Birmingham, Ala. – The Samford Volleyball will play its first three home matches over Labor Day weekend, hosting Evansville on Friday, North Alabama on Sunday, and Florida State on Monday.

Friday and Sunday's contests will be part of the program's annual Samford Invite, with a neutral-site competition between Evansville and North Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 3.

The Bulldogs won two of three contests last week at the Tiger Brawl in Memphis, sweeping both Miami (OH) and Alcorn while falling in five sets to Memphis.

Samford posted a .332 hitting percentage over the opening weekend, serving as the lone team in the SoCon to his above .300. Samford hit .529 against Alcorn that marked the highest match-hitting percentage under Head Coach Keylor Chan.

Outside hitters Gracie Lynn Butler and Kaleigh Meritt both hit .304 last weekend. Butler tallied a SoCon-best 55 kills while Meritt recorded 30 as the duo combined for 59 percent of Samford's attacking offense.

Freshman Lexi Thatcher started all three matches at setter, finishing the weekend with 105 assists and an average of 9.55 assists per set.

The Bulldogs trail Evansville (0-1) and Florida State (0-3) in their respective series, while their series with UNA is tied at three wins each.

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