Volleyball Falls To Jacksonville State In Three Straight Games

--- Bulldogs play hard but still fall short ---

Sept. 27, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. ---- The Samford volleyball team fell to 0-3 in conference play tonight as they were defeated by the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State in three straight games.

Game one started out close as the Bulldogs (5-12) and Gamecocks (9-4) tied the game a few times before Samford took the lead. After the Gamecocks tied the game at four, the Bulldogs went on an 8-1 run to take the lead, 13-5. Jacksonville State tried to close the gap, but the Bulldogs extended the lead to 10. The Gamecocks fought back to tie the game at 23, and soon to the one-point lead, 25-24. Samford kept it close, but the Gamecocks took the game one, 30-27.

Jacksonville State took the early lead in the second game but Samford never let them lead by more than three, until the Gamecocks went on a run to extend the lead to six points. With the score at 15-9, the Bulldogs took a timeout. After the timeout, Samford went on a 6-0 run to tie it up. Jacksonville State fought back, taking the lead again, and would go on to win game two, 30-22.

The third game had a close beginning but with the score tied at four, the Gamecocks took a five-point lead. Samford charged back on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 11, but Jacksonville State would take back the lead and control of the game. The Gamecocks took game three and the match, 30-22.

Sophomore Kirstein Sosnowski led the Bulldogs with a .222 hitting percentage, 12 points, and 10 kills. Courtney Gay posted 29 assists and 12 digs, and Sara Sears put up 31 attempts for this match.

Samford will continue their four-match road trip as they go Cookeville, Tenn., this Saturday to take on Tennesee Tech. Match play begins at 2 p.m.

*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***