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Samford escapes Wofford, will play for SoCon Championship
Top-seeded Bulldogs down fourth-seeded Terriers in five sets
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Despite fourth-seeded Wofford giving top-seeded Samford all it could handle, the Bulldogs edged the Terriers in five sets on Friday evening in the 2020-21 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship semifinals. With the win (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 12-25, 16-14), Samford makes its seventh championship final appearance and third in a row, looking to defend its 2018 and 2019 titles. The Bulldogs will face the winner of No. 2 seed Mercer and No. 3 seed Western Carolina in the final on Saturday, April 3, at 4 p.m. CT.
The first set was back-and-forth to start. Up 3-2, Samford scored five of the next six points to take an 8-3 lead and force Wofford head coach Lynze Roos to call a timeout. Samford scored out of the break but a service error followed and Wofford broke the Bulldogs’ run. Samford was able to hold on to a solid lead for the remainder of the set, ahead by as many as nine at one point. Wofford pulled within four at 22-18, but the teams traded points down the stretch and the Bulldogs held on for a 25-21 opening-set win.
Wofford jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second set. The teams were tied at 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 before Samford used a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. Wofford won the point out of the media break on a kill by Bella Zeman but Samford kept its foot on the gas and ran the lead to 16-9 before Roos called timeout. The timeout worked as Wofford pulled within two at 18-16 after a big block by first-team all-conference performer Riley Coonan and the Terriers’ used that momentum to tie the match at 20. Tied at 23, Wofford scored the next two on an attack error by Sarah Hayes Farley and a service ace from Kaitlyn Brown, giving the Terriers a 25-23 second-set win and tying the match at one set apiece.
Samford never trailed in the third set, quickly jumping out to a 4-1 lead and never looking back. Wofford pulled within a point at 12-11, but Samford used a 3-0 run to push the lead back to four. The gap never got smaller for the Terriers as the Bulldogs won 25-19 and went up 2-1 in the match.
Wofford, however, came out firing in the fourth set, exploding to take an 8-3 lead before Samford head coach Keylor Chan called a timeout to regroup. The break didn’t slow down the Terriers, who scored four in a row out of the break, forcing Chan to call his second and final timeout of the set, trailing 12-3. The momentum continued as Roos’ squad completed an 11-0 run and to extend the lead to 16-3 behind the strong serving of freshman libero Abbey Richman. Samford began to slowly chip away at the deficit, and the teams went 9-9 down the stretch, but Wofford won easily, 25-12, to tie the match and force a fifth set.
Samford quickly went up 4-0 in the fifth set and Roos used a timeout. Wofford rallied from behind to tie it at 6 and took the lead at 8-6, again buoyed by Richman’s strong serving. The Terriers held on to the lead until a Wofford attack error tied it at 13. Wofford used a timeout and won the first point after, taking a 14-13 lead that lead to match point on a block by all-freshman and second-team all-conference performer Sarah Barham, but Samford fired off three straight points behind a kill from Lauren Deaton and a pair of attack errors by the Terriers, holding on for the fifth-set win and taking the match 3-2, keeping the championship hopes alive for the top seed.
Deaton, the SoCon Player of the Year, and Kenya McQuirter, the Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year, led Samford with 16 kills apiece. Deaton added 22 digs to earn a double-double. Libero Emily Naubert joined her in double-digit digs, recording a team-high 23, while Sinclaire Green joined Deaton and McQuirter with double-digit kills (10). Setter Kayla Keshock had a game-high 40 assists.
Barham led Wofford with 12 kills, while Coonan hit .321 and finished with 10. Richman tallied a team-high 30 digs. Wofford won the advantage at the net, finishing with 15 blocks to Samford’s eight.
2020-21 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Pete Hanna Center ? Birmingham, Ala.
Friday, April 2
Semifinals
Match 1: No. 1 Samford 3, No. 4 Wofford 2
Match 2: No. 2 Mercer vs. No. 3 Western Carolina, 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Saturday, April 3
Championship
Match 3: No. 1 Samford vs. Match 2 winner, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
-www.SoConSports.com-
The first set was back-and-forth to start. Up 3-2, Samford scored five of the next six points to take an 8-3 lead and force Wofford head coach Lynze Roos to call a timeout. Samford scored out of the break but a service error followed and Wofford broke the Bulldogs’ run. Samford was able to hold on to a solid lead for the remainder of the set, ahead by as many as nine at one point. Wofford pulled within four at 22-18, but the teams traded points down the stretch and the Bulldogs held on for a 25-21 opening-set win.
Wofford jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second set. The teams were tied at 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 before Samford used a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. Wofford won the point out of the media break on a kill by Bella Zeman but Samford kept its foot on the gas and ran the lead to 16-9 before Roos called timeout. The timeout worked as Wofford pulled within two at 18-16 after a big block by first-team all-conference performer Riley Coonan and the Terriers’ used that momentum to tie the match at 20. Tied at 23, Wofford scored the next two on an attack error by Sarah Hayes Farley and a service ace from Kaitlyn Brown, giving the Terriers a 25-23 second-set win and tying the match at one set apiece.
Samford never trailed in the third set, quickly jumping out to a 4-1 lead and never looking back. Wofford pulled within a point at 12-11, but Samford used a 3-0 run to push the lead back to four. The gap never got smaller for the Terriers as the Bulldogs won 25-19 and went up 2-1 in the match.
Wofford, however, came out firing in the fourth set, exploding to take an 8-3 lead before Samford head coach Keylor Chan called a timeout to regroup. The break didn’t slow down the Terriers, who scored four in a row out of the break, forcing Chan to call his second and final timeout of the set, trailing 12-3. The momentum continued as Roos’ squad completed an 11-0 run and to extend the lead to 16-3 behind the strong serving of freshman libero Abbey Richman. Samford began to slowly chip away at the deficit, and the teams went 9-9 down the stretch, but Wofford won easily, 25-12, to tie the match and force a fifth set.
Samford quickly went up 4-0 in the fifth set and Roos used a timeout. Wofford rallied from behind to tie it at 6 and took the lead at 8-6, again buoyed by Richman’s strong serving. The Terriers held on to the lead until a Wofford attack error tied it at 13. Wofford used a timeout and won the first point after, taking a 14-13 lead that lead to match point on a block by all-freshman and second-team all-conference performer Sarah Barham, but Samford fired off three straight points behind a kill from Lauren Deaton and a pair of attack errors by the Terriers, holding on for the fifth-set win and taking the match 3-2, keeping the championship hopes alive for the top seed.
Deaton, the SoCon Player of the Year, and Kenya McQuirter, the Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year, led Samford with 16 kills apiece. Deaton added 22 digs to earn a double-double. Libero Emily Naubert joined her in double-digit digs, recording a team-high 23, while Sinclaire Green joined Deaton and McQuirter with double-digit kills (10). Setter Kayla Keshock had a game-high 40 assists.
Barham led Wofford with 12 kills, while Coonan hit .321 and finished with 10. Richman tallied a team-high 30 digs. Wofford won the advantage at the net, finishing with 15 blocks to Samford’s eight.
2020-21 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship
Pete Hanna Center ? Birmingham, Ala.
Friday, April 2
Semifinals
Match 1: No. 1 Samford 3, No. 4 Wofford 2
Match 2: No. 2 Mercer vs. No. 3 Western Carolina, 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Saturday, April 3
Championship
Match 3: No. 1 Samford vs. Match 2 winner, 4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
-www.SoConSports.com-