford's two home defeats this season. The Bulldogs own a stellar 10-2 record in the Pete Hanna Center this year.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING - - BULLDOGS' RALLY COMES UP SHORT AGAINST ETSU
Samford attempted to mount a heroic comeback in a 3-2 defeat to ETSU at home on Sept. 24, inside the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs fell behind early in the match 2-0 to the Buccaneers, but rallied out of the intermission to win the third and fourth sets 25-23 and 25-21 to tie the match 2-2.

ETSU finally bounced back in the final set and jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead over Samford which prompted Head Coach Keylor Chan to call timeout to try and shut down the Buccaneers' momentum.

A 4-1 run by the Bulldogs closed down the Buccaneers lead to 5-4 and Samford nearly tied the set but Briana Allmon sparked an ETSU rally where the Buccaneers capitalized to extend its lead to 10-5. The deficit was too great for the Bulldogs to recover from a second time in the set.

T.J. Russell patrolled the net for Samford as she contributed six total blocks, two solo and four assisted on the night while the team as a whole finished with 12 in the effort. Offensively, Bognar posted a team-high 21 kills (.188) which was followed up by sophomore Krista Boesing's double-double of 13 kills (.082) and 15 digs.

Tiesman led the charge defensively with 20 digs while senior defensive specialist Mattie Newson notched 13 digs.
 
SAMFORD vs. FURMAN - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
In a rancorous rivalry that's only been heightened in the last few seasons, the Bulldogs and Paladins will be competing for the 26^th time Saturday. Samford has been victorious in the last two meetings between the teams, but Furman still holds a 15-10 advantage in the all-time series.
 
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs earned a pivotal 3-1 home victory against the Paladins on Oct. 22. Samford's triumph proved to be a part of its current five-matching winning streak. Last year, the teams split the annual home-and-home series with each squad winning on their home court. The Bulldogs earned a victory in the latter, 3-0.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING - - BULLDOGS CAP WEEK WITH THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
Samford closed out an exciting week of action with its third straight win on Oct. 22, 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, Neisler posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills (.240) and 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.
 

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.
 
Hobbs 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.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Friday's marquee matchup at first-place ETSU, the Samford University volleyball team will next be in action Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs close out their tough weekend road swing against the Furman Paladins. Saturday's matchup will be held in Greenville, South Carolina at Furman's cozy Alley Gymnasium.
 
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- - Samford at ETSU  |  Friday, Nov. 4  |  5 p.m. (CDT)  |  Live Stats
- - Samford at Furman  |  Saturday, Nov. 5  |  4 p.m. (CDT)  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats