Samford Volleyball Heads to Orlando, Fla., For Tournament

--- Bulldogs prepare for four-team tournament Friday and Saturday ---

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball team heads to Orlando, Fla., for a four-team tournament hosted by University of Central Florida this weekend.

Samford (0-2) will take on host Central Florida (1-2) and the Wolverines of Utah Valley State College (1-2). The Bulldogs will also take on the Lady Paladins of Furman University (2-1) in a mid-morning match on Saturday.

The Bulldogs meet Furman this weekend after falling to them during the spring. Samford looks to get revenge by taking home a win.

“Since we saw them (Furman) in the spring, we have a good idea of live action against them,” said head coach Michelle Durban. “They are a good disciplined team, so I think we will definitely have to play smart against them.”

Samford hopes to bounce back this week from the 0-2 start they got last week, as they fell to Music City foes, Belmont and Lipscomb.

“We’ve had a very intense week of practice, and we have worked on some of the things that we saw in our first two matches,” said Durban. “We also looked at things that we need to improve, and that has been our focus this week.

“I expect to see continued improvement. We’ve talked to the players about being more aware of the errors they are making at key times, and making sure that when we are in a situation where we need to keep the ball in play, we keep the ball in play instead of going for the kill.”

The first match for the Bulldogs begins Friday at 1 p.m., when they face off with the UCF Golden Knights. The Bulldogs will then take on Utah Valley State at 5 p.m. Match play will continue on Saturday as Samford takes on Furman at 11 a.m., instead of the previous scheduled time, 1 p.m.

Samford falls to Belmont, Lipscomb in season opener

---The Bulldogs post a record of 0-2 after the Magic/Music City Classic--

Aug. 26, 2006

Samford vs. Belmont Box Score
Samford vs. Lipscomb Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford volleyball team dropped their first matches of the season Saturday to Music City opponents, Belmont University and Lipscomb University in the Magic/Music City Classic hosted by Birmingham-Southern College. The Bulldogs played two four-game matches to post an opening record of 0-2.

Samford fell in the first match at noon, 3-1, to the Belmont Bruins from Nashville, Tenn.

“I felt like we came out here ready to play,” said head coach Michelle Durban. “Belmont is definitely a more experienced team, and I think that showed today. We were expecting a battle with them, and we weren’t able to take them out of their offense. That was the biggest thing in that game – they ran a quick offense, and it hurt us.”

In the first game, Samford fell behind early, but quickly tied it up, 10-10, and made it a back-and-forth game. Samford kept it within one point before Belmont pulled ahead with the lead, 27-20, and Samford would eventually fall, 30-21.
Samford came out on top in game two, 30-27. The Bulldogs trailed early, but would come to tie it at 26-26 and go on a 4-1 run to walk away with the win.

In game three, the Bruins led by as much as 14 points and the Bulldogs would not be able to find a way to take the lead before dropping the game, 17-30. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead at 4-2 in the fourth and final game, but would again go back-and-forth with the Bruins before pulling ahead, 17-14. Samford would fight back to tie it up at 18-18 and then finally 26-26 before Belmont pulled away and won it with a score of 30-27.

Sara Sears and All-Tournament team member Kirstein Sosnowski lead the team with 13 digs and eight kills, respectively. Courtney Gay also had 13 digs and Jackie Jaszcz posted nine digs and had the team high attack percentage of .222 for this game.

In the second match, the Bulldogs met up with the Bisons of Lipscomb University at 6 p.m.

“The second match I felt like we were evenly matched with Lipscomb,” said Durban. “In game one and game three, we had over .300 and we still couldn’t pull out a win. I think that we were hoping that they were going to lose it for us, instead of us taking that game.”

Samford trailed early in the first game, 10-4. They brought it within five points later in the game, and went on a 5-0 run to bring the score to 28-26. The Bulldogs, however, could not pull it out and fell, 30-27.

The Bulldogs kept the second game close after trailing by as much as five in the early minutes of the game. They tied it, 16-16, and later took the lead, 28-26, before take this game, 31-29.

In the third game, Samford got behind early and could never get back into the game. They trailed by as much as seven before bringing it within five to bring the final score to 25-30.

In the last game, Samford started out with a burst of energy to keep it close, but started to trail in the middle minutes of the game by no more than four points. The Bulldogs brought it within one point before Lipscomb would go on an 8-1 run. They rallied back to bring it within two but lost, 27-30.

In the second match, Sosnowski, Sears, and Jen Powers lead the team with 15, 12, and 14 kills, respectively. Sosnowski posted an attack percentage of .591. Sears chalked up 19 digs and Gay had 22 digs. The Bulldogs out-blocked each of their opponents 9-5 and 9-6.

Next, Samford will take a Labor Day weekend trip to Orlando, Fla., to participate in the Central Florida Tournament on UCF campus. There the Bulldogs will take on UCF at 1 p.m., and Utah Valley State at 5 p.m., on Friday. They will wrap up the weekend with a match against Furman at 11 p.m., on Saturday.

