Greenville, S.C. – The Furman volleyball team opened its conference-only schedule on Sunday afternoon dropping a 3-2 (16-25, 26-24, 19-25, 31-29, 6-15) decision to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers inside Alley Gymnasium.
Furman falls to 0-1 on the season while ETSU improves to 1-0 overall.
Neci Harris and
Courtney Hoffman combined for 33 kills to lead the Paladins offensively as Harris finished with a team-high 19 and Hoffman added 14. Harris also contributed five blocks and Hoffman four.
Katie Murphy dished out 48 assists while
Andrea Aceveda recorded a match-high 18 digs. Playing in her first collegiate match,
Mikaela Schultz fell just shy of a double-double tallying eight kills and 11 digs.
Olivia Cunningham led three Buccaneers with double-digit kills, totaling a match-high 24. Lauren Hatch had 16 kills and Jenna Forster 11. Emily Arnold dished out 50 assists while Sydney Cherney posted 17 digs.
Furman opened the match scoring four of the first six points to go in front 4-2 after a kill from Hoffman. East Tennessee State followed with a 9-3 run and took an 11-7 lead before Hoffman got the Paladins back to within three, 13-10, after her kill. ETSU picked up five of the following six points to go ahead 18-11. Furman got as close as five points the rest of the way with the last coming at 21-16 on Schultz's kill. ETSU scored the final three points to win 25-16.
The Paladins started the second set on an 11-4 run capped by a string of six consecutive points. Furman stayed ahead by seven points twice midway at 17-10 and 19-12. A Buccaneer attack error put the Paladins in front 19-12. ETSU answered with an 11-4 run of its own to even the score at 23-23. With the score tied at 24-24, Furman got an attack error by East Tennessee State and a kill from Hoffman for the 26-24 win.
After the Buccaneers began the third set on a 4-1 run, the Paladins responded with four of the next six points and trailed 6-5 on Hoffman's kill. Harris kept Furman within two points, 11-9, midway before a 5-1 run by ETSU increased its lead to 16-10. The Paladins made a late run and got as close as 17-15 on a Buccaneer attack error. Furman was held to four points the remainder of the set as East Tennessee State picked up the 25-19 victory.
Similar to the second set, the fourth frame would also go extra points. ETSU jumped out to an early 9-2 lead but the Paladins came back with a 12-5 run capped by a
Maya Mrus kill that tied the score at 14-14. Harris later evened the score again at 18-18 with a kill. After the Buccaneers went ahead 21-18, Furman responded with three straight points and made the score 21-21 following back-to-back East Tennessee State attack errors. The teams traded 15 points late as the Paladins held a 30-29 advantage after an ETSU service error. The following play, a solo block from Harris gave Furman the 31-29 triumph.
For the second consecutive set, East Tennessee State began with a 9-2 run and would build its lead out to 11-3. The Paladins got to within 12-6 but the Buccaneers picked up the last three points to win the set 15-6 and capture the match 3-2.
Furman concluded the match with a .189 hitting percentage and combined for 11 total blocks.
The Paladins wrap up their two-match series with East Tennessee State on Monday evening at 6 p.m.
Attendance at Alley Gymnasium is limited to the parents of players from both teams and working staff. No tickets are available to the general public.
