TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team gave the University of Alabama its best shot in the final set of the match but fell short 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) on Tuesday, August 30, inside Foster Auditorium. Redshirt sophomore Kate Neisler paced the Bulldogs with 14 kills (.394) while freshman libero Grace Tiesman tallied 16 digs.

Early on in the match, neither team found an offensive rhythm in the first two sets but each traded blows in the initial set to keep the score close early on.

The Bulldogs (2-2) gained separation after the team strung together a 3-0 run thanks to a pair of attack errors by Alabama's Kat Hudson and a nice kill by Samford's Neisler, which awarded Samford an 18-15 lead.

Alabama (3-1) snapped back to rally for a 10-2 run behind several Samford errors and a couple of kills from Krystal Rivers to take the set 25-20.

The hard fought set equated out to nine ties and two lead changes.

In the second set Samford's offense managed only five kills on 32 attacks with nine errors while Alabama's only faired marginally better with 12 kills on 33 attacks with six errors for a .182 attack percentage.

The Crimson Tide came out on top in the set 25-14.

Neisler and redshirt junior T.J. Russell were the two bright spots for the Bulldogs in the first two sets as Neisler tallied seven kills on 16 attempts (.438). Russell notched three kills on six attempts with one error (.333).

The Bulldogs came out of the locker room inspired to have their best offensive set of the night. Neisler led the effort with seven of Samford's 12 kills in the set.

Down 24-18, Samford fended off four match points from Alabama to close down the lead to 24-22 but a quick timeout by the Crimson Tide allowed the team from Tuscaloosa to regroup. Krystal Rivers closed out the match 25-22 with a kill deep in the back row of the Samford defense.

The Bulldogs return to action when they hit the court back at the Pete Hanna Center this Friday, at 2 p.m. CT with a match against Tennessee Tech.