Box Score
Updated Stats

MACON, Ga. -- The Samford University volleyball team, down 2-1 in Wednesday's Southern Conference showdown heading into the fourth set against the Mercer Bears, never lost faith in the key matchup and bounced back to force a decisive fifth frame with a 25-23 victory in the stanza. The Bulldogs trailed early in the final set, but rallied to score six straight unanswered points to claim the 15-11 triumph.
 
With its nail-biting 3-2 (19-25, 25-17, 27-29, 25-23, 15-11) victory, Samford (13-16, 8-7 SoCon) picked up its second straight win and garnered some momentum heading into Friday's regular-season finale on the road against first-place Furman. On Saturday, the Bulldogs picked up a similar 3-2 triumph against SoCon-rival Chattanooga.
 
Samford improved to 5-6 on the road this season and upped its record in away matches to 4-3 versus conference opponents. The Bulldogs have defeated Western Carolina, UNCG, The Citadel and Mercer (9-19, 3-12 SoCon) in conference road matches this year.
 
Samford's junior outside hitter Krista Boesing led all competitors with 21 kills Wednesday. She also turned in a team-best .273 hitting percentage in the victory, while adding five digs and two block assists. Additionally, sophomore Kelsi Hobbs turned in an impressive performance against the Bears as she accumulated 19 kills and eight digs.
 
The Bulldogs' Shayla Phillip and Grace Tiesman both contributed importantly with nine kills apiece. Tiesman also played a huge role on the back line with 17 digs for Samford. She proved to be one of four Bulldogs to register double-digit digs as true freshman Kendal Strand led the way with 19, while senior Morgan St. Germain added 16 and junior Taylor Anderton chipped in with 15.
 
Anderton also shined as Samford's setter by earned a match-high 53 assists in the victory.
 
All-time, Samford owns a 28-7 record against the Bears.
 
The Samford University volleyball team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule with a matchup on the road at first-place Furman to be held in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordVB and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

Box Score
Updated Stats