Charleston, S.C. – Nicole Mack and
Katie Murphy each recorded double-doubles on Friday evening as the Furman volleyball team fell to The Citadel Bulldogs 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 13-15) in SoCon play at McAlister Fieldhouse.
Furman falls to 5-17 on the season and 5-6 in conference play while The Citadel improves to 9-15 overall and 3-8 in the league.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-1 lead to begin the first set before the Paladins recorded the next three points to even the score at 4-4 on
Neci Harris' kill. The score would be tied four more times after that before Furman registered five straight points to go ahead 11-7 when Mack connected on a kill. The Citadel used a 5-1 run to tie the score again at 12-12 after a kill by Makaya Middleton. With the score tied at 14-14, the Paladins defense would step up limiting the Bulldogs to just three points the rest of the way. Furman closed out the set on an 11-3 run to capture the set, 25-17, after three consecutive attack errors by The Citadel.
The Paladins scored three of the first four points in the second set before going ahead 7-3 early when Harris collected a kill. After The Citadel cut its deficit to 7-6, Furman went on a 6-3 run and held a 13-9 advantage after a Bulldog service error. The Paladins continued their run midway and led by as many as six points, 16-12, on an attack error by The Citadel. The Bulldogs outscored Furman 13-4 after that to win the set 25-22.
The Paladins started the third set on a 7-2 run capped by a kill from Harris. Harris later gave Furman its largest lead of the set at 13-5 with her kill.
Lydia Morris kept the Paladins' lead at eight two plays later as her kill put the score at 14-6. Furman led by eight points again midway when a kill by Murphy made the score 16-8. The Citadel made a late run and cut its deficit down to two points, 19-17, when Mellanie King's kill capped a 9-3 run. The Paladins held off the Bulldogs with a 6-2 run to close out the set.
Natalie Dunn's kill secured the 25-19 victory.
The fourth set featured a total of seven ties with five coming within the first 14 points. Morris evened the set at 7-7 following her kill. Furman then used a 9-5 run to take a 16-12 lead after a ball handling error by The Citadel. The Bulldogs answered with a 6-2 run and tied the score at 18-18 on a kill by Sharlissa De Jesus. Harris responded on the next play giving the Paladins the lead back at 19-18 on her kill. The Citadel finished the set on a 7-2 run to win 25-21 on De Jesus' kill.
Furman began the fifth set recording three of the initial four points and took a 3-1 lead after Mack registered back-to-back kills. The Bulldogs then used an 8-2 run to hold a 9-5 advantage following a Paladins' attack error. The Citadel sat at set point, 14-10, when De Jesus recorded a kill. Furman attempted a late rally by scoring three consecutive points on kills from Mack and Dunn while Morris and
Courtney Hoffman combined for a block. Dunn's kill put the score at 14-13. The Bulldogs won the set, and match, on the following play when Sarah Dobrich connected on a kill.
Mack led three Paladins in double-figure kills tying for a match-high with 21. Mack compiled her team-leading tenth double-double this season after contributing 15 digs. Murphy added her fourth double-double this year on 50 assists and 10 digs. Harris had 16 kills and hit .538 for the match while Hoffman posted 11.
Andrea Aceveda led Furman defensively with a match-high 19 digs and
Sarah Turner tallied 12.
De Jesus (21 kills, 13 digs) was one of three players for The Citadel who had double-doubles along with King (15 kills, 11 digs) and Megan Fuhr (53 assists, 13 digs). Emma Strong added a team-high 15 digs.
The Paladins concluded the match with a .274 hitting percentage, their second-highest mark of the season.
Furman closes out its road trip on Saturday evening against Wofford at 6 p.m.
