Greenville, S.C. – Behind 49 kills and a .396 hitting percentage, the Furman volleyball team powered by Chattanooga, 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-16), on Friday night in Alley Gym. With the win, the Paladins moved to 13-5 on the season and 6-1 in SoCon play. The loss drops Chattanooga to 11-1 overall and 4-3 in SoCon play.

Ashton Gregory paced the Paladins with 12 kills and a .625 hitting percentage, as well as four blocks. Andrea Fisher also put down 12 kills, while adding two aces and five digs. Annie Bierman hit .300 and put down 10 kills, while Taina Joseph tallied six kills and four blocks and a .556 hitting percentage. Jo Wilks dished out 39 assists and Meg DeMaar added a team-high nine digs and three service aces. The Paladins out-hit Chattanooga .396-.208 and out-blocked the Mocs, 9-5. Furman also recorded seven service aces to zero for Chattanooga.

The Mocs were led by sophomore Kristy Wieser with 13 kills and sophomore Allie Davenport with ten, while libero Catherine Chason led Chattanooga with 10 digs

Furman jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set one and continued to hang on to the lead throughout the match. The Paladins used a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to six at 12-6, then stretched the lead to ten at 20-10. Chattanooga cut the lead to eight at 20-12, but the Paladins closed out the set on a 5-1 run to take set one, 25-13, for a 1-0 lead in the match. Furman hit .519 in set one and held Chattanooga to just a .200 hitting percentage.

Chattanooga opened an early 6-2 lead in set two, before the teams traded points until the Mocs opened a three-point lead at 16-13. Furman cut the lead to one at 16-15 before Chattanooga again stretched the lead to two at 17-15. Furman then used a 3-0 run to take its first lead of set two at 18-17. The teams traded points and Chattanooga reclaimed the lead at 19-18, then again at 20-19. The teams continued to trade points until Furman had set point at 24-22. Chattanooga would not go away quietly, however, as the Mocs rallied to tie the match at 24, 25, then again at 26. The Paladins then got kills from Annie Bierman and Taina Joseph to take set two, 28-26, for a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Paladins opened up a 7-2 lead in set three, forcing Chattanooga to call an early timeout. The Paladins continued their dominance as they used a 4-2 run to take an 11-4 lead, their largest of the set. The teams traded points until Chattanooga cut the lead to six at 19-13, then again at 20-14. Furman closed out the set on a 5-2 run to win set three, 25-16, and the match, 3-0. Furman out-blocked Chattanooga 6-1 in set three, holding the Mocs to a .108 hitting percentage.

Furman is back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 pm as the Paladins host league-leading Samford.