Birmingham, Ala. – Courtney Hoffman had a team-high nine kills on Friday evening as the Furman volleyball team fell in its first conference road match of the season, 3-0 (22-25, 10-25, 25-27), to the Samford Bulldogs at the Pete Hanna Center.
Furman drops to 1-15 on the season and 1-4 in SoCon play while Samford improves to 11-4 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
The teams traded the opening 16 points of the first set as the Paladins tied the score at 8-8 following a Bulldog attack error. After Samford evened the score at 12-12, Furman would go on an 8-3 run and take a 20-15 lead when
Nicole Mack connected on a kill. The Bulldogs answered by closing out the set on a 10-2 run to win 25-22.
Neci Harris gave the Paladins an early 6-5 lead to begin the second set after recording a kill. Samford answered with a 6-1 run to take an 11-7 lead off Lauren Deaton's kill, forcing Furman into a timeout. The Bulldogs broke the set open following the timeout, outscoring the Paladins 14-3 after that for the 25-10 victory.
Furman scored three of the first four points to start the third set capped by a solo block from Hoffman to give it a 3-1 advantage. Samford came back with a 9-3 run and led 10-6 on a Paladin attack error. Furman then used a 5-1 run of its own to even the score at 11-11 when
Katie Murphy recorded a kill. The Bulldogs led by as many as three points midway before going in front 18-16 on a kill from Kelsi Hobbs. The Paladins followed by going on an 8-3 run to sit at set point, 24-21, after a Hoffman kill. Samford concluded the set on a 6-1 run, forcing extra points, and won 27-25 to secure the 3-0 match victory.
Hoffman led Furman offensively with nine kills and hit .364 for the match. Harris contributed seven kills and led the team with a .417 hitting percentage. Murphy dished out 26 assists while
Sarah Turner (13) and
Andrea Aceveda (11) combined for 24 digs.
Hobbs (14) and Deaton (10) both finished with double-digit kills for the Bulldogs. Corinne Meglic added 36 assists and Emily Naubert had 19 digs.
The Paladins held a 7.0-6.0 advantage in total blocks during the match while also leading 48-42 in digs.
Furman continues its road trip on Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. match at Chattanooga.
