Nov. 18, 2005

Box Score

STATESBORO, Georgia - After losing twice to Georgia Southern in the regular season, the Lady Paladin volleyball team exacted revenge on Friday with a 3-1 (29-31, 30-25, 30-22, 30-17) win over the Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.. The Lady Paladins will face the Appalachian State Mountaineers Saturday at 4:30 to determine which team advances to the SoCon Championship Sunday at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Chattanooga-College of Charleston semifinal.

Furman freshman Emily Harby (Jacksonville, Fla.) took control on Saturday, recording a team-high 18 kills with a .577 attack percentage. Sophomore Chibuzo Aguocha (Houston, Texas) added 15 kills,12 digs and four blocks, while all-conference pick Whitney Purser scored 10 kills with 19 digs and libero Kim Tonkin paced the team with 17 digs.

Sophomore Kerry Wooten added 10 kills in the middle and also put down four blocks to help the Lady Paladins outblock the Eagles 11.5 to 6.0. Furman's hitting percentage improved with each of the four games in the match. The Lady Paladins hit .186 in game one and lost 31-29, but rebounded with a 30-25 game two win (.190 attack percentage) followed by a 30-22 victory in game three (.388 attack percentage) and sealed their place in the semis with a dominating 30-17 (.393 attack percentage) win in the fourth and final game.

The Eagles were led on the night by Iulia Porumbescu's 12 kills and 21 digs. Cristie Mitchell added 10 kills to the effort, while Bailey Coleman tallied 13 digs.

With the victory the Lady Paladins improve to 15-15 overall, while Georgia Southern falls to 21-11.