BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team will make a quick turnaround after the team hosted the Marriottt Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday to make the trek to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on Tuesday, August 30, at 7 p.m. inside Foster Auditorium.
The Bulldogs (2-1) will face the Crimson Tide (2-1) for the first time since 2014 when the pair squared off in Tallahassee, Florida at the Florida State Regional of the NCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament.
Alabama rallied from being down 2-1 to Samford to win the match 3-2 (25-17, 10-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-8) to advance to the second round of the regional tournament.
This season the Bulldogs opened up with a pair of wins and a loss at the Marriott Invitational Tournament. Samford downed Nicholls State in the home opener 3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-6), which extended the team's home opener win streak to 13, but fell in the nightcap to Indiana State in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-13).
The team capped off the tournament with their best performance of the weekend in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-22) victory over in-state rival South Alabama on Saturday.
Alabama is coming off of a pair of victories against South Dakota, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 27-25) and Incarnate Word, 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20), along with a loss to tournament host Tulsa, 3-2 (28-30, 29-27, 25-21, 22-25, 17-15).
Kate Neisler and
Erin Bognar will look to lead the Bulldogs offense from the outside as the duo had very productive weekends. Neisler, named to the Marriott Invitational All-Tournament Team, tallied 34 kills (3.40 k/s) over the three matches with 30 total digs (3.00 d/s) while Bognar racked up 40 kills (4.44 k/s).
On the opposite side of the net the Bulldogs will have to contend with Krystal Rivers who is averaging 5.46 points per set and has 65 kills on the season (5.00 k/s). The redshirt senior from Birmingham tallied 20 plus kills in the matches against South Dakota (24) and Tulsa (23).
Tomorrow's match can be viewed online via the SEC Network + found on the WatchESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media by following @SamfordVB on Twitter.
