Samford 3, Wofford 2

SPARTANBURG, S.C. ---- Michaela Reesor set a school record with 33 kills en route to a stellar comeback at Wofford Sunday afternoon, as the Bulldogs came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.

 The Samford (17-8, 9-2 SoCon) offense was led by Reesor’s 33 kills on 64 swings with nine errors for a .375 clip.  She added 14 digs for her fourth-straight double double, her eighth of the season.  Neisler was also in double digits with 16 kills, adding five blocks for 20.5 points.  Casey Garvey set a career high with 71 assists while Alexis Bauer led the defense with 34 digs.

Wofford (14-11, 4-8 SoCon) played their hearts out at home, hitting .271 in the first two sets but falling to .101 in the final three.  The offense was led by Wendy Burnett and Amanda Ligouri with 13 kills each, with Burnett hitting .320.  The defense kept them in the game, with four players earning at least 10 digs.

The teams traded a small lead in set one until, up 4-3, Samford rattled off four in a row to build an 8-3 as the Terriers took a timeout.  Two Bulldog errors after the break forced Samford to regroup with a timeout as the Terriers closed the gap, down 8-5.  The home team fought back to eventually even the set at 18-18, but a 4-1 run by Samford made it 22-19 as Wofford took another timeout.  Samford reached set point, up 24-21, but Wofford would not relent, scoring three in a row to tie it and the teams battled back and forth in a tense closing stretch.  The Terriers reached set point, serving up 27-26, and a Samford attack error gave them the 28-26 victory and the early 1-0 match lead.

Samford held the early edge in set two but could not extend the lead to more than two points with Wofford fighting back every step of the way.  Samford began to pull away in the middle of the frame, going up 13-9, but the Terriers fought right back to tie it at 16-16 as the Bulldogs took a timeout.  The Terriers gained the momentum advantage late eventually winning the set 25-22 to move up 2-0 in the match.

The Bulldogs came out of the break firing on all cylinders, building a 10-5 lead.  The Samford offense continued to roll, building a seven-point lead, up 18-11, as Wofford took a timeout.  The Terriers quickly took another timeout after back-to-back hard kills by Reesor made it 20-11.  Samford reached set point, up 24-16, and Erika Devaughn eventually sealed it with a hard kill to the back-right corner to win it 25-17 and force a fourth set.

Samford’s momentum did not carry over into the fourth set, as Wofford scored three in a row to build an 8-3 lead over the Bulldogs.  The home team held the five-point lead at the halfway point, up 13-8, but Samford quickly closed the gap to draw within one, down 14-13.  Samford kept it close, eventually taking the lead, 20-19, as Reesor capped a 4-0 run with a kill.  Up 24-21, a kill by Lauren Hutchinson sealed the 25-21 victory and evened the match at 2-2 heading into the final set.

Tied at 3-3 in the deciding set, Samford gained a lead with a 5-1 run to put the Bulldogs up 8-4 at the mid-set switch.  Up 8-7, a 3-0 run put Samford up 11-7 forcing the Terriers to take a timeout.  Samford reached set point, up 14-9, and the Terriers scored one but Reesor knocked in a kill to seal the comeback and give the Bulldogs the 3-2 victory.

Davidson 3, The Citadel 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four Citadel players reached double figures in kills, including Ise d'Angelo who notched a match-high 15, but it was Davidson that took advantage of Caroline Brown's 28 kills as the Wildcats earned a hard fought 25-16, 26-24, 27-29, 25-22 and 19-17 victory over the Dogs at McAlister Field House on Sunday afternoon.

D'Angelo was joined by Lauren Hurt (14 kills), Rachael Farrell (14 kills) and Jessica Maxwell (13 kills) as The Citadel posted 70 kills and a .189 hitting percentage. Erin Bucherl anchored the defense with 29 digs, while Farrell completed her team-best fifth double-double by adding 25 digs. Also key for the Bulldogs defense were Maxwell's three assisted blocks. Freshman Rachel Keefer handed out 58 assists for The Citadel, who dropped to 5-24 overall and 0-12 in SoCon action following the loss.

Brown led the way for a Davidson unit that tallied 78 kills and hit .237 on the contest. Also posting double-digit kill performances for the Wildcats were Tindall Sewell (17 kills) and Taylor Pisel (11 kills). The Davidson back row held an eight-dig advantage due in large part to 40 kills by Molly Crenshaw. Other solid defensive outings came from Anastasia Owen (19 digs), Brown (14 digs) and Ariel Ley (13 digs). Ley was also responsible for 69 assists as Davidson moved to 9-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

The two teams battled to a four all tie early in the first set before d'Angelo drove home a kill to give The Citadel its first lead. Davidson bounced back with a kill by Megan Chamberlain, which was followed by consecutive kills off the hand of Brown. Clinging to a 7-5 advantage, the 'Cats put together a 12-4 run, highlighted by two kills each from Brown and Shannon McPherson, to take a commanding 19-9 lead. The Bulldogs answered with Bailey Kernodle in serve, converting two unforced errors to reach double figures, but it was kills down the stretch by Rachel Earnhardt, Pisel and McPherson that made for the 25-16 win.

Davidson's offense continued to click in the opening frame of the second set as they established a 6-0 lead. The Citadel answered with eight of the next 10 points, keyed by kills from Hurt, Farrell and d'Angelo to make for an 8-8 tie. Strikes by the front row of Keefer, Hurt and d'Angelo gave the Cadets a 12-10 lead, which they managed to hold until a flurry of points by Davidson knotted the game at 19-19. A kill by Rudnik, teamed with an unforced Wildcat error, provided a 21-19 cushion. The Citadel lead stooduntil kills by Earnhardt and Pisel provided Davidson with the 25-24 advantage. Following a timeout by the Bulldogs, Brown drove home the decisive 26-24 winner.

The two teams traded jabs in the early going of the third set, battling to a 4-4 tie before Davidson put together a 5-1 run, keyed by a pair of unforced errors, to move in front 9-5. The 'Cats eventually built a 19-14 lead, but behind kills from Farrell, d'Angelo and Hurt, The Citadel chipped away and sent the game to a 23-23 tie. The teams split each of the next six points, making a 26-26 deadlock, before a kill by Farrell and a Davidson unforced error made for the 29-27 Citadel victory.

Early kills by Maxwell and Keefer maintained third set momentum for The Citadel as the two teams reached a 5-5 tie. The Dogs rattled off nine of the next 13 points, including consecutive kills by Farrell, Rudnik, d'Angelo and Hurt to make for a 14-9 score. Led by Crenshaw, the Wildcats scored the next five points and again forced a tie, 14-14. Trading points, the two teams were tied five times before the Cadets grabbed a 20-19 lead on a kill by Hurt. Kills down the stretch by the front row combination of d'Angelo and Maxwell completed the 25-22 Bulldog win.

The battle for supremacy continued in the final set as Davidson grabbed an early 7-4 lead behind a series of Bulldog unforced errors. The 'Cats pushed the lead to four, 11-7, before three Farrell kills teamed with a ball handling error by Ley made for an 11-11 tie. Twelve points and five ties later the teams reached a 17-17 deadlock, which was broken when Sewell drove a Ley pass past The Citadel defense and following a second Sewell kill, Davidson completed the 19-17 victory.