Oct. 25, 2005

Box Score

GREENVILLE, South Carolina - The Furman volleyball team outlasted Chattanooga 3-2 (30-20, 32-30, 23-30, 22-30, 18-16) Tuesday night in Alley Gym after the Mocs mounted a comeback with the Lady Paladins up 2-0 in the match.

Furman took an easy first game 30-20 victory, outhitting the visiting Mocs .333 to .025 as the Furman net defense dominated Chattanooga, putting down 6.0 blocks to UTC's 1.0. Game two resulted in another Furman victory, but this time, after leading 18-14, the Lady Paladins had to hold off a UTC momentum swing that resulted in a 21-21 tie. After Furman pulled ahead 31-30, a block by Ally Hock and Kerry Wooten sealed the Furman victory 32-30 and put the Lady Paladins up 2-0 in the match.

After hitting into 10.0 Furman blocks in the first two games, the Mocs changed their approach and downed the Lady Paladins 30-23 in game three with only two hitting errors on 15 kills. Game four went the Mocs' way 30-22 due in part to four Furman service errors and a breakdown in the passing game that resulted in five UTC aces.

With the match knotted at 2-2 Furman earned the serve in game five and immediately took a 3-0 lead with Chibuzo Aguocha on serve. Chattanooga quickly tied the game at five all however, but the Lady Paladins stretched the advantage to 11-8 with Kim Tonkin serving. The Mocs' Bethany Herndon served up three points to pull within two, 14-12, and Furman lost serve on a kill by Lindsey Galloway to make the match 14-13. Two more ties, at 14-14 and 16-16 ensued, with Furman finally earning the victory on a pair of consecutive kills by junior outside hitter Ally Hock.

The Lady Paladins were paced on the night by Whitney Purser, who totaled 19 kills and 16 digs with a .214 hitting percentage. Aguocha added 17 kills while Hock contributed 16 with a .464 attack percentage and freshman Emily Harby added 13. In addition to Purser, Hock, Stewardson, and Tonkin each totaled 16 digs. Sophomore Kerry Wooten paced the Lady Paladins with nine block assists, while Hock added seven, and Aguocha and Harby each scored one block solo and four assists.

The Mocs were paced by Leslee Ball's 12 kills and five blocks, while libero Lara Newberry tallied 29 digs and Lindsey Galloway added 25. Galloway also added eight service aces in the effort.

With the win, the Lady Paladins moved to 10-13 overall and 6-7 in Southern Conference action, while the Mocs fell to 12-12 overall and 7-5 in league play. The Lady Paladins return to action Saturday, Oct. 29, in a 7 p.m. match against Georgia Southern. UTC hosts The Citadel Friday night at 7 p.m.