Greenville, S.C. – Sharlissa de Jesus and Ali Ruffin combined for 23 kills on Wednesday evening to lead The Citadel Bulldogs to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-16) victory over the Furman volleyball team in Southern Conference action at Alley Gymnasium.
Furman drops to 7-15 on the season and 2-10 in conference play, while The Citadel improves to 10-10 overall and 6-8 in the league.
Bella Tolone led the Paladins with eight kills and seven digs, while
Maya Mrus and
Sydney Tanner both had four kills.
Sarah Turner and
Ella Abraham combined for 19 assists with Turner dishing out 10 and Abraham nine. Defensively,
Andrea Aceveda finished with a team-high 15 digs.
de Jesus recorded a game-high 13 kills for the Bulldogs and Ruffin contributed 10. Belle Hogan posted a double-double of 27 assists and 13 digs. Kenzie Kellerman added 10 digs.
The Citadel opened the first set on a 9-2 run and took a seven-point lead off a kill by de Jesus. Furman came back with a 6-3 run of its own and trailed 12-8 following a service ace from Aceveda. The Bulldogs closed out the set on a 13-3 run and won 25-11 on Gina Delancey's kill.
The Paladins started the second set recording three of the first four points and took a 3-1 lead after back-to-back solo blocks from Harris and
Kelsey Watkins. The Citadel responded with a 7-1 run to go ahead 8-4. Furman then got a kill from Tanner and combination block by Tanner and Watkins to cut its deficit down to 8-6. The Bulldogs would then record seven of the following 10 points and held a 15-9 advantage after a Paladin attack error. Furman got as close as three, 16-13, on a service ace by
Kaeli Braswell. The Citadel outscored the Paladins 9-4 the rest of the way for the 25-17 victory.
The Bulldogs registered 11 of the initial 15 points of the third set and led 11-4 after a Furman attack error. The Paladins would respond with a 7-3 run, including kills from Tolone, Tanner and
Chandler Parker, to trail 14-11. An attack error by The Citadel cut Furman's deficit down to three. The Bulldogs broke the set open with a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 19-12. The Citadel scored the final three points to win the set, 25-16, and capture the match, 3-0.
The Paladins held an 8.0-5.0 advantage in total team blocks highlighted by four (three assisted, one solo) from
Neci Harris. Tanner also collected three assisted blocks.
Furman plays its final two road matches of the regular season this weekend, November 5-6, traveling to UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina.