---SAMFORD BULLDOGS---

Volleyball to Open 2006 Season at Magic/Music City Invite

--- Samford will meet Belmont and Lipscomb in the tournament ---

Aug. 24, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team opens the 2006 campaign across town Saturday in the Magic/Music City Classic hosted by Birmingham-Southern College. The Bulldogs will play a match against the Bruins of Belmont University, and another against the Bisons of Lipscomb University in the tournament.

Samford has been working hard this preseason to build on the foundation that was laid last season.

“We’ve really been working on more team-oriented drills and trying to make sure everybody is more comfortable on the court together,” Samford head coach Michelle Durban said. “We’ve done a good job of continuing to improve this preseason, and our team is ready to play.

“Something we are shooting for on Saturday is having the measuring stick of Belmont and Lipscomb to see where we fit in,” said Durban.

Samford enters the season with three newcomers added to a team that finished 9-21 last season, and is led by two sophomore captains.

“Jen Powers (Lisle, Ill.) and Sara Sears (Fairhope, Ala.) are captains this year,” Durban said. “They have done a good job so far, and the team has set their goals accordingly. Hopefully, we will continue to improve upon the goals they have set up for themselves, as a team and individually.”

Samford will face Belmont in Bill Battle Coliseum on the campus of Birmingham-Southern at noon on Saturday. Then the Bulldogs will play Lipscomb at 6 p.m.
Samford has met up with Belmont each of the past nine seasons, and the Bulldogs hold the lead in an 11-2 series. Last season marked the first time the Samford Bulldogs and the Lipscomb Bisons met up. Samford leads that series, 1-0.

Samford's first home match is scheduled for Sept. 6, when the Bulldogs will play host to Chattanooga. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m., in Seibert Hall.

--- SAMFORD BULLDOGS ---

Samford Volleyball Predicted To Finish Sixth in OVC

Bulldogs get first preseason All-OCV player honors in history

August 9, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University volleyball team has been predicted by conference coaches and sports information directors to finish in sixth place in the Ohio Valley Conference this season.

Samford joins the top six behind Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois.

“We are excited about where we’ve been picked to finish,” said head coach Michelle Durban. “It shows that we have continued to get better and it gives us the opportunity to go out there and show that we belong in that spot.”

Sophomore outside hitter Sara Sears has also been selected to the preseason All-OVC Second Team. Last season Sears led the Bulldogs in kills (426), kills per game (3.64), service aces (37) and points (483). She also set Samford's all-time single-season record with 1,199 attempts and ended the season ranked seventh in the OVC in both kills (426) and points per game (4.13). She was also named to the 2005 OVC All-Newcomer Team.

“This is the first time that we’ve had someone picked for preseason All-OVC since we’ve been here,” said Durban. “Once again, this shows that we are gaining respect in the conference and we are excited that Sara has earned this honor.”

Joining Sears on the second team are outside hitters Amy Arlinghaus and Jessica Sabath of Eastern Kentucky, outside hitter Ashley Doshcer of Morehead State, outside hitter Kara Sorenson and setter Maren Crabtree of Eastern Illinois, and setter Tiana Maua of Tennessee State.

The OVC preseason first team includes middle blocker Abbey Breit of Jacksonville State, outside hitter Jessica Koeper and setter Jamie Baumstark of Southeast Missouri, outside hitter Kelly Davis and middle hitter Kelley Smith of Tennessee State, and setter Kelly Jennings and Libero Brittany Nobilio of Eastern Kentucky.

Samford opens the 2006 regular season on Aug. 26, when the team goes across town to participate in the Magic/Music City Invite, hosted by Birmingham-Southern. There the Bulldogs will face Belmont University at noon and then Lipscomb University at 6 p.m. The first home match for the Bulldogs is scheduled for Sept. 6 at 6 p.m., against Chattanooga.

Volleyball Begins Work For 2006 Season

The Bulldogs begin two-a-days Friday

Aug. 7, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford volleyball team will begin work for the 2006 season starting Tuesday. The team will meet at 7:15 a.m. for physical tests and will begin position practices starting with the middle blockers, followed by the outside hitters, and finally the setters and liberos.

The team will continue with position practices until Friday, when they will start two-a-days. The Bulldogs will practice at 9 a.m., and again at 1 p.m., in Seibert Hall.

Head coach Michelle Durban is in her third season with the Bulldogs. The 2005 squad posted a record of 9-21. However, this season the team is hopeful, as it is led by senior outside hitter Callaway Logan, who welcomes three new Bulldogs to the squad.

"We are looking to build on a good foundation that was started in 2005," Durban said. “We will look for Callaway to lead this young team as the only senior and hope the new girls will learn quickly and get excited about this season.”

The Bulldogs open the 2006 regular season on Aug. 26, when the team goes across town to participate in the Magic/Music City Invite, hosted by Birmingham-Southern. The team will meet up with Belmont University at noon and then Lipscomb University at 6 p.m. The first home match for the Bulldogs is scheduled for Sept. 6 at 6 p.m., against the Chattanooga.