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No. 1 Samford wins 2020-21 SoCon Volleyball Championship
Bulldogs beat No. 2 Mercer, 3-0, to win third straight title
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed, won the 2020-21 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship, their fourth in five years and third straight under head coach Keylor Chan, beating second-seeded Mercer 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-21) and earning an automatic bid to the Spring 2021 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship on Saturday afternoon inside Samford’s Pete Hanna Center. The championship is Samford’s sixth in program history, all coming in the last 10 seasons. The 3-0 sweep was the first in a championship final since ETSU beat Wofford in 2017.
The two teams split the regular-season matchups, held in Macon, Georgia, the opening weekend of conference play. Samford won 3-0 on Jan. 31, but Mercer took the second match, 3-1, a day later. Samford advanced to the championship with a thrilling 3-2 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Wofford.
Samford scored first on a solo block from Briana Holmes. Mercer tied it at 2 before using a 3-0 run to go up 5-2, but Samford went on a 4-1 run of its own to tie the match at 6. From there, Samford won nine of the next 13 points to push the lead to five, 15-10. Mercer scored the next point off a Samford attack error, but Samford setter Kayla Keshock ran the lead back to four and the Bulldogs led by at least that for the duration of the set, leading by as many as eight, 21-13, as Samford cruised to a 25-18 opening-set win.
Sarah Hayes Farley started off set two with a service ace for Samford. It was a back-and-forth affair from there as the set featured six ties and two lead changes. Tied at 6, Mercer used a 6-2 run to go ahead 12-8 and force a Samford timeout. Mercer held onto the lead until a kill by Holmes tied the match at 18 and forced Bears’ head coach Derek Schroeder, the SoCon Coach of the Year, to use a timeout. A kill by first-team all-conference performer Annie Karle, a Samford attack error, and another kill by Karle pushed the Mercer lead back to three and Chan called a timeout of his own. Samford cut the lead to one, 23-22, on a kill from Lauren Deaton, the SoCon Player of the Year, and Schroeder called his second and final timeout of the set. An attack error by Mercer’s Brittany Major, a second-team all-conference performer, tied the score and kills by Deaton and Keshock helped the Bulldogs to a 25-23 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Mercer got on the board first in the third set on a kill by Karle. The teams traded points until, tied at 10, Samford began to pull away, winning seven of the next nine to take a 17-12 lead. Schroeder used a timeout, which worked, as the Bears pulled within two at 20-18, forcing a Samford timeout. The Bulldogs got a timely ace from Farley to lead 22-18 and Mercer used its final timeout, but two key kills from Deaton and a block from Sierra Rayzor, a second-team all-conference selection, gave Samford the 25-21 set win, capping off the sweep.
Deaton, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and SoCon Player of the Year, led Samford with 15 kills, hitting .293. Deaton and libero Emily Naubert each added 14 digs. Keshock led all players with 31 assists.
Karle led Mercer with 17 kills, hitting .342 in the match, while Megan Smith led all players with 19 digs. Karle added 11 digs, earning a double-double, and Brittany Major added 10 digs.
Samford will learn its NCAA tournament opponent during the selection show on Sunday, April 4. The show is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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 3, No. 3 Western Carolina 2
Saturday, April 3
Championship
Match 3: No. 1 Samford 3, No. 2 Mercer 0
All-Tournament Team
Annie Karle, Mercer
Megan Smith, Mercer
Lauren Deaton, Samford
Sinclaire Greene, Samford
Emily Naubert, Samford
Merry Gebel, Western Carolina
Riley Coonan, Wofford
Most Outstanding Player
Lauren Deaton, Samford
Pinnacle Award Recipient (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Sierra Rayzor, Samford
-www.SoConSports.com-
The two teams split the regular-season matchups, held in Macon, Georgia, the opening weekend of conference play. Samford won 3-0 on Jan. 31, but Mercer took the second match, 3-1, a day later. Samford advanced to the championship with a thrilling 3-2 semifinal win over fourth-seeded Wofford.
Samford scored first on a solo block from Briana Holmes. Mercer tied it at 2 before using a 3-0 run to go up 5-2, but Samford went on a 4-1 run of its own to tie the match at 6. From there, Samford won nine of the next 13 points to push the lead to five, 15-10. Mercer scored the next point off a Samford attack error, but Samford setter Kayla Keshock ran the lead back to four and the Bulldogs led by at least that for the duration of the set, leading by as many as eight, 21-13, as Samford cruised to a 25-18 opening-set win.
Sarah Hayes Farley started off set two with a service ace for Samford. It was a back-and-forth affair from there as the set featured six ties and two lead changes. Tied at 6, Mercer used a 6-2 run to go ahead 12-8 and force a Samford timeout. Mercer held onto the lead until a kill by Holmes tied the match at 18 and forced Bears’ head coach Derek Schroeder, the SoCon Coach of the Year, to use a timeout. A kill by first-team all-conference performer Annie Karle, a Samford attack error, and another kill by Karle pushed the Mercer lead back to three and Chan called a timeout of his own. Samford cut the lead to one, 23-22, on a kill from Lauren Deaton, the SoCon Player of the Year, and Schroeder called his second and final timeout of the set. An attack error by Mercer’s Brittany Major, a second-team all-conference performer, tied the score and kills by Deaton and Keshock helped the Bulldogs to a 25-23 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Mercer got on the board first in the third set on a kill by Karle. The teams traded points until, tied at 10, Samford began to pull away, winning seven of the next nine to take a 17-12 lead. Schroeder used a timeout, which worked, as the Bears pulled within two at 20-18, forcing a Samford timeout. The Bulldogs got a timely ace from Farley to lead 22-18 and Mercer used its final timeout, but two key kills from Deaton and a block from Sierra Rayzor, a second-team all-conference selection, gave Samford the 25-21 set win, capping off the sweep.
Deaton, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and SoCon Player of the Year, led Samford with 15 kills, hitting .293. Deaton and libero Emily Naubert each added 14 digs. Keshock led all players with 31 assists.
Karle led Mercer with 17 kills, hitting .342 in the match, while Megan Smith led all players with 19 digs. Karle added 11 digs, earning a double-double, and Brittany Major added 10 digs.
Samford will learn its NCAA tournament opponent during the selection show on Sunday, April 4. The show is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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 3, No. 3 Western Carolina 2
Saturday, April 3
Championship
Match 3: No. 1 Samford 3, No. 2 Mercer 0
All-Tournament Team
Annie Karle, Mercer
Megan Smith, Mercer
Lauren Deaton, Samford
Sinclaire Greene, Samford
Emily Naubert, Samford
Merry Gebel, Western Carolina
Riley Coonan, Wofford
Most Outstanding Player
Lauren Deaton, Samford
Pinnacle Award Recipient (highest cumulative GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Sierra Rayzor, Samford
-www.SoConSports.com-