Clemson, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team topped South Carolina, 3-1 (29-27, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20), on Saturday afternoon in game three of the Big Orange Bash to mark the Paladins' first win in the history of the series. Furman moves to 1-5 on the season, while the Gamecocks fall to 3-2.

The Furman middle hitters combined for 44 kills, as Christina Dorismond recorded a career-high 23 kills and Ashton Gregory tallied a career-high 21. Gregory hit a team-high .581 on the day, while Dorismond hit .426 and added a team-high three blocks. Freshman Annie Bierman and senior libero Elle Ross led the team in digs with 18 each, while setter Jo Wilks totaled 65 assists.

Set one was tight from the opening serve as the largest lead by either team was just two points. With the score tied at 20, a kill by Gregory forced South Carolina to call their first timeout of the set. Three plays later, South Carolina tied the match at 22 after a service ace, forcing Furman's first timeout of the set. After another kill by Gregory, South Carolina burned their second timeout of the set with the score at 23-22 in favor of the Paladins. The teams traded points until Furman was able to capitalize on a South Carolina attack error and another kill by Gregory closed out the set for the Paladins, 29-27.

The second set mirrored the first, as the two teams traded points until the Gamecocks pushed their lead to four at 15-11. The Paladins clawed their way back into the match, tying the score at 17 after four straight Paladin points. The teams traded points again until, with the score tied at 21, Furman used a 4-0 run to finish out the set, 25-21, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set three was just as close as the first two, with the teams going back and forth until South Carolina opened their largest lead of the set at three, 20-17. The Paladins would not go down easy, however, as Furman rallied back to take a lead at 23-22. The teams again traded points until SC used a kill and a Furman error to take the set, 26-24.

The final set was all Furman from the beginning, as the Paladins jumped out to a 15-9 lead, behind the stellar play of Dorismond and Gregory. South Carolina managed to cut the Furman lead to one at 19-18, but the Paladins closed out the match on a 6-2 run to take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.  

Furman returns to action later tonight as they take on Big Orange Bash-host Clemson at 6:00 p.m. Fans can watch live video on ClemsonTigers.com, follow live stats on PaladinsMobile.com, or follow @FurmanVB on Twitter for match updates.