Career Notes: The younger sister of former Bradley Volleyball player Miranda Black, Sam is an athletic and talented setter ... Split time with junior setter Eileen Hillary in the Braves “6-2” offense as a true freshman opposite four-year setter Ashley Vance and shared time in the same offense in 2006 with senior Eileen Hillary ... Appeared in all but one match last fall and led the team in assists and aces, while ranking third in digs ... Will play a big role in the Braves success as she will likely share time again at setter with Hillary ... Enters her junior season as the team’s active career leader in both assists and service aces.
Sophomore Season (2006): Appeared in all but one match, starting 26 of the 29 matches she played in ... Led the team in assists with 825 and also led the squad with 29 service aces ... Her 2.48 digs per game average was third on the team ... Ranked seventh in the MVC with a 0.30 aces per game average ... Tallied a career-high 58 assists in a pair of matches, including a two-kill, 58-assist, three-ace and 13-dig effort against Loyola-Chicago ... Was second on the team with 11 double-doubles ... Had 25 or more assists in 18 of 29 matches and reached double figures in digs a total of 11 times.
Freshman Season (2005): Played in 21 matches as a true freshman, splitting time with Eileen HIllary opposite four-year letterwinner Ashley Vance at setter ... Had double digit assists in 10 of the last 14 matches she appeared in, recording a season high 24 assists and seven digs in the Braves five-game victory at Indiana State ... Served up a season-best two aces at Western Illinois.
West Liberty High School: A three-sport standout at West Liberty High School, Sam lettered in volleyball, basketball and track ... Earned all-conference honors three times during her volleyball career and finished her career as West Liberty’s all-time leader in assists ... Garnered all-district honors from the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association her last three years ... Led the team in assists, blocks, hitting percentage and serving percentage as both a junior and senior ... Earned special mention Class 2A all-state honors from the IGCA as a junior ... One of the most decorated track athletes in school history, she was named the most valuable runner on the track team all four years during her prep career and is the school record-holder in the 100, 200 and 400 meters ... Qualified for the state track meet a total of 12 times in her four-year track career, where she placed seventh or better in the 400 meters all four seasons ... Took second place in the state in the 400 meters as a sophomore and took fourth place as a senior ... Also finished fifth in the 200 meters as a senior ... Started three years on the basketball team, where she led squad in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage as a junior.
Club Competition: Played for coach David Rogers and Iowa Rockets.
Personal: The younger sister of former Bradley volleyball player Miranda Black, Sam is the daughter of Ron and Connie Black ... Majoring in elementary education ... Sister Maggie was a setter at Drake (1999-02) and ranks sixth in career assists ... The youngest of four children, she also has an older brother: Abe ... Her older sister Miranda played in 97 matches during her career (1995-98) and was a senior during head coach Scott Luster’s first year at Bradley ... Named to the Bradley Athletic Director’s Honor Roll following each of the last three semesters.
