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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University volleyball team will compete in its first home match since Oct. 22 on Wednesday as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Pete Hanna Center for a pivotal Southern Conference contest slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. (CST).
 
Samford (17-12, 8-6 SoCon), which owns an imposing 10-2 record at home this season, recently returned to campus following a four-match road swing. The Bulldogs compiled a 2-2 mark in the SoCon road tests against The Citadel, Mercer, ETSU and Furman, but welcome an opportunity to play in front of their home crowd.
 
Last week, Samford traveled to play first-place ETSU and Furman, and dropped difficult Senior Night matches, 3-0, and 3-1, on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Bulldogs own a 3-8 record in true road matches this season, as well as a 4-2 mark in neutral contests.
 
Samford's final two matches of the regular season will be held in Birmingham and the Bulldogs' Pete Hanna Center will play host to the 2016 SoCon Tournament from Nov. 19-21.
 
Currently, Samford sits in fourth place in the conference standings and trails third-place Wofford (17-13, 9-6 SoCon) by just a half-game. With a win Wednesday, the Bulldogs would move into sole possession of third place in the league standings.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - SAMFORD DROPS BACK-AND-FORTH CONTEST AT FURMAN
Samford suffered a hard-fought 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Furman Paladins on Saturday as the Bulldogs moved to 3-8 on the road this season following a SoCon duel held in front of 378 fans at Alley Gymnasium.
 
Samford put up a fight in all four sets as two of the three Furman frames were won by the minimum of two points, the first and last of which were forced beyond the 25-point win mark. The Paladins' set victories came by totals of 28-26 (1), 25-20 (3) and 26-24 (4).
 
The Bulldogs won the second set, 25-23, as Samford evened the score of the match at 1-1 heading into the locker room.
 
Senior outside hitter Erin Bognar registered a match-high 34 kills and only committed five errors to post a sizzling .414 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs' back-to-back and reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Week also tallied a double-double with an additional 11 digs. Bognar added two blocks and a pair of assists.

Samford's Kate Neisler nearly accumulated a double-double of her own Saturday as she finished the match with 12 kills and seven digs.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' two-headed set machine comprised of senior Erika Pifer and sophomore Taylor Anderton compiled a combined total of 60 assists, 30 for each player. Anderton also added seven digs, while Pifer finished with three.
 
True freshman Grace Tiesman paced Samford's defense with 16 digs. The Bulldogs also received a noteworthy effort from senior defensive specialist Mattie Newson, who finished with 14 key digs against Furman.
 
In a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest Saturday, there were a total of 49 ties and 17 lead changes. Exactly two weeks ago, Samford handed the Paladins a 3-1 loss held at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct. 22.
 
BOGNAR EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT SOCON WEEKLY HONOR
Samford's Bognar became the first student-athlete this season to be named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for a third straight time Monday as the Bulldogs' senior outside hitter from St. Louis, Missouri, finished the week with 45 kills, 14 digs and a remarkable .314 hitting percentage.
 
Bognar continued her dominant play in SoCon action last week as she compiled 45 kills and 14 digs en route to a sizzling .314 hitting percentage in road matches at first-place ETSU and Furman.
 

Bognar finished the week with 105 swings and only committed a total of 12 attack errors. She also averaged a jaw-dropping 6.43 kills per set against some of the conference's top competition.
 
Against first-place ETSU on Friday, Bognar paced Samford in kills, blocking assists and points. She continued her stellar play Saturday on the road at Furman as she tallied a double-double with 11 digs and a season-high 34 kills. Bognar also finished the match with a head-turning .414 hitting percentage. Her previous season-high in kills was 25 against New Mexico on Sept. 17.
 
Bognar's 34 kills are the most in a conference matchup and the most in a four-set match this season among SoCon hitters.
 
BULLDOGS' BOGNAR RACKING UP THE AWARDS
Samford's Bognar has been named the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Week a league-high four times this season, including the last three. She also garnered the award on Sept. 19, after recording three straight double-doubles against UT Arlington, UTEP and New Mexico.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Wofford heads into Wednesday's matchup with a full head of steam after the Terriers defeated The Citadel on Saturday, 3-1, to garner their third straight victory. With the triumph, Wofford picked up its 17th win of the season to surpass last year's total of 16, and the nine conference wins ties a school record set in 2001.
 
In Saturday's match, The Citadel came out hot, winning the first set 25-21. The Terriers would rally to take the second set 25-15, tying Wofford's largest margin of victory in a set this season. Wofford's momentum would continue out of the break and the Terriers would take the third and fourth sets 25-22 and 25-19, respectively, to clinch the victory.
 
Wofford finished the regular season 2-0 against The Citadel and has now won 11 in a row against the Bulldogs. Wofford is now 7-2 in in four set matches this season and has won three consecutive conference matches for the second time this season.
 
Three Wofford players finished with double-digit kills for the match. Catie Cronister recorded double digit kills for the 22nd time this season as the freshman from Chicago, Illinois, finished with a match-high 21 kills. Kara Shacklette hit .600 for the match as the freshman had 15 kills and zero errors on 25 attempts.
 
Additionally, Colleen Reilly tallied 13 kills and hit .226 for the match. Reilly has registered 17 matches with at least 10 kills this season.
 
Lorissa King finished with 52 assists, two shy of her season high of 54, which came in a five-setter on Sept. 3, at Appalachian State. Madeline Savage tallied 19 digs and freshman Morgan Ballard finished with 10 digs as well.
 
SAMFORD vs. WOFFORD - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series between the teams by a total of 10-2, but Wofford defeated Samford earlier this season in Spartanburg, South Carolina, 3-1, on Oct. 15. The Bulldogs have never lost to Wofford when playing at home in the Pete Hanna Center and own a 6-0 record in Birmingham. Samford opened the all-time series with a perfect 9-0 record against the Terriers before losing on the road, 3-0, last season.
 

IN THE LAST MEETING - - BULLDOGS' LATE COMEBACK COMES UP SHORT AT WOFFORD, 3-1
On Oct. 15 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Samford outpaced the Terriers, 69 points to 60, in the match but tallied 27 attack errors and 14 service errors in the four-set effort, 3-1. Bognar posted another solid offensive outing with 18 kills (.351) to go along with a service ace and nine digs. Gabbi Greenwald led the Samford attackers with a .562 hitting percentage that translated into 10 kills.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Wednesday's midweek showdown with Wofford, the Samford University volleyball team will next be in action Friday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule at home against the UNCG Spartans.
 
Due to Samford's 175-year festivities this weekend, Friday's home match against UNCG will be played at historic Seibert Hall, and not the Pete Hanna Center. The contest will mark Samford's first match in the venerable 55-year-old facility in over nine years, dating back to a 3-0 victory over Jacksonville State on Oct. 23, 2007.
 
Friday's match will also mark Samford's Senior Night contest and fans are encouraged to arrive early for a special presentation for the Bulldogs' 2016 senior class, which is comprised of Kiahna Wicks, Bognar, Pifer, Greenwald and Newson.
 
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.

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