BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team is set to continue Southern Conference action with a solo match this Saturday, Oct. 1, against Western Carolina University at 11 a.m. (CT) in Cullowhee, N.C. at the Ramsey Center.

The Bulldogs (10-7) enter this weekend with a 1-1 SoCon record after having split opening weekend with a 3-0 win over Chattanooga last Friday and a 3-2 loss to ETSU the next day. There are currently only two teams in the conference that remain unblemished in the conference standings and this weekend's foe in Western Carolina (6-8) is one of those as their team sits 1-0 in SoCon play. The Catamounts win came over The Citadel in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 25.

Follow The Bulldogs
Fans can follow Saturday's 11 a.m. match via live stats found in a link below or on the schedule page of SamfordSports.com or through social media on Twitter by following @SamfordVB.

Live Stats – Western Carolina 

Facilitating The Offense
Senior setter Erika Pifer has dished out a league-high 606 total assists on the season, a mark that also ranks her 32^nd in the nation. Pifer's 9.32 assists per set has fueled a Samford offense that ranks 16^th nationally in team kills.

Russell Paces SoCon In Total Blocks
Redshirt-junior T.J. Russell also sits atop the SoCon but in a different category. The Montgomery, Alabama native has been dominant at the net this season with a league leading 65 total blocks. To put things into perspective that is over half of the 120 total team blocks the Bulldogs have accumulated this year.

The Series
Saturday will mark the 25^th overall meeting between the two programs with the Bulldogs holding a majority edge with an 18-6 record over the Catamounts. Since 2008, Samford has only lost one match on the road to Western Carolina as the record stands at 7-1. The only loss occurred on Nov. 7, 2014 when the Catamounts took the decision in a five-set thriller inside the Ramsey Center.

Scouting The Catamounts
Western Carolina plays well inside the Ramsey Center as the team is 4-1 at home this season. It will be a good test for the Bulldogs not only to attempt to pick up their second SoCon win of the season but to add a win to away games column as the team is currently 0-3 on the road this season. Those losses came against quality opponents in Alabama, Wyoming and UT Arlington.

The Catamounts come into this weekend's match with an offensive hitting percentage of .147 which ranks second to last in the SoCon but what the team lacks in offensive prowess they make up with quality defense. Western Carolina leads the SoCon in blocks per set (2.31) and ranks second with 16.12 digs per set on the season.

Katie O'Connor has been the catalyst for the Catamounts in the blocks category as she averages 1.14 blocks per set while freshman Meagan Sanchez ranks third in the SoCon in digs per set (.473)

Bulldogs In The NCAA*

Statistic	NCAA	SoCon	Value	NCAA	Value	SoCon	Value
				Leader		Leader
Aces Per Set	287	8	0.98	Belmont	2.38	Wofford	1.58
Assists Per Set	136	3	11.95	San Diego	14.3	ETSU	13.13
Blocks Per Set	207	5	1.85	Wisconsin	3.39	WCU	2.29
Digs Per Set	212	9	13.78	Tulsa	18.42	UNCG	17.51
Hitting %	112	3	0.225	Florida	0.338	ETSU	0.246
Kills Per Set	115	2	13	San Diego	15.14	ETSU	13.98
Match W-L %	130	3	0.588	Nebraska	1	Mercer	0.643
						ETSU	0.643
Opp Hitting %	211	7	0.21	Penn St.	0.093	WCU	0.179
Assists	20	1	777	Butler	900	Samford	777
Attacks Per Set	174	6	34.38	UCLA	39.53	UNCG	37.62
Digs	78	4	896	USC Upstate	1,286	The Citadel	1,046
Kills	16	1	845	Butler	958	Samford	845
Service Aces	192	6	64	Northern Ariz.	128	Wofford	104
Total Attacks	33	3	2,235	USC Upstate	2,823	The Citadel	2,373
Total Blocks	108	1	120	Jacksonville St.	200.5	Samford	120

 
*329 Teams Ranked

Next Up
Samford will return home to the Pete Hanna Center for a pair of SoCon matches against Mercer and The Citadel on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8, at 7 and 3 p.m. respectively.