Samford vs. Milwaukee  |  Friday, Sept. 1  |  8 p.m. (CT)  |  Live Stats
Samford vs. Fairfield  |  Saturday, Sept. 2  |  11 a.m. (CT)  |  Live Stats
Samford at Loyola  |  Sunday, Sept. 3  |  Noon (CT)  |  Live Stats

CHICAGO -- The Samford University volleyball team will play a trio of games this weekend as the Bulldogs compete in the annual Rambler Challenge being held Friday through Sunday at Gentile Arena on the campus of Loyola-Chicago.
 
Samford (1-2) is scheduled to meet Milwaukee (2-2) at 8 p.m. (CT) on Friday, before facing Fairfield (2-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Finally, the Bulldogs will challenge the homestanding Loyola Ramblers (0-3) on Sunday at noon from Gentile Arena.
 
So far this season, Samford has defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 3-0, but dropped hard-fought contests against recent NCAA Tournament participants Ohio, 3-2, and Murray State, 3-1.
 
The Bulldogs came out strong against Murray State on Saturday by winning the first set, 25-21, but the final three stanzas proved to be a different story as the Bulldogs fell short 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19 in a 3-1 setback held at the Pete Hanna Center in the finale of the 2017 Courtyard by Marriott Invitational.
 
Samford finished the game with a slightly better hitting percentage than Murray State, .161 to .160, but a season-high 19 service errors proved costly. Conversely, the Racers only committed eight.
 
The Bulldogs' Krista Boesing, who was named to the all-tournament team of the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational on Saturday, paced the Bulldogs with 15 kills and 16 points against Murray State. She also finished with 12 digs.
 
Milwaukee has already played four matches this season. The Panthers opened the 2017 campaign with a 3-0 loss to South Dakota State, but then came up big against Idaho State, 3-2. Since then, Milwaukee split a pair of contests with a loss to Virginia Tech, 3-2, and a lopsided victory over Northern Illinois, 3-0.
 
Fairfield owns victories over Boston College and UAB this season. Skyler Day leads the Stags with 5.36 kills per set. A year ago, Fairfield went 28-6 overall and 18-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), reaching the NCAA Tournament.
 
Loyola opened its 2017 season at the Cal Molten Classic in Berkeley, California, last week and finished the tournament with an 0-3 record. The Ramblers lost to Seattle, 3-1, Cal, 3-1, and UC Irvine, 3-0.
 
Following this weekend's 2017 Rambler Challenge, the Samford University volleyball team will next be in action Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs begin play in the highly-talented New Mexico State Invite to be held in Las Cruces, N.M.
 
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Samford vs. Milwaukee  |  Friday, Sept. 1  |  8 p.m. (CT)  |  Live Stats
Samford vs. Fairfield  |  Saturday, Sept. 2  |  11 a.m. (CT)  |  Live Stats
Samford at Loyola  |  Sunday, Sept. 3  |  Noon (CT)  |  Live Stats