Samford Volleyball To Host Family Weekend :: Bulldogs continue conference home stand against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech

Bulldogs continue conference home stand against Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech

Sept. 27, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford volleyball team continues its home stand this weekend, Sept. 28-29, as they play host to Ohio Valley Conference competitors Tennessee State (5-8, 3-1 OVC) and Tennessee Tech (8-7, 2-2 OVC). The Bulldogs (8-5, 3-1 OVC) welcome many guests to Seibert Gym this weekend as a part of Samford volleyball's Family Weekend.

"This is family weekend so it should be a fun weekend for our players because each player will have a family member here to watch them," Samford head coach Michelle Durban said.

Samford holds the third place spot in the conference ranking this week. In addition, the Bulldogs have made their way onto the NCAA Division I digs per game list as they rank 66th in that category. Junior Libero Courtney Gay is a major contributor in that category with a national ranking of 14th in the individual category of digs per game. For the past two weeks, Gay has been ranked 12th on the same list, and right now, she is averaging 5.87 digs per game.

Another Bulldog also made her way into the national rankings this week. Sophomore middle blocker Sheriden Stangohr is currently ranked 48th in blocks per game as she averages 1.37 bpg.

The Bulldogs come of a week in which they went 1-1 against conference opponents. Samford first took on Jacksonville State Wednesday, Sept. 19, but fell in three extremely close games to receive their first conference loss. The Bulldogs then bounced back on Friday, Sept. 21, with a 3-1 win over Austin Peay.

Samford has only lost one game at home this season, that loss coming in the Bulldog Barber's Classic on Sept. 1, against McNesse State. The Bulldogs have since played and won two matches and hope to keep the streak alive this weekend.

"We need to protect our home court this weekend," Durban said. "Both of these teams are very good and we need to play our style of volleyball to continue to improve in the conference rankings."

Tennessee State is currently ranked fourth in the conference, situated right behind Samford. Like the Bulldogs, the Lady Tigers have only lost one conference match and are a good defensive team. TSU is ranked 17th in the nation in blocks per game (3.17 bpg) in the NCAA Division I, and senior right hitter/middle blocker Endia Oliver is ranked third in the nation in blocks per game (1.83 bpg). The Lady Tigers come off a 3-0 loss to cross-town opponent Lipscomb University.

"Tennessee State has some new faces on the team," Durban said, "but they are still a very physical team. They are a very good blocking team which shows by their national ranking."

Tennessee Tech also puts up a good defensive effort, ranking 36th nationally in digs per game (18.02) while sophomore outside hitter Katie Kenline ranks 58th in digs per game with 5.12. The Golden Eagles' junior setter Kappy Lang also ranks nationally in assists per game, grabbing the 48th spot on the list with 12.15 apg.

TTU comes off a weekend in which they split conference matches with Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. Last Friday, the Golden Eagles came from two games down to defeat the Colonels but fell to the Morehead State Eagles the next day in a 3-0 sweep.

"Tennessee Tech has been playing very well lately," Durban said. "They have a very talented freshman outside hitter and their setter is doing a nice job of running their offense."

That freshman outside hitter is Leah Meffert who tallied 32 kills, 15 digs and three blocks over the weekend while the setter Lang had 87 assists in the two matches.

Match play with Tennessee State begins Friday night at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs will then turn around on Saturday and take on the Golden Eagles. First serve is a 2 p.m. Follow all the action on live stats. A full recap and results will be available on www.samfordsports.com.