Saturday, October 2
Davidson, N.C.
2:00 p.m.
Davidson College
3
vs
2
Samford
Volleyball Defeats Samford in Five Sets
10/2/2010 4:44:31 PM | Volleyball
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Behind the second straight 20-kill effort from senior outside hitter Sarabeth Peele, the Davidson Wildcat volleyball team defeated the Samford Bulldogs, 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 13-25, 25-21, 15-12), Saturday afternoon in SoCon volleyball action at Belk Arena.
In the teams' fifth meeting, Davidson (10-8, 2-0 SoCon) picked up its first-ever win over Samford (6-11, 0-3 SoCon), while improving to 2-0 in league play for the first time since 1999.
Peele led the Wildcats with 21 kills and nine digs, while senior middle blocker Jorden Benedict and junior opposite Erin Lupfer each added 13 kills. Senior setter Hayley Lawson finished with 45 assists and nine digs, and junior outside hitter Christine Perzinski also had nine digs.
Samford got 22 kills from Elizabeth Neisler, to go along with 11 and 10 from Katie Murphy and Lauren Hutchinson, respectively. Hillary Fountain finished with 47 assists, and Alexis Bauer paced the defense with 20 digs.
The Wildcats roared out of the gate, winning the first five points of the match en route to a convincing 25-17 win. The Bulldogs tried to make it interesting early, getting within two, 7-5, on a kill by Neisler and a hitting error, but Davidson pulled away with a 7-1 run to open a 14-7 lead. The Wildcats controlled the set throughout, finishing with a .448 hitting percentage to just .160 for the Bulldogs.
The second set featured nine ties, though Samford used an early 4-2 lead to control play most of the way. Davidson led just once, 12-11, on back-to-back kills from Peele, but Samford got the two-point margin back on kills from Neisler and Hutchinson. Davidson knotted the score at 14 on a kill from Peele and a Bulldog error, and the set went back and forth, tied as late as 19. The Bulldogs rattled off four straight to open a 23-19 lead and evened the match with a 25-20 win.
Samford took a 5-1 lead to start the third set and went ahead 2-1 in the match with the 25-13 win. Neisler chipped in four kills, while Hutchinson, Shelby Brandon, and Murphy each had three.
Fighting to extend the match, Davidson broke a 3-3 tie with a kill from Lupfer and an ace from Peele before forcing the Bulldogs into a timeout by pulling ahead 9-5. A Wildcat hitting error put Samford within a score, 10-9, but Davidson put together a 4-0 run to open a 14-9 lead and continued to pull ahead 21-16 late in the set. The Bulldogs won three straight to force Davidson into a timeout at 22-19 before pulling within two on a Wildcat hitting error. Peele and a Bulldog hitting error lifted Davidson to a 24-20 lead, and though Neisler fought off one set point, Lupfer put away the next for the 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was a nail biter with ties at every point through 10 and three lead changes. The Wildcats led by a point five times in the set and opened a two-point lead, 12-10, on two straight kills from Peele, but Samford answered with putaways from Hutchinson and Murphy to tie it up again at 12. Lupfer's 13th kill of the match put Davidson ahead 13-12 before a hitting error gave the 'Cats a match point, which Perzinski punched home for the 15-12 win.
Davidson will return to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb in its final non-conference match of the season Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Charleston to face the College of Charleston and The Citadel next weekend.
In the teams' fifth meeting, Davidson (10-8, 2-0 SoCon) picked up its first-ever win over Samford (6-11, 0-3 SoCon), while improving to 2-0 in league play for the first time since 1999.
Peele led the Wildcats with 21 kills and nine digs, while senior middle blocker Jorden Benedict and junior opposite Erin Lupfer each added 13 kills. Senior setter Hayley Lawson finished with 45 assists and nine digs, and junior outside hitter Christine Perzinski also had nine digs.
Samford got 22 kills from Elizabeth Neisler, to go along with 11 and 10 from Katie Murphy and Lauren Hutchinson, respectively. Hillary Fountain finished with 47 assists, and Alexis Bauer paced the defense with 20 digs.
The Wildcats roared out of the gate, winning the first five points of the match en route to a convincing 25-17 win. The Bulldogs tried to make it interesting early, getting within two, 7-5, on a kill by Neisler and a hitting error, but Davidson pulled away with a 7-1 run to open a 14-7 lead. The Wildcats controlled the set throughout, finishing with a .448 hitting percentage to just .160 for the Bulldogs.
The second set featured nine ties, though Samford used an early 4-2 lead to control play most of the way. Davidson led just once, 12-11, on back-to-back kills from Peele, but Samford got the two-point margin back on kills from Neisler and Hutchinson. Davidson knotted the score at 14 on a kill from Peele and a Bulldog error, and the set went back and forth, tied as late as 19. The Bulldogs rattled off four straight to open a 23-19 lead and evened the match with a 25-20 win.
Samford took a 5-1 lead to start the third set and went ahead 2-1 in the match with the 25-13 win. Neisler chipped in four kills, while Hutchinson, Shelby Brandon, and Murphy each had three.
Fighting to extend the match, Davidson broke a 3-3 tie with a kill from Lupfer and an ace from Peele before forcing the Bulldogs into a timeout by pulling ahead 9-5. A Wildcat hitting error put Samford within a score, 10-9, but Davidson put together a 4-0 run to open a 14-9 lead and continued to pull ahead 21-16 late in the set. The Bulldogs won three straight to force Davidson into a timeout at 22-19 before pulling within two on a Wildcat hitting error. Peele and a Bulldog hitting error lifted Davidson to a 24-20 lead, and though Neisler fought off one set point, Lupfer put away the next for the 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was a nail biter with ties at every point through 10 and three lead changes. The Wildcats led by a point five times in the set and opened a two-point lead, 12-10, on two straight kills from Peele, but Samford answered with putaways from Hutchinson and Murphy to tie it up again at 12. Lupfer's 13th kill of the match put Davidson ahead 13-12 before a hitting error gave the 'Cats a match point, which Perzinski punched home for the 15-12 win.
Davidson will return to action when it hosts Gardner-Webb in its final non-conference match of the season Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Charleston to face the College of Charleston and The Citadel next weekend.
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