BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team will embark on its first true road test of the season as the team heads to Laramie, Wyoming and Fort Collins, Colorado for a slate of four matches from Friday, September 7, to Sunday, September 8.

The Bulldogs (5-2) come off a weekend sweep at the Samford-UAB Challenge where the team picked up victories over Tennessee Tech, Northwestern State and Radford.
This weekend will see the competition ramp up with a trio of matches at the UniWyo Invitational which will include: University of Wyoming, Eastern Washington University and California State University – Northridge (CSUN).

The team will conclude the weekend with a solo match against Wichita State on Sunday in Fort Collins, Colorado.

How To Follow
Wyoming | September 9 – 7:30 p.m. CDT | Live Stats | Live Video
Eastern Washington | September 10 – 11 a.m. CDT | Live Stats
CSUN | September 10 – 6 p.m. CDT | Live Stats
Wichita State | September 11 – 1 p.m. CDT | Live Stats


Bulldog Bullets

• Senior outside Erin Bognar has tallied three-straight double-doubles (13 kills, 15 digs; 15 kills, 17 digs; 18 kills, 12 digs) as the team heads into this weekend's slate of matches.
• The Bulldogs have averaged 60 digs per match over the last three matches and just a little over seven blocks per contest.
• Setter Erika Pifer has helped facilitate the offense as she has produced 40 or more assists in the past two matches for the Bulldogs and recorded her first double-double of the season against Radford with 44 assists and 14 digs.
• Redshirt sophomore Kate Neisler joins Bognar with three double-doubles on the season and just missed on her fourth of the year against Radford as she tallied 15 kills and 9 digs.

 
Scouting the Cowgirls

• First ever meeting between the two programs.
• Wyoming is led offensively by a pair of seniors, Laura Beach and Kayla Slofkiss have totaled 53 (2.41 k/s) and 51 kills (2.32 k/s) respectively so far this season.
• The Cowgirls are 2-5 to start of the season and hold wins over North Dakota State and LIU Brooklyn.
• Dating back to 2013 Wyoming holds a 42-8 record at home which totals out to an 84% win percentage.

 
Scouting the Matadors

• CSUN holds a 3-3 record on the season which includes wins over Rhode Island, Hofstra and Sacramento State.
• The duo of Lauren Conati and Julie Haake earned UNLV All-Tournament honors this past weekend. Haake averaged 5.18 kills per set while she hit an impressive .309. Conati, a setter, averaged 10.36 assists per set, 1.82 digs per set and 0.91 blocks per set to earn her spot.
• This match will serve as the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Matadors will have played 8-straight road matches to start the season before the match against the Bulldogs on Saturday.

 
Scouting the Eagles

• Saturday's match against Eastern Washington will mark the first time the two schools will have met in competition.
• The Eagles enter the tournament with a record of 3-3 on the season which includes wins over Lamar, Cal State Fullerton and Eastern Kentucky.
• Eastern Washington is an exceptionally young team that has relied on its youth so far this season. The team only has one senior in setter Sophie Miller who is averaging 8.15 assists per set, 163 total, on the season.
• The Eagles are hitting .174 as a team on the season while the Bulldogs have held opposing offenses to just .180 on the season.

 
Scouting the Shockers

• The Bulldogs will compete against Wichita State outside of the UniWyo Tournament on the way back to the airport in a solo match on the campus of Colorado State University.
• This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Shockers are 3-2 on the season and have a top-25 win under belt as they upset No.18 Creighton opening weekend in a five-set thriller. The team has also picked up wins over IUPUI and Marquette.
• Jody Larson leads Wichita State as she averages 3.47 points per set with a team-high 54 kills. Mikaela Raudsepp is a close second on the team with 51 total kills on the season.

 
Fans can follow along with the Bulldogs adventures out in Wyoming by following them on Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram under the username SamfordVB.