Samford Volleyball Team Continues Month-Long Road Trip At Davidson
--- Bulldogs look for their first Southern Conference win of the season ---
Oct. 1, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team will continue its month-long road swing Saturday as it travels to Davidson, N.C., to take on the Wildcats. It is the next-to-last stop on the four-week trip away from home and the Bulldogs are still searching for their first Southern Conference win of the season.
Last weekend, Samford (6-10, 0-2 SoCon) traveled to UNC Greensboro and Elon and came home winless. It is the first time the Bulldogs have started a conference season 0-2 since 2006. Samford was swept Friday evening by UNCG before dropping a four-set match to Elon Saturday night.
“It’s hard as a coach to realize when your team needs to go through some growing pains and it’s even harder to stay patient through those times,” Samford head coach Derek Schroeder said. “After a very disappointing opener, we played much more maturely and resolute, and players like Elizabeth and Lexi showed some maturity and pugnacity on Saturday night.”
Elizabeth Neisler led the team last weekend, posting 3.00 kills per set and averaging .386 hitting. She had a career night at Elon with 14 kills and a .423 hitting percentage. Alexis Bauer led the back row defense, tallying 3.86 digs per set. She fell just one dig shy of matching a season high when she posted 20 digs at Elon on Saturday. Lauren Hutchinson and Shelby Brandon led in blocks with five each last weekend.
“This week we have been trying to get the girls to understand how champions practice and what it takes during the week leading up to a match,” Schroeder said. “Honestly, it has been very hard and I have been very happy with the response the team has shown.”
Samford is undefeated against Davidson in the series history. The Bulldogs and Wildcats had never met before Samford joined the SoCon, and the Bulldogs opened its first season in the league with a sweep at Davidson. Samford has won three straight since then and hopes to keep the streak alive on Saturday.
While everyone in the conference got league play underway last weekend, Davidson (9-8, 1-0 SoCon) got a late start to the SoCon season as it traveled to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on Wofford Tuesday night. The Wildcats walked away with a 3-1 win and became one of seven teams in the league to boast a winning percentage over .500.
“Davidson is going to come at us a hundred miles an hour at their place just like any conference opponent will,” Schroeder said. “They are well-coached and a smart team.”
The Wildcats are led by Jorden Benedict who boasts a .315 hitting percentage and 2.13 kills per set. She also leads the team in blocks with 46 on the year. Hayley Lawson is averaging 7.78 assists per set while Jennifer Chamblee leads the back row with 3.15 digs per set.
First serve between Samford and Davidson is at 1 p.m. CT at the John M. Belk Arena. Fans can follow the action via live stats and video streaming through links at the Samford volleyball schedule page. A full recap and final statistics will be posted on www.samfordsports.com upon the completion of the match.
*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***
