ARLINGTON, Texas – The Samford University volleyball team rounded out the UT Arlington Invitational with a 3-1 (25-23, 27-25, 25-23, 25-15) victory over Houston Baptist inside the College Park Center on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The Bulldogs (9-6) went 3-1 at the tournament and garnered a pair of all-tournament selection in outside hitter Erin Bognar and setter Erika Pifer. Bognar had a team-high 18 kills in the victory over Houston Baptist while Pifer dished out 52 assists.

Samford had an impressive outing offensively where the team finished with a .344 attack percentage compared to a .204 rating from Houston Baptist. Krista Boesing supported Bognar on the outside with 16 kills.

Not to go unnoticed on the night sophomore Alana Schouten served hard and notched an impressive five service aces on the night. Samford as a whole produced 11 total while HBU mustered on five.

Set 1 | W, Samford 25-23
The Bulldogs and the Huskies both traded blows to start the set as each team was hitting above .300 while battling through 10 ties and five lead changes by the time the score was tied 11-11.

Houston Baptist gained separation and a slim 14-11 thanks to a Bulldog service error along with a kill from Blair Gillard and an ace from Hannah Lewis.

Samford rallied back to tie the set 17-17 on a play where Mattie Newson made a dig to keep the rally alive after she recognized a setter attack from Kayla Armer. The Huskies misplayed their next attack where it went wide to tie the set.

Tied 23-23, the set was fought all the way to the end and was eventually put away with Gabbi Greenwald's fifth kill of the set and an attack error by the Huskies.

Set 2 | W, Samford 27-25
With not as many ties or lead changes as the initial set the Bulldogs offense found a groove and settled in as the team hit .462 on its way to an 11-6 lead over Houston Baptist.

The Huskies were not able to crack a hitting percentage over .100 by that time of the set.

The Samford offense quieted down and Houston Baptist capitalized to make a 7-3 run and take the lead 19-18.

The Bulldogs battled after the team went down 24-23 which prompted a timeout from head coach Keylor Chan. The timeout proved fruitful as it iced Armer and she served the ball out of play.

Senior setter Erika Pifer put the set away 27-25 with the Bulldogs fifth service ace of the match.

Set 3 | W, Houston Baptist 25-23
Momentum swung to each team like a pendulum in the set as both teams used a series of runs to be competitive.

After a Bulldog rally to tie the set 10-10, Houston Baptist scored four straight points to open up a 14-10 lead. The Huskies offense was in full motion as the team hitting
percentage sat at .421.

The four point deficit was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome in the set. However, Samford did make it interesting as the team rallied to fend off three set points but eventually fell 25-23.

Set 4 | W, Samford
The Bulldogs regained their composure in the fourth as the team took control of the set early. A 4-1 run opened up an 11-7 lead over the Huskies. The run was capped off by a kill that split the HBU block from Krista Boesing.

From there Samford rolled its way to a set victory after the team hit .455 compared to the Huskies .179.
 
Next Up
The Bulldogs return home to the Pete Hanna Center to start Southern Conference action. The team's first match will take place on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. then will wrap up the weekend on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. against ETSU.