BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Volleyball team will play three contests this weekend as part of the UAB Open, taking on Little Rock on Friday, Jackson State on Saturday, and host-institution UAB on Sunday.
 
Sunday's contest 2:00 p.m. against the Blazers will be televised on CUSA.TV.
 
The Bulldogs will look to rebound after dropping their first three matchups of the season to LSU, (RV)Rice, and Houston last weekend at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La.
 
Senior outside hitter Lauren Deaton currently ranks third in program history with 1,538 career kills. The Memphis, Tenn. native needs just 80 more to move into second place and 102 more to become the program's leader in career kills. Deaton's 1,262 career digs rank sixth in program history. She needs just 32 more to solidify her spot in the top five all-time.
 
Deaton, who led the Bulldogs last weekend with 37 kills and 22 digs, currently leads the SoCon with an average of 4.11 kills per set.
 
The Bulldogs will face off against former assistant coaches Betsy and Ryan Freeburg on Sunday when they take on UAB. Betsy, the now-head coach of the Blazers, served on Coach Chan's staff from 2016-19 while Ryan worked as an assistant for the Bulldogs during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Little Rock posted a 1-2 mark over its first three games. The Trojans grabbed their lone victory over Mississippi Valley State (3-0) while falling 3-0 to Saint Louis and 3-2 to Arkansas State in the A-State Invitational.
 
Jackson State (1-3) opened its season with a 3-2 loss to North Dakota State in game one of the Southeast Missouri State Tournament on Aug. 26. The Lady Tigers bounced back with a 3-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff later that day, and have fallen 3-1 to Southeast Missouri State and 3-0 at Southeastern Louisiana State their last time out on Aug. 30.

UAB also comes in with a record of 1-2. The Blazers fell 3-2 to Xavier, 3-1 to Buffalo, and knocked off Cleveland State 3-2 in the Buffalo Invite last weekend. 
 
Despite trailing the Blazers 26-4 in their series history, Samford has taken three of the last four match-ups with UAB, including a 3-1 victory in their most recent contest in 2019. The Bulldogs trail Little Rock 2-1 and hold an 8-1 series advantage over Jackson State.
 
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