Samford University Volleyball Team Finishes Off Competitive Spring Season
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--- Additions to already talented squad and spring work look to continue Samford’s success ---
April 26, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team closed out spring competition Saturday in a tournament in Oxford, Miss., hosted by Ole Miss. The Bulldogs started out the season at a tournament at Alabama before heading to Ohio to play at the Ohio Valley Volleyball Center.
“It was an up and down spring,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “We had some low points and definitely lost matches to some teams where I was disappointed with the effort. During the high points though we were playing legitimate high-end Division I volleyball and hanging with or beating some very good teams.”
Schroeder took a very young team of two seniors, a red-shirt junior and eight freshmen to three spring tournaments over the last two months to get a little competition in against some very good teams. The focus was on getting the young student-athletes to play up to their athletic potential and learn how to play composed while staying focused on every point of every match. Schroeder said his team is becoming more disciplined and efficient in the Bulldogs’ defensive system.
“Our ball control kids matured into excellent and well-rounded defensive players,” Schroeder said. “We were very undisciplined and made plays on effort alone. Sam (Bland) and Lexi (Bauer) have developed into players that can make defensive plays because of our system, their discipline and a high volleyball I.Q.”
Some highlights from the Bulldogs’ spring play included taking on some tough SEC competition at two of the three tournaments. Samford defeated Mississippi State twice, beat Ole Miss and split a pair of matches with Alabama.
The emergence of freshman Elizabeth Neisler and transfer Lauren Hutchinson as high-end offensive weapons was also a bright spot in Samford’s spring play.
“Elizabeth and Lauren both jump so high and are so long that their potential at the net is phenomenal,” Schroeder said. “Both of them took great strides this spring, becoming long and tall weapons for our offense. I definitely feel that Neisler was the most improved kid in our gym this spring season.”
The 2010 edition of the Samford volleyball team returns all but one player from last season’s roster aside from the three seniors who graduated. It will also add two incoming freshmen, Taylor Palmer (Jacksonville, Ala.) and Katie Murphy (Sterling Heights, Mich.), along with transfer Hutchinson.
The Bulldogs will open the 2010 season in a tournament at the University of Arkansas August 27-28.
*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***
